I've only seen Campbell play in highlight videos posted here, so I don't have a strong opinion on him, but I'd say Koleosho, Paredes, Yow, and Luna (if he's counted as a winger) are ahead of Campbell for me in terms of young guys to try out as backup wingers. If Campbell starts getting minutes for Dortmund's first team in real games, obviously that changes things, but until he does, let's look at the guys who are already playing at the first team level in decent leagues.
Koleosho is provisionally cap-tied to Italy as he played in official matches for their U19s and U21s. We'd have to hear that he filed his one-time switch. Maybe has and we haven't heard about it. Time is running out, though. Luna definitely counts as a winger. I'm totally with you on that. Luna has earned a senior USMNT callup (if he wants it). Berhalter wanted to call up both Yow and Pukstas to January camp and both were declined (reportedly) I'm totally with you on your list. Those guys are all close. Heck, Cade Cowell has had a nice start to the season in Mexico.
Kolesheo could come to camp without filing the switch however. He just can’t play games but still worthwhile to have him around the group and what not in that it probably helps tremendously in terms of getting him to file the switch itself.
Yeah, Koleosho is definitely speculative, but it seemed like Berhalter was hinting that he was leaning our way before he got injured last spring. Now without the lure of the Copa, I don't know if there's a real impetus to switch at the moment, but we'll see.
My Sep window tldr: I agree this window might be good for Cole as we'll see how he does against a known level of competition. I could see Emma Hayes managing game with Crocker & Co. arranging call ups. I don't feel like a new hire at this stage will have the time needed to make good judgements on personnel/game mgmt. Some of the old vets - ARob would be typical - could use some more time with club and family rather than globe trotting after a busy summer. They won't be playing inspired football imo. At the same time we'd have the chance to see some good candidates. E.g., Paredes could take the rw spot leaving Weah at Juve to get used to new coach and get a good start to season. Cole could take Puli's spot. Lund could be evaluated along with Tolkin. We could use Musah, Johnny, Tessman, rotation in mid. I'd like to see a Ream, Zim, Scally back line if poss so we use known entities to keep things organized in back and launch counters. We could call in Richards if he's in a good situation with his club. MIles and Glad would be good MLS additions. Starting Brenden, Sarge, Balo up top would make for an interesting combo. Sarge with the hold up, Brenden pressing wing and Balo as SS. (Cole and Yow, subs). I like Aidan Morris but feel it's a tad early. Let him get more experience at Boro first. Lotsa ways to go but keeping it interesting and not worrying too much about final score...... ---------------------sarge -------------brenden--balo --lund----musah/johnny/tess---kev ------ream/glad/zim/MRob/scally, etc. That's 13 players leaving 7 spots besides gk's. Cole, yow, paxten, pukstas, tolkin come to mind as possibilities. I believe Kev's current coach is planning to play him on right side.
I also don't know if there's a real impetus to overwork somebody who's coming back from a long-term injury. May desire to sit the window out anyway. I just think that if he was going to make the switch, we'd have heard about it already. At least for this particular window. I'm totally with you on wanting to bring him in if he's willing to switch. The Canada game is September 7th. We're weeks away. We're probably already in the process of putting the roster together and starting to talk to players/clubs behind the scenes. Here's an opinion sure to befuddle the masses. I think Aaronson will have more goal contributions in the Championship this year than Koleosho. There, I said it. Leeds under Farke in the Championship are going to score a ton of goals. By the way, Leeds conceded the 2nd fewest goals in the Championship last season. They scored a ton. They didn't concede.
Which he'd also have with Canada. He knows who the Canada coach is right now; doesn't know the USMNT coach. If we hire Pochettino, that'll be a helluva recruiting tool. In theory anyway.
Yes though he has much stronger ties to the US than he does with Canada and we’re also a stronger national team in general. And yes Pochettino will be huge in terms of dual national recruiting just because of who he is.
well, it opens a whole can of worms but what incentive does a 2 year manager with no real links to us soccer/likelihood to stay on for a second cycle have to spend time and effort on dual nats? i mean, top line huge potential kids maybe but do you really think poch, or renard, or whoever is going to care all that much about a luna or a buck?
So, is Poch going to manage us in this match/camp, or will this be Varas's? Has he made a call-up list?
This is looking like the perfect set up for our new manager’s first match. Canada is going to come out with their hair on fire and their press will be all up in our business. It’s a great way for Poch to assess what he’s got in regards to his defense dealing with that pressure. For a friendly, this match will be a very useful tool.
I’m not so sure. It’s unlikely he’ll be around very long, right? I get that he’s a compelling figure on his own, but he’s not part of a wider project as such.
Sure but he’s a very big name coach to be calling you and telling you he wants you to play for his team. That tends to play well with players.
We don't know for sure what formation Pochettino will use or what sort of roles he's looking for in that formation, but based on the first week or two of the Euro season and Copa performance, I have the following thoughts on call-ups: Forward: I'd call up Balogun and Sargent. Balogun looked to be growing into the 9 we hoped he'd be at the Copa, so see if he can keep that going. Pepi wasn't clinical at the Copa and seems to be stuck reprising his role as understudy to de Jong at PSV. Sargent was good last season, scored today, and didn't really get a chance at the Copa at least in part due to lack of fitness. I'd see what he can do now that he's presumably fully healthy. Backup wingers: I'd call in Koleosho, if he's willing to switch, and Luna to hopefully keep him in the fold after the Olympic snub. They both seem to be in good form too, of course. GK: This is a total mess. Slonina is (I think) our only Euro GK with a starting spot on a senior team who isn't in horrible form (looking at you, Horvath), and Slonina is in League 1. I'd probably still call in Turner, since it wasn't that long ago that he was pretty good, and he's certainly not so old that he couldn't get back to that level, but I wouldn't make a fuss if he's dropped entirely. I haven't watched MLS this year, but I think you could make a case for just starting with a clean slate and taking the best 3 U.S.-eligible guys from MLS without worrying about pedigree. I know it's not definitive, but the FBref stats show that the top guys in terms of PSxG per 90 are: Clark, Freese, Schulte, and McCarthy. I'm including 4, since Clark is 38, and it doesn't make sense to look at him. So, I'd probably do Turner, Freese, and Schulte, though, again if someone who watches the Galaxy makes the case that McCarthy deserves a look over Turner, that's fine by me.
I feel like given the short notice there’s a good chance this particular roster will be fairly close to the Copa America with guys who make moves right before the window being left with their clubs to settle in. I’m guessing October is where we might see more of a shift. Adding Kolesheo would be the big get for September though.
Former U.S. u-20 coach, Mikey Varas, will be the interim USMNT head coach for the upcoming September international window.[🌕: @JeffreyCarlisle] pic.twitter.com/50zIgJtm7W— USMNT Otaku 🇺🇸 (@USMNTOtaku) August 17, 2024
This does not appear to be new news but citing his previous report from last week. Others have also said they expect him to be in charge so it remains to be seen.
If the smoke signals are true, no new coach for this friendly. So it has essentially no value since it will have the downside of interfering with club start ups. I imagine there is some contractual obligation to make it an A friendly, so I guess you gotta pass a laugh test with the roster, otherwise I’d go strictly U20.
Or it has more value, if Pochettino actually uses Varas' superior pool knowledge in independently selecting the roster, to get a first look at evaluating what he has to work with. Varas could also be coordinating with Pochettino if Mikey is to be retained for the senior or youth teams. So that means Mauricio would have input on selections & his system. I also don't think the next 2 years should be about calling up almost all of Gregg's players because of grandfathering in or Euro associations, & then just drilling in a system.