When at Dortmund, there was a year he had the most tackles in the attacking third of any player in Europe’s top 5 leagues. Yeah, you read that right, he was a high pressing machine. He did this while playing right wing. Quite simply, he’s not ‘the man’. He’s not Batman, he’s Robin. I also don’t think he’s a leader. I think Pulisic is important, but he shouldn’t be the focal point. I think someone like Aaronson has the potential to be a focal point and leader. Musah isn’t afraid to handle the ball in midfield, he is more important in moving the ball forward than Pulisic.
It's all nonsense. A ridiculous waste of time. Every cycle we spend 4 years convincing ourselves that the US has all these briliant young players, and then when its time to produce they fall flat on their faces. Yet we are sure that THIS year will be different. Heres a hint: it wont be. In 2022 the USMNT has played seven teams that will be in Qatar. Not only have they won only once (Morocco) they have been SHUT OUT six of the seven. The only team they scored against was, again, Morocco. Theyve now gone 400+ minutes without scoring. Against the Japanese they didn`t even have a shot on goal. They are shitty, they are going to stink up the place in Qatar and the US will once again drag their sorry butts home, hire a new coach and start talking about how, in 2026, a new crop of brilliant young players will lead us to glory. Anyone who thinks differently is delusional.
England is also going through a similar spell of results and "They Still Suck" mentality around the team. My guess is it's a coin flip for which team gets their sh!t together and makes it out of the group...the other team implodes and fires their manager.
Just to be clear, US Soccer hires coaches for a specific, defined tournament cycle. This is true from the U-16's through the senior nationals, men and women both. So in truth, whenever the US 2022 WC campaign ends, be it with either an elimination or, 30 days later, with them winning the Cup, Berhalter's contract will expire. So technically he won't be fired no matter what happens. They may or may not offer him a new contract but that's not exactly the same thing.
Forget that. If we selected Random Fan of the week to be head coach, we would have better odds of beating Detroit, Dayton, and Cincy for some hardware.
I get what you're saying. I'm not saying I think this team is going to win the cup this year or in 2026. But i do think we have more talent than ever. They do have other issues seemingly holding them back. 2002 had a much shallower talent pool, but I would pick that team over this one. History says we get out of the group; US stinks it up at World Cups in Europe and advances when not in Europe. I'm not sure why that is. I also think we have about as good of a draw as one could ask for. There is no reason they can't win the group. Of course, that may play to their ego and they could fall flat on their face.
That said, and I do not disagree, our talent level is far above what it was when we hosted the World Cup and MLS started. Light years ahead.
Well, when kids of guys who went over to play in the big European leagues back then are also now playing there, that's a step in the right direction.
Are we surprised one of, if not the youngest team heading to the world cup plays inconsistent as a group? We have never had near this level of talent, but they are green. It will be fun to watch, but I won't lose any sleep on results. Going in with low expectations and getting experience for 2026. I need to start saving money for 2026.
You only said that after Porter was hired. Prior to that, you said that Portland won the 2015 MLS Cup because Porter was a better coach than Berhalter.
This is also true. Sports are very complicated, Crewster. Lots of ins, lots of outs, lots of what have yous. Lotsa strains in hangthadj's head.
The 26 Man Roster - Based on who I think makes the plane. Added bold for who I would take if it was me making that decision. GK (3) Matt Turner Zach Steffen Ethan Horvath DEF (8) Sergino Dest Antonee Robinson Walker Zimmerman Chris Richards Aaron Long Deandre Yedlin Joe Scally Mark McKenzie (Tim Ream if my team) MID (7) Weston McKennie Yunus Musah Tyler Adams Kellyn Acosta Malik Tillman Luca De La Torre Christian Roldan (Djordje Mihailovic if my team) FWD (8) Christian Pulisic Tim Weah Gio Reyna Brenden Aaronson Jesus Ferreira Jordan Pefok Josh Sargent Paul Arriola
Those kids are also getting signed by much more prestigious clubs than ever before. For some to say that these kids aren’t more talented than in the past is disingenuous.
If Mark McKenzie makes this team GB should be denied entry at customs and deported upon arrival in Qatar, and then fired upon arrival back in the US.
Reggie Cannon if healthy in place of Joe Scally. Sean Johnson instead of Ethan Horvath, unless Horvath magically gets more playing time at Luton Town. Unless Zak can’t get healthy, in which case both Johnson and Horvath sit the bench watching Turner. Otherwise I agree with your picks.
Scally is starting and getting regular time with what appears to be a decent side this season (I'm still not sure how good we are, but the Leipzig win was impressive). But he may be a player for the next cycle.
The entire team is made up of players for the next cycle. That's part of the problem. We have basically zero guys in the 25-28 age range.
He's a player for this Cup because he's one of our best backs. We fall into this trap of believing our players need to be integrated to the team or need experience while forgetting they are playing on a high level every week.
The problem is we have a group of guys who have the energy and desire to play a young man's game and a coach who wants to play a tedious, possession for the sake of possession style.
This is both true and a totally separate issue. Berhalter is a major part of the problem, no doubt. The fact that we don't have any 25-29 year old players in the top 15-20 most talented field players eligible for the USA is a travesty. The Wil Trapp generation of players have zero representation on the National Team. It seems so improbable. The fact that our full national team is basically an Olympic eligible team very much hurts us. It's a reason to be hopeful for 2026. I would be a lot more hopeful for the here and now if Berhalter were not the coach as I think the collection of players we have is no where near being more than the sum of the parts.