USMNT 2019

[utee94 15830]

WOW what a goal!

[Braff Zacklin 13617]

Just now, RamjetFDO said:

Nipple pokes it in!

ISWYDT.

More of a Nip chip, tbh.

[gsoda3 3262]

i haven't watched zardes play in probably a year and a half, but that was a different zardes than i'm used to seeing.  what a confident first touch, and he knew exactly where he needed to go and what he wanted to do on and off the ball.

[GlenFromTheMailRoom 1612]

Zardes played better but I’m not convinced he should see time before any other attacking options we have.  One match of having semi-competent touch doesn’t make a career.  Overall his positioning was better but the offense really opened up when he was subbed off.   If you go back and watch some of the balls into the box to him, he still shits the bed when it gets near him if he’s trying to put it on goal.

I do like what Berhalter is doing strategy wise and I’ll admit I hated the hire at first.  2 of 2 is a good start however Ecuador will be a bigger challenge.  Nipple scored a really nice goal - would have been a pk had it not gone in.

The gold cup should be a lot of fun to watch when some of our better players make it into the team.  If we deploy the same type of attack with a better finisher (Sargent) and better service (pulisic & mckinnie) watch out.

Edited February 2, 2019 by GlenFromTheMailRoom

[Braff Zacklin 13617]

So Ecuador on March 21, then Chile on the 26th? Looking forward to that.

The Panama and Costa Rica friendlies were exciting. Definitely some up-and-coming talent that, if nothing else, should add quality depth. Lima and Lewis impressed. Trapp and Lleget also shone.

Zardes is a known quantity and played OK, but no way in hell he starts once Berhalter rolls out our A or even B sides. I just hope we've seen the last of Altidore but am sure that's desperately wishful thinking.

[ztejas 43467]

46 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

i haven't watched zardes play in probably a year and a half, but that was a different zardes than i'm used to seeing.  what a confident first touch, and he knew exactly where he needed to go and what he wanted to do on and off the ball.

Yeah he's actually pretty damn good in space. Just cant finish worth a shit or do anything decisive inside the box. 

He would keep earning starts in a different era, but we are just too flooded with talent that can operate in space AND finish AND set up others that he's going to spend most of his time on the sideline.

32 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

The Panama and Costa Rica friendlies were exciting. Definitely some up-and-coming talent that, if nothing else, should add quality depth. Lima and Lewis impressed. Trapp and Lleget also shone.

Assuming you didnt mention Zimmerman because it's obvious to everyone hes a stud in the making.

[ztejas 43467]

33 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

So Ecuador on March 21, then Chile on the 26th? Looking forward to that.

The Panama and Costa Rica friendlies were exciting. Definitely some up-and-coming talent that, if nothing else, should add quality depth. Lima and Lewis impressed. Trapp and Lleget also shone.

Zardes is a known quantity and played OK, but no way in hell he starts once Berhalter rolls out our A or even B sides. I just hope we've seen the last of Altidore but am sure that's desperately wishful thinking.

Pulisic, 2 out of 3 of Weah/Wood/Sargent and whoever earns the 4th spot opposite Christian should be our 4 up front. 

Adams, McKennie, Brooks should all be locks as well. Probably Miazga, too, but seems he's hit a bit of a rough patch overseas.

[Ted Lange 16110]

This C team would’ve beat our last qualifying squad 7 times out of 10. Coaching matters 

[Bottlecap 1523]

so we like berhalter or nah?

[Braff Zacklin 13617]

1 hour ago, ztejas said:

Assuming you didnt mention Zimmerman because it's obvious to everyone hes a stud in the making.

Mosdef. I even celebrated his professional foul at the end of the match that earned him a yellow. Smart play.

24 minutes ago, Bottlecap said:

so we like berhalter or nah?

He looks like a wimpy Bob Bradley out there, but it's hard to complain with the result so far. Seems to understand player strengths and weaknesses.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Braff Zacklin

[Texasborn91 938]

That last 30 minutes was fun to watch. Excited to see how we look with the full squad 

[Napoleon 8687]

5 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

If the past two friendlies are representative of Nick Lima's game, htf is he not in Europe?

I just kind of watched some of the 2nd half against Panama without paying too much attention, but I definitely like Nick Lima's game and there's no question that he should be called into the March camp before the CONMEBOL matches. He looks and plays like a Chilean midfielder/defender and that's a definite compliment given how much Chile has shown over the last 5 years.

 

5 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Lletget has been legit since subbing for Mihailovic.

According to Wiki:

[Sebastian Lletget was] Born in San Francisco, California to Argentine parents. (So that explains why he's so good.)

Also according to Wiki: "In April 2016, it was confirmed that Lletget is in a relationship with Mexican-American singer Becky G."

NOTE: I'd never heard of Becky G, but she was barely 19 in April of 2016 and here's a video of hers from 2017. (I have no idea if they are still together, but I hope for Lletget's sake that they are.)

 

 

4 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

So Ecuador on March 21, then Chile on the 26th? Looking forward to that.

The Panama and Costa Rica friendlies were exciting. Definitely some up-and-coming talent that, if nothing else, should add quality depth. Lima and Lewis impressed. Trapp and Lleget also shone.

Zardes is a known quantity and played OK, but no way in hell he starts once Berhalter rolls out our A or even B sides. I just hope we've seen the last of Altidore but am sure that's desperately wishful thinking.

