Pre-match: US v Turkey, June 7 2025 (Friendly)

We'll see.

In the 2021 Gold Cup, we found the core of the defense that would get us to the World Cup. I wonder if we find three consistent starters in this one?

 

We need to do something because Ream is cooked. Watching MLS games right now and he can't defend an orange traffic cone.

 

I do NOT like Ream's current playing level but he is playing close to the way he played is the Nation's League and he was our best defensive presence there.
I would LOVE to see another central defender excel but there are none. We have an abundance of outside defenders that range from decent to very good but our central defended pool is tiny and, at least at Nation's League, Ream was the best.
I do not know who we can get or from where but is is pretty easy to find outside defenders while the central defense is quite lacking.
I do not really know the why of the central defense problem but it could be the utter lack of glamor and therefore most/all USA citizens see almost anywhere else as their preferred place to play. In the central defense the only time you really get noticed is if you score from time to time and the least likely player to score from open play is most any central defender (with the exception of a very few European players like Antonio Rüdiger. Maybe we should go to a three back and designate all of them as "central" and have play defense only and then try to beat the world 7v7. (I know it is not that simple)
I have always thought that good teams, in most any sport, are built around defense. While there are exceptions but it is clear that a solid back line has been what has given the USA most of the wins they have ever had.
We NEED defense first and foremost and if Ream cannot anchor a good defense then he is not part of the solution but, if we do have to drop him we need people that can play central defense to replace him. I have watched a good number of MLS matches this year and the only defense I have seen that was much good was the ones where at least three of the defenders were foreign. I will admit I have not seen a lot of MLS matches but I have seen many and I have not seen even one USA eligible player that plays acceptable defense in the center of the field.
If we have few or no eligible central defenders then taking a slower and weaker one that does have experience makes sense. Also, compared to Ream, I have not seen one MLS based central defender that could replace him right now and that means he should be part if the lineup. He may be slow, but he does have good acceleration, but that does not disqualify him.
Also, as others have said, The Gold Cup is not a place for experimentation at this time and the gap between these friendlies and the Gold Cup so, I believe, Ream needs to fail in these friendlies to disqualify him for the Gold Cup. But if he is somewhere between OK and good then he is one of or center backs for the Gold Cup.

 

That was also a B team where lots of guys got opportunities and a younger overall A team where there was room for guys to break.

Just different circumstances now. A guy or two might break through but the core is largely set.

 

see, this is why the roster never evolves- we/multiple managers have spent five years trying to make sarge happen and all hes done is show he doesnt work at this level.

and if you count ten sentences from the quoted in either direction im sure youll be whining about automatic spots for euro players.

sarge lights up the colaship and thats it. he shouldnt be challenging white (or anyone else) for shit. he shouldnt be in a jan camp discussion. we talk all the time about proven guys- well- sarge is as proven as puli and jedi.

we. are. in. the. mud.

 

Ream has been cooked for a while if you watch his MLS matches.

 

Yeah for a while I was posting bad Ream moments but at this point it feels like beating a dead horse... the bottom line is if Poch is actually watching the games Ream shouldn't get called up anymore because he's clearly well below average just in MLS and again we have 300 Americans playing in MLS so if you're not top tier in MLS what are you doing on the national team.

 

Not watching much Charlotte how much of that is him playing left back?

Though I do think it’s time to try some new people. Ream is experienced enough he can slot in very easily as needed down the line (and hopefully he won’t be).

 

Beware of the source, but if we're going to have one of our higher-profile uncommitted dual-nats make the roster, Downs makes the most sense...........

Streets are saying that Damion Downs 🇺🇸🇩🇪 is Likely to make the #USMNT Roster for the Gold Cup.

Unsure how true this info could be but Downs once again has taken down all of his German Youth team photos of Instagram 🤔 pic.twitter.com/2yWB1lZe0Z

— Edgar (@ConcacafEdgar) May 17, 2025

 

If we're only taking 3 strikers I think you'd be snubbing someone to make that happen

 

White, Pat, and Downs?

