The Multi-Eligible Player Recruitment Thread (2026 WC Cycle Edition)

Yeah I know. I’m not saying they have nobody. I’m just saying that as soon as he gets regular EPL minutes (at any club) he will likely be on the radar for their national team. That doesn’t guarantee a call up, but there’s a lot less traffic to get through with them at that position than at many others. With what happened at the euros, developing depth there should be a top priority for Southgate’s replacement.

 

I don’t think that’s quite the case as soon as he gets minutes he’d get consideration. Think of Jedi, he’s a regular EPL player and be wouldn’t have gotten any minutes from England until maybe this summer when they were in an injury crisis. The standard for England is much higher than just getting minutes in the EPL.

The thing is they have left backs who Southgate could have taken, he just preferred a right back like Trippier over there (which was a mistake by Southgate).

 

But a guy like Mitchell isn’t an amazing player. He’s good enough to start in the EPL, which is a pretty high standard, but he’s not a standout player. Somewhat similar to Robinson. If Macfarlane is doing something similar within the next 2-3 years, there’s a good chance he’d get called in for England. Shaw will be 31 at the World Cup, and Chilwell 29, and both guys are often injured. I’m not saying McFarlane would automatically be a top choice for them. I’m just saying that if he starts playing reasonably well in the EPL, there’s a good chance the England manager would want to give him a look. Kind of like we’ve given guys like Lund and Tolkin looks. And that might be enough to keep him. It would be different from a guy like Musah, who was ready to help us long before he would’ve gotten a shot with England.

 

I just think McFarlane will get approached by the USMNT far sooner than he does by England.

Someone like Mitchell isn’t a super star or something but someone who’s a regular starter for an EPL team that did decently this year. Similarly Jedi was player of the year for an EPL team.

England is one of the hardest national teams in the world to break into and they have far more depth than we do. They don’t really give chances to the Lund types in their pool because they don’t need to.

For McFarlane to get a chance there he probably needs to be breaking through at Man City as opposed to another club.

Look at someone like Lewis Hall who was a regular starter for Newcastle by the end of the season and is a very good up and coming left back who’s done well with their youth teams. He basically got no consideration from Southgate this summer. Whereas if we had a Lewis Hall in our pool he’d have been on our Copa America roster this summer.

 

Whoever their new coach might do things very differently. Especially if he goes more offensive he could be choosing some very different players and could also take a long view and want to see some younger players in person with the team.

 

How many American players get regular EPL minutes? I wouldn't say it's a given.

I think McFarlane has a role to play with the USA, but to hypothetically get to the level where England will even start considering him for their senior team he has to be the level of like Jedi Robinson (different types of players, but anyway just saying the general level).

Robinson is a top 7-8 USA player. Maybe top 5? That would take a lot for McFarlane to even reach that level. So far he only has a few MLS appearances.

 

I agree with this. I didn’t say it’s likely to happen. I’m just saying that with him being in the EPL and England having little depth at left back, things could happen very quickly there.

our best hope is that he goes out on loan to a championship club or cfg-owned club in Europe for the next 3-4 years, and turns that into a usmnt call up well before he gets England’s attention.

however, if he turns out to be an elite player, he could easily end up logging minutes in the EPL during the 25-26 season. And that could be enough to have England’s coach reaching out to show interest then or soon after.

If he ends up develop quickly, by the time we call him up, he might reasonably decide that an England call-up could follow within 12-18 months and that it would be worth waiting for. Musah was nowhere near and England call up when he chose us. Balogun wasn’t particularly close either. Even though he was trending up a year ago, Kane, Watkins, and Toney were established guys at a position where only one guy plays and there’s little rotation. The English left back spot might be wide open in in the fall of 2026.

 

Theoretically, I take the argument being made, but realistically I don't think he has anywhere near the ability for the England senior team, even if he maximizes his best outcome.

 

Cole Campbell, good thing we won this one...

Renowned Schalke U19 manager Norbert Elgert on Cole Campbell:

"Cole Campbell is a Bundesliga player. He would be a regular in our first team. He is brutally good."

Comes after Campbell scored & assisted twice with the Borussia Dortmund U19s vs Schalke U19 on Saturday https://t.co/THFeSphZtl

— USA Ballers Abroad ⚽️ (@USBallersAbroad) August 12, 2024

 

McFarlane... gotta win this one so we have our eventual Jedi replacement

I knew McFarlane was good but I didn’t think he was “instantly one of the best left backs in Leagues Cup” good, and now I’m hoping he sticks around through the playoffs at least.

— Paul Harvey (@Thundering165) August 14, 2024

 

I don’t think he’d switch for this U20 World Cup but he never played for their U19s so he’d be eligible to do so. He of course could have that opportunity with England for the 2027 U20 World Cup I believe.

 

It probably makes sense for his career to play with England youth teams for as long as he can, unless he has the immediate prospect of USMNT callups.

