Seems like we are in the midst of watching players breaking through at bigger and better clubs than ever before and the numbers are growing. In the past, if a guy was getting real minutes in a top 4-5 league, they were a starter with the US team, pretty much no questions asked. We have generally been able to field only a handful of players at this level on each team. If you were on the bench for the US, you were probably playing at a pretty low level. But, now things are looking a bit different and if the next couple years are anything like the last couple years, we are very likely to have one or more players who are regulars at solid teams in top leagues that can't get off our bench. We're not there yet, but if we get another 2-3 breaking through this season as has become the norm, we could very easily be looking at having to sit a player that in previous cycles would have been considered a lock from club accomplishments alone. I think this is most likely to happen in the attack where we have anywhere between 3-5 positions max for guys who are primarily attackers. Probably 4 would be my guess at the max without dipping into guys who are more two way players. With a few more breakthroughs, the competition for those spots could feature a pretty decent list of guys getting minutes in top leagues, something like the following: Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) Josh Sargent (Bremen) Jozy Altodore (Toronto) Timothy Weah (Lille) Gio Reyna (BVB) Jordan Morris (Seattle) Konrad De La Fuente (Barcelona) Uly LLanez (Wolfsburg) Indiana Vassilev (Aston Villa) (Your favorite player whom I inevitably missed) Obviously, many would quibble with this list and I am crossing fingers a couple break through. The final list could be longer or shorter. But, I think most of should be able to agree that by 2022, the US starting 11 will likely have a player or 3 good enough to start on many previous versions of the US team who will ride the bench. I mean Vassilev isn't even mentioned around here very often and when else have we had guys who even make the bench much less get Premier League minutes in most cycles who aren't really even part of the conversation? So, now it's time to make some hard choices. Some of he guys above will sit on the bench or not even make the squad. Who do you think that last player left out will be? Who is the one guy you think will be the best guy we have that doesn't make it into the first 11?
One of the rb's or non Reyna 10's. The most likely ones are Ledezma, Cannon, & Araujo. Ledezma is a pure 10 pretty much. Victim of lack of versatility & just not being as good as Gio. This is provided he does make it at PSV to some degree. Cannon was victim of a #'s game @ Lille so he starts @ Boavista. Could be a process to prove himself at Ligue 1/UCL level. At which pt it may be too late. Araujo got jerked around by his manager to not be starting since over a year ago. He's lost momentum on his trajectory & refinement of his touch. Honorable mention-Pomykal, Aaronson, & Sands. Pomykal's rise has been slowed by injury, Aaronson by Tab's exclusion. So was Sands. And he doesn't fit Gregg's system.
I think we ask and even expect our coaches to project out a bit. I'd be surprised if the coaches don't have a pretty good idea who they expect to be starters in 2022 with some healthy skepticism knowing the unexpected will happen. Sure you allow for the unexpected, but two years ahead isn't ridiculous to plan for. I would guess the majority of national teams today have a pretty decent idea of what they expect their squad to look like at the World Cup if they make it with many positions locked down excepting for something highly unusual. Or, does the extreme youth movement on the US team make it harder to predict who will pop up in a two year period?
Sure, they might project a bit. How we can project the best player who won't start though is another question. And that's the question you asked. It seems like a pointless discussion except so someone can say I told you so or we can rag on someone for getting it totally wrong.
None of the conversations here result in anything. But again, picking the best player at this point in time who doesn't start in the 2022 WC seems like wasted energy. Hope you get the discussion you want, but I'll unwatch the thread.
Oh, and I guess the point of this to me is that the quality of a team is often best seen by who gets left behind, sort of only being as strong as your weakest link Most US teams have had very few players (outside the obvious Donovan exception) that were playing at a particularly high level who weren't in the squad and usually on the field. This time is different. We're very likely to leave home or not play guys who would have walked into a lot of past teams. For me, this is a strong indicator of how good this team is getting and how much deeper it is getting. If we're leaving a guy like say Timothy Weah off the field, that's a pretty huge indicator of the quality that is on the field. Or Morris, or whoever you'd like to pick. I'm curious where people think we stand.
Those would be my picks right now. And either of them would be our best attacker riding pine that I can recall.