 

I think the 3 that should go are Balo, Sarge, and White. Unless Poch is planning on letting some Euro guys stay home this summer

 

I'd put Pepi on the 60 list and see if he's recovered. I think Poch has been very unaggressive on this front and left off players coming back from injury. I'm thinking Wright the last go around where by the time the games happened he had actually played and started about three games. I get those that are just starting to get back but with 60 slots there is room for a few wishful spots.

 

That's what I suggested Poch do for the Nations League with guys like Wright (who had a hat trick right before) but alas he didn't see eye to eye with me on that one...

 

Yes, I remember several of you talking about that for a few players and by the time the team was assembled the rational of not including some top guys returning with a hopeful recovery timeline looked silly. Hoping they've learned from it. I mean the last five guys are throwaways with little to no chance so what harm is it to add a few that could make a big difference if they get healthy?

 

When it comes to bigger picture off-field aspects of the job, what has Poch done so far to indicate he's capable of learning from things, or if capable that he's actually interested in doing so?

 

Supposedly the preliminary roster here

Here’s the preliminary roster. Notable players here are Brady, Ledezma, Freeman, Blackmon, Berhalter, and Sullivan. Notable omissions are Horvath, Banks, Reyna/McKennie/Weah (CWC), and Pepi (injury). Zendejas and T. Tillman are both there even though 1 of them will play in CWC. https://t.co/rEYzvYAaQV

— American Ultras Talk (@usmntaut) May 18, 2025

Unclear if true but a plausible enough list.

 

If that's the real roster, there are some omissions.
I take everything from that particular source with a grain of salt, though.

No Banks would be the notable one that isn't injury or scheduling conflict related.

He's played 24 minutes since February 1st due to a series of small injuries. The most recent one was a thigh problem apparently.

I speculated earlier in this thread that they may choose to send him to the U20 camp this window. The twitterverse has them playing a tournament in Egypt.

 

With how few wingers there are on that list, I do wonder if Yow could sneak on to this roster, especially if Club America win The CWC Playoff

 

Are the supposed omissions that surprising? No Club World Cup guys, no Horvath who didn’t have a good season, no Pepi who is hurt, and no Banks who didn’t play much down the stretch.

 

Not really. Banks is one I would have put on the provisional roster anyway.

LIke.........................Max Dietz is listed there.
A 23 year old CB on a Bund2 team that scraped by without relegation.
Is he going to be on the Gold Cup squad? No.

I think when people see provisional rosters, they want to be wowed with some dual-national they weren't expecting. If they'd seen Brown, Chase, Koleosho or somebody of that ilk, that would have led to some excitement. [Chase is out injured.] We know those guys haven't submitted their one-time switches, but people hope.......................

I also take that guy's tweets with a huge grain of salt.
How would he know?

We heard in the twitterverse that Poch is announcing his Gold Cup squad NEXT WEEK. So, this provisional roster means squadoosh. It doesn't really mean anything. If this thing wasn't leaked, we might have known the Gold Cup roster without seeing the provisional roster.

 

Hmm, yeah, really racking my brain to think of any indication that Poch is good at coaching and I can’t think of anything.

 

I mean the relevancy of the provisional roster is the final roster has to come from the players who are on it. More broadly it gives you a sense as to whether players like Freeman are on the radar or not.

And in terms of the source it’s not one I genuinely put a ton of stock in, but given the provisional has been submitted to CONCACAF already it’s not surprising to me if it would leak.

 

I get it, but we're at a soul-searching moment here with Downs. Gotta go now. Even if he doesn't make the Gold Cup roster, I'm inviting him to the Turkey/Switzerland camp.

With 17 G+A in under 2000 minutes (and very good in limited Bundesliga time last year), Downs will almost certainly get a 🇩🇪U21 Euro invite

If 🇺🇲MNT don't invite him to pre-Gold Cup camp he'll likely be provisionally cap-tied to 🇩🇪 -- & on a realistic eventual path to 🇩🇪MNT pool

— ChuckMe92 Soccer (@ChuckMe92Soccer) May 18, 2025

 

I mean he'd have a full year to file a switch