I don't see anything to worry about or anything we need to win long-term. Maybe I'm underestimating him, but as accomplished as he is for an '07 (and you can argue he's up there at #1 for the 07's), I don't see true England senior team level talent to how he plays the game. If that holds up, it'll be USMNT or no senior team future, as I believe those are the only two nations he's eligible for.

I think he'll be a USMNT level player eventually, but he's not there yet, so we can also use the caveat that he's only worth winning if he becomes a USMNT level player. Again, he probably will, but isn't there yet.

 

I’m told that Esmir Bajraktarevic finalized his decision to play for Bosnia and Herzegovina National Team in the last few days.

Bajraktarevic, who has one cap with the U.S. Men’s National Team, has made his one-time switch. #NERevs #USMNT pic.twitter.com/aYMOnrSrvx

— Seth (@SethMan31) August 16, 2024

 

Not a FIFA one-time switch. He's just changing his preference and could conceivably (though very unlikely) change back. An appearance in NL would mean he could only come back after 3 years while not accumulating 4 caps for Bosnia.

 

I wouldn't even say it's very unlikely. This has been terribly reported by most.

I've read some people reporting he's had a change of heart in the last few days. Yeah, okay, as if these call-ups come together that quickly. This has been in the works for a while (since at least the Olympics, maybe even longer). Obviously appearing at a Bosnia camp doesn't suggest he's committed to the USA. It probably isn't good news.

Yet, we've seen players like Jonathan Gomez play senior team friendlies for the USA, then play senior team friendlies for Mexico, and then later (provisionally) tie himself to the USA. Bajraktarevic hasn't played a single minute for Bosnia. Has never attended one of their camps. I'd hope USSF isn't stupid enough to go along with this being done.

 

I think the tricky thing is with everything in flux who is even on top of this at USSF right now. Is Varas, Mitrovic, or Crocker thinking about this at all right now?

 

Fair point. This is a time that it'd be easier than most to poach players from the US set-up. I hope they're on top of these situations, and whether or not players are poached it's not because the US coaching situation is in flux.

 

Bad few days for dual nats... first we almost certainly lose Esmir to Bosnia, then we find out from Jonathan Gomez' ex that he has "a huge Mexico flag planted on his living room wall"... looks like the reports of him switching to Mexico have some merit. Also fire every youth coach who called in his brother Johan Gomez who SUCKS.

1824568881773433078 is not a valid tweet id

1824576741190279343 is not a valid tweet id

this is the craziest way to find out someone’s commitment 😂😂😂 https://t.co/KB47iIWqNB

— 29 (@DiegoMendoza29_) August 16, 2024

 

Looks like the tweets are now protected, so I'll just point out that not only was it a photo of Jonathan Gomez with "a huge Mexico flag planted on his living room wall" but that his ex-gf was replying to a Mexico fan saying he should switch, and her response was that they had nothing to worry about regarding his loyalties.

I’ll just say that this doesn’t confirm Jonathan Gómez will play for Mexico, he’s allowed to be proud of his heritage and still represent the USA. However, I do think he’ll eventually make the switch and possibly sometime soon. https://t.co/hp6bMPHFLg

— American Ultras Talk (@ameriultrastalk) August 16, 2024

 

The loss of Vargas hurt a bit because he has a lot of quality experience for his age and I think he could be a good CM. Esmir and Gomez? The former may make NT appearances because his new NT isn't very talented. But I would be surprised if Gomez became anything other than a depth piece for Mexico.

 

I don’t think the Mexican flag really means much either way other than him being proud of his Mexican heritage. I wouldn’t read that much into it. If he switches it’s because Mexico is offering senior team opportunities when we are not.

 

Esmir could be a loss in the future and definitely had a role with our youth teams.

Gomez only has the senior team however and has yet to show he’s good enough for either Mexico or the US. More than anything he needs a good club move before anything else.

 

Yeah, we already know that the majority of Mexican American players probably also grew up rooting for El Tri. The majority will go where they get better opportunity. TBD what the case will be for Gomez.

I saw all that rhetoric about Gomez on Twitter and I felt it was all very scummy. I don’t know what happened, but these stories usually have two sides and I truthfully do not care about these players personal lives other than wishing them well and hoping they stay out of trouble. I never like either when people take screenshots of private conversations and then use it against someone. It usually suggests someone who maybe has some culpability towards whatever happened, not only the person they’re trying to expose.

 

Alex Woiski

🇦🇷U20 & Mallorca forward Alex Woiski was reportedly invited to the 🇺🇸U20s. Unsurprisingly he declined but he's a future USMNT option if he doesn't make the 🇦🇷 senior NT. Also invited to 🇮🇹YNT & declined

Credit to UniversalAdvice on BigSoccer for findinghttps://t.co/8vWQkuYFQe

— ChuckMe92 Soccer (@ChuckMe92Soccer) August 23, 2024