He'd have a much better shot if we were to mix it up and play with 3 in the back sometimes. Not just because we'd need an extra defender on the roster, but because he's well-suited to play the middle.
Top Tier 1. Brooks 2. Richards 3. Sands 4. McKenzie Second Tier 5. Zimmerman 6. Robinson 7. Carter-Vickers 8. Palmer-Brown 9. Ream Not Good Enough 10. Miazga 11. Long 12. Hedges 13. Glad 14. Trusty 15. Birnbaum 16. Parker 17. Keita 18. Pines 19. Kessler 20. Pineda 21. Farrell Not Ready Yet 22. Che 23. Otasowie 24. Atencio 25. Edwards 26. Edwards Retired (International) 27. Gonzalez 28. Besler 29. Cameron 30. Bradley Would Have to Switch 31. Maloney 32. Okoh 33. Pierie
Again, not a rank of ability, not a current depth chart, but a rank of most likely to be on the 2022 roster. John Brooks, Wolfsburg (Germany) Chris Richards, Hoffenheim (Germany) Aaron Long, Red Bull New York Tim Ream, Fulham (England) Mark McKenzie, Genk (Belgium) Matt Miazga, Anderlecht (Belgium) James Sands, New York City FC Miles Robinson, Atlanta United FC Walker Zimmerman, Nashville SC Cameron Carter-Vickers, Tottenham Hotspur (England) Geoff Cameron, FC Cincinnati Justin Che, FC Dallas Erik Palmer-Brown, Manchester City FC (England) Henry Kessler, New England Revolution Kik Pierie, Ajax Amsterdam (Holland) Brooks is the clear #1 in all ways. Long is #2 right now, but is more vulnerable than Richards. We don't have enough top-level experience to drop Richards. Ream remains the likeliest #5 CB who can flex to LB in a pinch. He gets more vulnerable the closer Acosta gets to making the team, so I think this was a bad week for him. Maybe Robinson could fill that role, too. #5 through #9, who are mainly competing against Long and for an open spot, is a big pick-em. McKenzie probably played the best against the best teams so far. But the three from this tourney are not far behind. Let's wait see how they do against possibly 2 WC-level opponents. Miazga plays OK but doesn't get many chances - hard to know where he fits. He could be ahead of the MLS chase pack or behind it. If Carter-VIckers goes to Newcastle successfully, one would think he would get a new look. Cameron is one of the top-rated WS CBs in MLS. I could see a recall, if he hadn't run his mouth so much. Che .... could make it. Things just don't seem to be lining up for Palmer-Brown. Kessler over Pines. Pierie probably won't join.
I like Miazga and even admitted that it might be my recency bias picking Zimmerman and Robinson as my B pair over him. I have really been impressed with Zimmerman's progression as a passer. Miazga improved a lot as a passer on his loan to Holland and still has that defensive grit that we need. I'd be happy to see him on the roster and think in a large camp, he should get the call for sure. I've defended Ream on here before. No need for him at this point. In the old system, we needed passing back there and Ream made sense when Brooks was out. In the new way we've been playing, which is much superior and better for our pool, our CB's get left on an island a lot and Ream is not up to that task. He could not do what Robinson and Sands did against Jamaica. I think Long is a bit overrated. He was given a simple assignment which was basically be fast and make sure Brooks/Ream don't get left on an island and did a good job of it. Not to take away all credit, he did a good job and made some stellar defensive plays but doing that job doesn't put him as an auto-start #2 or 3 guy in the whole pool because guys like Miles Robinson could have done a similar job imo. As for Brooks, he is our best but he does need cover. To the posters acting like his positioning is impeccable, I think you haven't watched enough of Wolfsburg. They basically only partner him with guys like Long but better. Lacroix and Bornauw are both fast (Lacroix especially). A lot of the Bundesliga people think Lacroix was actually the perfect add to complement Brooks because he is so fast. Brooks is a good defender with elite passing and vision. He can be exposed particularly by the type of attackers he sees in CONCACAF. It's no shame to pair him with a better 1 v 1 defender who can ultimately be trusted to run down Jamaican and Mexican forwards the once or twice a game things break down.
