What are the USMNT objectives for the Slovenia match? It’s not a FIFA window. Is the match just a way of keeping tabs on potential and second tier USMNT players out of MLS? Is it about keeping those few possible first teamers in shape during the off-season? I wonder if Gregg will skew young with that roster, hoping to challenge the MLSers whose careers are still on an upward trajectory?
The objective is the same as the January camp has been for 20 years. Evaluate the domestic pool (and the few players available from elsewhere) and provide opportunities to test them in a game. And we can run down a big, long list of core USMNTers that got their first taste of the USMNT at January camp. It usually skews young, except in World Cup years. In 2022 we took a lot of the fringe veterans competing for roster spots. It was a roster of Lletget, Yueill, Long, Arriola, Zardes, etc. types. That was a special circumstance. So one expects this roster to skew young with a couple of veteran leaders. Somebody like Zimmerman. I does kind of depend on whether we have a separate pre-Olympics U23 camp at the same time. The U20s..............at SOME POINT..........need to actually get together. Under Klinsmann, January camp did morph into a U23 camp one year as we were giving guys work prior to the qualifying tournament.
Objective??? I doubt there is any real "objective" beyond just making some money. While it "might' expose one or two players that otherwise would go unnoticed the hard truth is that, except for maybe one very young player, there is nobody in MLS that really needs a 'look." What they need is some play in a league and/or with a team that actually can develop beyond CONCACAF level. By "CONCACAF level" I mean just good enough to stay awake for an entire match and even that might be over estimating CONCACAF. The non-FIFA windows camps are really nothing more than just a way for people involved in USMNT selection etc. to appear active when nothing is really happening.
are they really going to have a jan camp and call in these guys and only have 1 match??? have at least 2....otherwise, what are you really doing?
I would say the game itself is actually less important than the month the staff works with and gets to know the players. Particularly the younger guys. So you bring Jalen Neal into January camp in 2023 so you feel comfortable using him in the Gold Cup later in the year. That's the purpose of January camp. The match itself is sorta just the icing on the cake. Not the substance. January camp is, and always has been, a money loser for the USSF. They have to pay the players to be there full-time. In the past, many players really counted on the added income to supplement their paltry MLS salaries. I don't know why anyone would be against January camp. People whine and whine and whine about young players X,Y, and Z not getting a USMNT chance. Then when you have a camp specifically designed to give those players a chance, people bitch about it. What on Earth is wrong with more players getting a look in front of the USMNT staff? What exactly is the problem? If you identify ONE player to carry forward, then it was a worthwhile effort. This is the one time of year a USMNT coach can have an extended look at whomever the hell he wants. Its a time to cast a wide net. A time to say "Hey, I'm curious about this Bernard Kamungo guy. Let's check him out." And if the guy doesn't do well at the camp, and doesn't look up to the standard of the USMNT................THAT'S THE POINT!
Yup. Simply put it is to take a closer look at the players that would not be given a chance in training or in games during FIFA match days.
i dont trust the staff to assess the players in camp let the guys show it on the field youre right though.....the games dont matter to the staff.... my point is if youre going to do all that ....dont just have 1 measly game.....do at least 2, minimum
#1 Identify a back up keeper to Turner. Chris Brady, Patrick Schulte, Drake Callender, and Roman Celentano have an opportunity to make a case. Let it be known that this position is wide open! #2 Expose our u23 future prospects to the senior level. McGlynn, Luna, Gutierrez, McGuire, etc. what a great opportunity. #3 If still available, give John Tolkin ans/or DeJuan Jones a chance to be our back up left back. Even still, a good opportunity for Wiley. #4 Give Zimmerman, and maybe Sands or Miazga, a chance to work primarily with the Olympic team. We’ll need over age players for center back for that tournament. #5 Maybe try to lock in some dual nationals. Noel Buck? Cremaschi? Luna? Etc. All duals. The more they play with the senior team, the more love they’ll feel.
'Keepers are the one position where in match evaluation is mostly unneeded and often counter productive. There are simply not enough reps to evaluate a 'keeper in a match unless they are playing on a team that allows LOTS of play in their own box and, mostly, the USMNT is not that bad.. 'Keepers are best evaluated in practices. Of course 'keepers have some duties that can be evaluated in matches but, mostly, those "duties," like keeping the defense organized, are best taught and evaluated in scrimmages. Remember the common description of a 'keeper's duties, "Long periods of boredom followed by brief moments of total panic."
He’s a talented player. I’ve always enjoyed watching him. It’s too bad we don’t see him on the National team. I would like to see him play alongside our current midfield. He’d offer a change of style that would be tactically helpful.
I don't know why we couldn't get a better opponent. Colombia's domestic side was a nice test last time. Look at the better South American country's domestic sides or Canada. Mexico themselves got Colombia for Dec. This can't be our only game, can it? What's the objective? We need to keep cultivating the pool and have domestic supplements on the A roster. You think people would learn that yet again from the last few camps, but guess not. The roster will be in flux because of the impending transfers. In lieu of removals, here's who I'd like to see: CF: Vazquez, McGuire, White W: Luna, Boyd, Gioacchini, JMo 10: Ferreira, Gutierrez 8: Morris, Tillman, Benja 6: Sands, Atencio LB: Tolkin, Wiley RB: Lennon, Davis CB: Zimm, Neal, Ragen, Craig GK: Callender, Schulte, Celentano
According to an account on Reddit who's leaked scheduling stuff before (he announced this game a few days before The USSF did) we were gonna play Chile too, but it fell through You can choose to believe that or not
There's only so many times they can play that card, huh. They still have a month and a half. Colombia has nobody on the schedule. Pretty hard to believe they could get nobody better than Slovenia's domestic side in that time. It strikes me as a choice for a very winnable match. The feelings aren't so positive coming out of last camp.
I doubt Colombia and their players are interested in doing 2 separate camps during their short off-season, and playing in mid-late January runs right up against the start of their season, so playing Mexico in December was more practical But by all means The USSF can reach out. The idea of intentionally picking an easier game to cheer fans up is absolutely silly. We're playing for a trophy in March and a Copa America right after. Those will determine the mood of the fanbase and not a hybrid B team/U23 result in a non FIFA date friendly. Also The US has played other Balkan Nations in these games and they're not exactly roll overs. I wouldn't expect this one to be much differen These games are almost always a mess, and I imagine the bulk of the evaluation is happening during the actual camp
Yeah, Slovenia won't be a cupcake. A good test for the caliber of players we'll have at this camp. They're hard to judge right now because they've only been playing Euro qualifying in 2023. Finished with an identical record to Denmark in the qualifying group. They qualified for Euro 2024, so surely the Eurosnobs should be out in full force determining this is a good opponent. They'll be evaluating players prior to Euro squad selection.