To me this is an exceedingly difficult question to ask. It is really several questions in one. Let's just say, that today was the day of the world cup....think back two years. How many of the players that many/most have penciled in would have been penciled in two years ago (based upon their level two years ago). What we are asking is what is the team now, which players will push out those starters (some may not be playing at a top level or are just now starting to get minutes) and finally which players will be the best of the left overs....one of the current starters? one of the current 2nd level? one of the young players that hasn't quite broken through? Considering the hit and miss nature of youth development, there is an awful lot more guess/hit/miss two years out than there is with a typical discussion on who should play now. Think of where Adams was two years ago. He certainly wasn't on a top team in Europe, many people felt he didn't have the technical ability to make it as a midfielder with the USMNT and many/most were expecting him to be sent to Austria but were hoping for sub minutes at RBL. Cannon reminds me some of Adams in the level of respect he gets because he has been at MLS and the fact that he ended up at Boavista didn't help much...we'll see on him. The increased numbers of high quality players makes everything much more difficult. We could easily have 2 or 3 players that no one projects to be starting quality or to be the best of the rest.
Personally, I think it will be some kid nobody has even mentioned/thought of yet. Someone that is currently 16 or 17. Maybe they have gotten minutes in MLS, maybe not. By the time they are 18-19 for the world cup, they will be as good as at least one player but will stay home due to experience. (potential won't matter at that point...and the coach won't bring any young players to sit on the bench and soak up experience for future wc's. That is my feeling. Who that person will be, I have absolutely no idea.
This question really just comes down to where we have the most depth being developed. [Putting injuries aside.] A player plying his trade in a "big team" two years from now NOT in the starting XI for the USMNT..............................is likely to come from central midfield. We have that trio of Reyna with McKennie and Adams behind him that looks awesome on paper. If you're somebody else, than you have a problem. So if you're Richie Ledezma, who by then we hope will be an Eredevisie starter, where is your opening in the starting XI? I'll go with him, but the same logic applies to any midfielder we want to name. Brenden Aaronson, for instance, who's coming on like wildfire.
Absolutely. That being said, two years is a huge amount of time for a kid that is 16-20ish.....especially the closser to the 16ish age you get. for a position like Sargent's for example, it only takes one more player to compete, same pretty much goes for outside back....Cannon, Yedlin, Dest, Robinson right now....one or two more and there really isn't that much room. I don't know young players like the experts on this board....I just read what others say, bu I don't remember hearing much about Cowell, for instance (not making a prediction), who knows? perhaps there is a small 17yr old that few are watching or thinking of that goes on a growth spurt this year and breaks through next year (Europe or MLS). The one thing I do know about youth development...especially at this younger age is that it is a total crapshoot. I agree that midfield seems to be the most likely area of the field where that player will come from but it really is wide open imo.
Winger will possibly have Pulisic, Weah, Morris, with Llanez, Konrad and others as prospects, Reyna as a possibility if CM fills up, and players like Arriola and Boyd as second line vets. Chadler, too, if he's considered. CM will have Adams, McKennie and Reyna, Pomykal, Ledezma, Aaronson as up and coming, Pulisic as a possibility if he comes inside, and players like Holmes and Lletget (and I suppose Morales and Yeuill) as second line vets. Right Back has Dest, Cannon, and Yedlin with some more backs on the way. If I look there, I still think Morris or Weah is the best of that crew ... but Ledezma or Pomykal I could see as well.
of course you are leaving out lead striker...or whatever you want to call Sargent's spot. Right now it is Jozy and Sargent...Jozy (I'm thinking will either age out or be unavailable due to injury) but all it takes is the development of one other player to cause a logjam there....look at how much the scenery has changed this year in MLS. Akinola exploded...will he regain form or fade? Cowell...will he continue to improve and assert himself? Dike? Ebobisse? a European option? Someone else? A current 16 yr old not named Cowell? Things can change very fast in one or two years..... Personally I like @Paul Berry 's prediction: it'll be Donovan, second choice of course is Dempsey.
You'd think it would have to be one of the attacking mids/wingers. It's trending toward Konrad vs. Reyna. If Weah entered into that conversation, he would probably slide up top. For all we know, Evan Rotundo.
Reggie Cannon could turn out to be a quite capable player as well but with Dest and maybe Robinson eyeing those outside back spots, he's going to have to work. Or, Dest plays on the left and we have a much better than normal for the US left back that doesn't get a spot.