Current 6-man pool for a WCQing squad: Brooks, Richards, McKenzie, Sands, Robinson, Zimmerman Could be back in the mix, if his recovery goes well: Long New club situations could help them to make a push: CCV and EPB
It isnt surprising but it appears a lot of people overrate Zimmerman and underate Miazga. I dont get why many on here and apparently Berhalter don't like Miazga. It can't be mistakes because every defender we have has made mistakes. 2018 - MOTM performances against Brazil and France, strong outing vs Mexico 2019 - outplays Zimmerman to take spot for final, outplay Long in the final 2020 - finally paired with Brooks is part of team that shuts out Wales
I think he is a lot overrated. He is fast but isnt a good defender and definitely not a good soccer player. He has multiple horrible games, is a huge negative in playing out of the back, and didn't always do what people claim he does. He didn't clean up for Ream and lost the attacker on the second goal at Canada.
Largely agree about both Miazga and Long. It's amazing that Miazga has this reputation as being error prone while Long doesn't when, as you point out, Long has made some fairly significant errors and Miazga has some true top end performances for the USMNT in the recent past. I don't think Long is garbage or anything but I don't have a healthy Long in my current top six. Regarding Miazga vs Zimmerman, I'd love to see them compete. Zimm looked really good to me in his latest appearances and has basically dominated MLS for the past 2-3 years. His passing seems much improved which is probably a function of the role he's given in Nashville which he has thrived in. I'd love to see Miazga get a permanent move to Anderlecht. He had a really good season there and made nice progress. He's asked for a permanent move which I think he needs at this point.
Long was very strong in his last USMNT performances before getting hurt. He's actually improved his passing and ball-handling significantly, which was his weakness. He's not an incredible player by any means, but he's effective across a number of aspects of defending -- in space, on the counter, very effective in the air. Miazga has had three starts for the USMNT in the last eight months or so, and he's been below average. I think he's a smart player, very strong in the air, uses his angles as well as he can. But he's slow to react, and he makes some pretty questionable decisions when he comes upfield. That slow reaction time has manifested in a number of bad fouls over that stretch. He's fine, but he's never going to be better than he is now, and he and Brooks make for a bad high line combo. If he's in the team as a Brooks backup, I could see it, as his passing is pretty good, and Tim Ream will eventual lose his spot, btu as a pair + pressing is not a good set-up. We saw that just this last game with Sands and Miles. Sands is an extremely smart player, but moving to a back 2 -- where you get more direct pressure on passing and where you have less support when you get high -- you see the concerns. Without Miles, Sands would have been the goat against Jamaica -- he got caught out and turned the ball over several times in bad ways and Miles bailed him out. If you run out Brooks and Miazga, neither is bailing the other out.
Yeah like to see the two of them compete as well... along with Richards, McKenzie. I am not a big fan of Zimmerman, but he does look to have imoroved a lot since 2019. The competition should be kept in mind. The first two games weren't much of a challenge and he wasn't having the best game against Canada. He got exposed on the play he got hurt. All you have to do is check the post by Gogo right after yours to see how people look at these players under very different lenses. The ridiculous part that Miazga can't improve is hysterically sad. Zimmerman supposedly improved from 25 to 28 but Miazga is who he is at 26. I really hate some of our fans.
I don't think I saw the marked improvement in performance that you did and I'm not really sure which games we would have learned something meaningful from. Northern Ireland maybe? His last meaningful game with the USMNT was the Nations League games against Canada where he was actually decent but mostly in the sense that he chased Canadians down from behind and didn't let Tim Ream be too horribly exposed. That's too long ago at this point but I know the MLS followers felt he had a bad 2020 and McKenzie and Zimmerman were the MLS defenders of the year. I actually think we agree on the Brooks pairing part but as @bsky22 pointed out, we have actually seen them pair together and do quite well. Not only against Wales but also against a strong Portugal in the distant past (2017) where the only goal allowed was due to a very poor goalkeeper error. Also, we ran out a backline of Ream, Brooks, and McKenzie against Mexico, and I'm not sure I'd consider McKenzie to be in the speedster category of CB's so it's clearly not a must have for Berhalter. And it seems to me that Miazga got a lot better on his loan to Holland, had a bad year where he ended up at Reading, then improved again under Kompany at Anderlecht. He had really excellent defensive stats and the few times I saw him play, he looked sharp and more disciplined. I think it's premature to say Miazga has peaked as a 26 year old center defender. Just a slight bone to pick here. They left Sands and Robinson on an absolute island and part of that was poor strategy and only Sands and Robinson being so stout defensively kept that from being a disaster. Credit to Acosta as well who really hustled back. I had Robinson as my co-MOTM with Hoppe but I was really impressed with how well Sands held up physically. I still think he's a 6 and am not going to put him on my CB list. Massive credit to both of those guys, especially Robinson who was the better of the two, but there was some bailing out going both ways. It's basic pressure/cover stuff that they both did at a high level. I hope and expect them to get another chance to work together against Qatar.
