The attack is naturally almost exclusively from Europe. Landon Donovan & Jordan Morris were the recent-ish exceptions. But those guys typically develop & get noticed early. That's true, to a lesser extent w/ MF's & FB's. Though there's less emphasis on D now. In the past you'd see a destroyer like Mastro have a lot of value for us. Much of the true d positions should naturally normally be from MLS - Zimm, Miles, Besler, Pope, Conrad, Turner, etc. Defensive players develop & get noticed later (many go to college 4 yrs). Their contributions are more subtle. Anyone who starts to cull that group out of prejudice are going to have problems, like Berhalter in Copa w/ CCV (even always starting Richards) or WCQ'ing w/ Brooks. In this area it'd be ideal to have a manager who looks at player's individual merits & give them a few chances when they're standing out in leagues around our domestic league's level above. It's not lost on me foreign managers may be prejudicial, leading to pitfalls. Or that domestic managers have won all WC's. Or that 15 of 16 managers who made the KO's last time were domestic. Or that domestic managers have been better on average here. I imagine I'll be frustrated w/ this aspect of Pochettino. It could lead to things not working out as well as it looked on paper. But he's a good enough manager it's worth a try, unlike Klinsmann. I hope players in MLS right now can find their way to Europe between now & the WC, so this is less of an issue, like Aidan Morris & Caleb Wiley, who magically became good enough overnight! But financial considerations are a thing, and it takes at least 2 to tango.
Landon Donovan was over 10 years ago, and like 8 coaches ago (Klinsy, Arena, Sarachan, Gregg, Hudson, Callaghan, Gregg, Poch)... More inventing a fake guy to be mad at:
Carrick? You replaced the name Nancy with Carrick, mistakenly. He has been looking just like this in MLS for the last 2 years.
I said recent-"ish". Anyway, we're talking 3-4 positions in the best xi that may not turnover for that long. I mean Pulisic has almost been starting as long as Donovan wasn't viable. It's not a big group of players. I also said those were "exceptions". In addition, Dempsey & Altidore were likely best xi still for a few yrs after they came back to MLS. Could count them, if we want to be technical here. Besides, your argument is a pedantic one. It was in the context of me saying by and large the attack would naturally come from Europe.
They've done well even without Davies. Canada have developed a good first XI. They've also shown flexibility in approach and formation.
Nowhere near Davies. Also a single player can carry you from 60 to 30. It's more difficult to break into the top ten.
Shrug. Once you get up into the top 40, the rankings are pretty volatile. There's not much gap between a lot of the 2nd tier nations and then you have the top 10. I think there's a real danger of overanalyzing sheer rankings. Berhalter had two really bad results against lowly ranked teams in games that mattered this cycle. T&T in the Nations League and Panama in the Copa America. Both when he had players get inexplicably red carded in the first half. That happens..................and your ranking plummets inside that top 40. But is that a true reflection of the team? In some ways yes and in some ways no. The computer and formula doesn't care how it happened. It doesn't care that the Gold Cup draw (and loss in penalties) at the 2023 Gold Cup was with a real reserve team. As far as this discussion of Europe based players...............having a squad of predominantly European-based players doesn't distinguish us from anybody in the top 30 in the World. It doesn't distinguish us from say, Japan. And Japan has never made it past the Round of 16 at a World Cup. Teams in the top 30 like Turkey, Sweden, Poland, etc. have some exceptional players. Hungary at 31 with Szoboszlai and friends.
18 years ago Canada didn't have a single professional team. Of course they're getting better. They've also produced a couple of stars along the way. John Herdman could have been in charge of that lot and they would have shot up the FIFA rankings. Wait...what?
Canada has always had good players. They didn't win the Gold Cup in 2000 with scrubs. They had the top scorer, best player, and best young player at that event. [Of course, Davies is a step above that talent level of 2000. He's been the best player in the World at his position.] ...................one of Canada's problems over time was a real inability to retain and recruit dual-nationals. A task they're much better at now. They COULD have had some real stars in the past. Owen Hargreaves and those guys. They also just couldn't get over the hump in terms of that really impactful result. That hump was usually named Honduras.
I don’t think that’s quite true. The current Canada team is definitely their most talented ever and it’s not even close. It’s not just the difference between having Owen Hargreaves or not. They’ve had a definite uptick in talent over the last five years. Have you looked at their 2000 roster? It included players who played for the Baltimore Blast, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, and a team called the Toronto Olympians. The team was a mix of lower division guys in Europe and the US. Even their best player Craig Forrest was a backup at West Ham at the time. It was mostly a fluke run that avoided both the US and Canada (though a good win against Columbia in the final) but the talent level isn’t even close to their current team. Carlo Corazzin who was the leading scorer I believe the highest level he ever played was the third tier of England. And Richard Hastings the best young player similarly mostly spent his career kicking around lower divisions in Europe. There’s a reason they finished 6th in the Hex in 98 and didn’t even qualify for in 2002 (and in neither instance was the stumbling block Honduras).
Busio extends contract till June of 2026. Busio 2026.🟠⚫️🟢https://t.co/XYnYqXsMtS pic.twitter.com/Mib7EQNIa2— Venezia FC (@VeneziaFC_EN) September 7, 2024
Currently 1-1 in the 54th minute. 🇺🇸 Gaga Slonina and Donovan Pines start for Barnsley today against Bristol Rovers. You can watch on Paramount+ 🇺🇸 https://t.co/HGncZ4C0pe— American Ultras Talk (@ameriultrastalk) September 7, 2024
And both Americans played a part in the Bristol Rovers goal. Mistake here by both Pines and Slonina, leading to a goal against 🙃 pic.twitter.com/GRrlAi8150— 🇺🇸USMNTvsHaters (@USMNTvsHaters) September 7, 2024
Barnsley win 2-1 and up to third place despite pines snd Gaga’s less than ideal day at the office . Currently in 3rd. Deadpool FC in first
That’s Slonina’s mistake. You have to call the guy off the ball and collect it cleanly. Pines was doing his job.
Any update on this? Is it possible that Aidan Morris actually did get better from when he looked below average in January friendlies? < thinking emoji > This was phenomenal play from Aidan Morris. He’s taking advantage of the interim coach vacuum 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/VEbUGC2VfI— USMNTrev (@Eyesandvibes) September 7, 2024 .@v_sospiffy back on the scene once again! This time with Aidan Morris post match. You’ll want to hear his response when asked if he felt like he made a statement today pic.twitter.com/KBEHi2otgp— scuffed (@scuffedpod) September 7, 2024
The best Canadian player today is David who could play for USMNT. The best US player today is A. Morris who could play for Canada. Wired.
The midfield competition is going to be interesting. Lest we forget, midfielders not on this roster include Tanner Tessmann in Ligue 1, Busio and McKennie in Serie A, Maloney in the Bundesliga, and hopefully a healthy Adams in the Premier League. All in theory.................playing at a higher level than Morris. It was really important for Aidan to play at the level he did against Canada. If a guy like Johnny or Musah or whomever isn't playing well, their spot should rightfully be at risk. Its been a while since Musah has had a standout game for the USMNT. And no, he's not a different player than he was a month ago. Aidan Morris was doing this for the Crew. A big part of why the Crew excelled like they did while he was there. It wasn't an accident.