I dont think he had a bad year at Nantes & Reading. He played 9 straight ganes at Nantes, made a couple of mistakes (I vaguely recall misjudged the speed of an attacker and giving up a PK), and the new coach was done with him. It is just highlights but he looks to hold his own and show all the traits needed for a CB. People talk about Miazga like he has the same physical attributes of Gonzo. He has decent speed, quickness, agility, and does a good job recovering on defense. The French league is quite athletic and holding his own there should put to rest all these concerns about physical attributes. I also continue to disagree that a player like Long is the perfect fit for Brooks. I dont recall any of these other guys covering for Brooks... and didn't we have a game recently where Brooks got caught out wide 1v1. I think the most important trait needed to pair with him is being a vocal leader. That is Miazga and Zimmerman.Next woukd be relatively mistake free and strong anticipation. I didn't think either is quite up to what we would like but see no strong difference between the two. Then it gets us to this speedy guy who is going to cover for Brooks. I see Miazga clearly ahead of Zimmerman in this category.
Oh, no, I don't think he was good in that game. I thought he was very shaky -- having to foul / yellow from letting guys past against a Wales attack lacking their best players. I'm fine with Miazga -- he's not a disaster or anything -- but I wouldn't play him with Brooks against anyone good, and I think he's behind quite a few CBs at this point. No, that's not poor strategy. That's a designed defense that works. Part of the great part about having a strong CDM and strong CBs is that it releases the fullbacks and the center mids to do other things. Sands, Robinson, Acosta are the strength of this roster. You need to use that to get numbers to help where you are weaker. We've given up one goal all tournament. This is the smart use of a strength, not "bad strategy" that players compensated for. The players are good. That's what makes it good strategy.
Miazga doesn't distribute the ball close to the level that we need from that position. It's as simple as that.
Even if we concede that Miagza is no more prone to mental mistakes or boneheaded plays than his colleagues, that, along with the fact that Brooks is clearly the current #1 CB and that's not a CB pairing anyone wants to see, really drops Miazga down the list.
Who is better than him besides Brooks? Maybe Richards? Hard say McKenzie after that Mexico game. Do you guys even watch him play? He was specifically benched in the Netherlands until he reached a minimum level. On top of that, how can that even be an issue given that many, including Berhalter wanted Long to start. Jay Demerit is better with the ball at his feet than Long.
There are plenty of people who have been pleased when we have seen it and want see more of it. I have thought Berhalter was making a mistake when he has picked others over him and his picks haven't worked out. He had to go with Miazga over Zimnerman in the 2019 GC and McKenzie almost cost us the NL, but lets talk about some theoretical reason that none of the other inferior players have ever shown.
Agree on Long. I haven't seen a lot of Miazga with Anderlecht, but it's always been a weakness of his, and his lack of quality with the ball was apparent in the games against Panama, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Brooks, Richards, Sands, and McKenzie are significantly better than him with the ball, and Zimmerman is better, too. I think EPB is, also, and I would bet that CCV is even though I haven't seen him play recently. I haven't seen enough from Robinson to say for sure, but he probably is as well.
If you don't watch him, how can you judge his talent? The least you could do is watch the video I posted on this page from 3 years ago. He is comfortable on the ball and makes just about every kind of pass you would want from a CB. I am not sure of some of those guys, but there is no way Zimmerman is better on the ball.
Of course a highlight video is going to make him look good.... I've seen his last three starts for the national team, and he's simply not as good of a distributor as we need.
Based on first friendlies after restarting and with an experimental 3 man back line? Nobody looked comfortable in those games. Oh well. You seem entrenched your view. I dont see it the same way. I have watched him on a fairly regular basis and have seen him make the plays in that video regularly.
It's just my opinion. I don't think he's good enough for how we want to play and use the ball. He's not old by any means, and he has some good qualities, so hopefully he gets opportunities and shows that my current opinion is wrong.