I liked the play of all 4 of the bolded names above, plus the play of Zack Steffen. I guess that Walker Zimmerman has played well, but his lack of speed kind of worries me. I also thought that Christian Ramirez made some good runs in the short time that he was in there in each game.

I think that Djordje Mihailovic looks the part, but he didn't have a good first half and only slightly improved the weight of his passes in the second half, but he was constantly drawing fouls the entire time he was in there.

Will Trapp isn't as tall as Michael Bradley, but I much prefer his play as the steady veteran linking the team together to that of Michael Bradley. I think that Trapp has showed enough to put Bradley out to pasture for good. (Not that I didn't think that before.)

 

3 hours ago, Bottlecap said:

so we like berhalter or nah?

Gregg Berhalter played 15 years in Europe with zero speed. He had to be smart about tactics and positioning to survive that long over there. It appears to me that he is going to be a good head coach and I like Josh Wolff on the bench. 

But perhaps because 14 of Berhalter's 15 years in Europe were in The Netherlands or Germany, Berhalter speaks English in his interviews like a German guy who studied in the US for a year in high school or college. His English is excellent, but he enunciates like an ESL guy and occasionally some of his vowels sound a little off. It's kind of funny to listen to.

[Ted Lange 16110]

Good stuff Nap.  

[Bottlecap 1523]

speaking of weah, he had a bit of a match today

 

 

[shnsajax 3591]

I had not seen this video until today and had underestimated Sargent's footwork and vision.

[ztejas 43467]

15 minutes ago, shnsajax said:

I had not seen this video until today and had underestimated Sargent's footwork and vision.

 

I honestly think he has the highest ceiling of any of our young prospects. He is a special, special player and shouldn't be at Bremen for much longer.

[Braff Zacklin 13617]

I'm impressed--Carrot Top seems comfortable with contact and with being tightly marked. The lack of this sort of composure has been the USMNT's greatest weakness since ... forever.

[Napoleon 8687]

On 12/22/2018 at 11:37 PM, Napoleon said:

I also remember one of the announcers during the series of meaningless friendlies say that Sargent's legs were like "tree trunks". I hadn't noticed, but took it to mean that he could hold his own against experienced defenders if he were to play with his back to the goal.

Well, the ESPN article about his second goal has a shot of him walking back to midfield after scoring his and he appears to put everyone else in the photo to shame.

Um, yeah. I don't know everyone's age in this photo, but I'm fairly certain that Josh is the youngest by far. He doesn't look like he'll be pushed around too much on the pitch.

http://www.espn.com/soccer/werder-bremen/story/3734937/uss-josh-sargent-strikes-in-werder-bremen-loss-to-rb-leipzig

 

37 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

I'm impressed--Carrot Top seems comfortable with contact and with being tightly marked. The lack of this sort of composure has been the USMNT's greatest weakness since ... forever.

BZ, perhaps you missed this post on the 2018 thread. Sargent has got a couple of tree trunks holding him up (redwoods?), so he probably chuckles at contact. 

[LurkingHorn 1066]

Really exciting time to follow the Bundesliga for US fans. Adams appears to be close to winning a starting spot, Sargent getting minutes, and McKinnie a lock starter. I'm really wishing Pulisic would have stayed or even gone to Bayern over moving to the Prem. It just seems like he's walking into major dysfunction. 

[shnsajax 3591]

I don't know, Chelsea could get 150 for Hazard and sell off a few others and reload pretty quickly and I hate Chelsea.

[Napoleon 8687]

14 hours ago, LurkingHorn said:

Really exciting time to follow the Bundesliga for US fans. Adams appears to be close to winning a starting spot, Sargent getting minutes, and McKinnie a lock starter. I'm really wishing Pulisic would have stayed or even gone to Bayern over moving to the Prem. It just seems like he's walking into major dysfunction. 

Where are you seeing this about Adams?

I would think that it would be a while before he was even a regular making the bench. Then he would need to show that he was worth of being a late game sub. Maybe over the summer he would challenge for being a rotational starter.

I haven't seen anything about him with Leipzig other than he was transferred.

[Napoleon 8687]

2 hours ago, Napoleon said:

Where are you seeing this about Adams?

I would think that it would be a while before he was even a regular making the bench. Then he would need to show that he was worth of being a late game sub. Maybe over the summer he would challenge for being a rotational starter.

I haven't seen anything about him with Leipzig other than he was transferred.

From Soccer By Ives...

Adams, RB Leipzig shut out Wolfsburg in German DFB Pokal

Tyler Adams has made quite the impact since stepping on the pitch for RB Leipzig. Wednesday saw Adams earn his third consecutive start for Ralf Rangnick’s side and he did not disappoint.

Adams played the full 90 minutes and helped Leipzig to a quarterfinal berth in the German DFB Pokal with a 1-0 triumph over Wolfsburg...

https://sbisoccer.com/2019/02/adams-rb-leipzig-shutout-wolfsburg-in-german-dfb-pokal

Now I see where this comes from. I would say that starting 3 games in a row AND holding the opposition to only 1 shot on goal (from the article) that he's fitting in nicely.

This is great to see.

 

 

[ztejas 43467]

5 hours ago, Napoleon said:

Where are you seeing this about Adams?

I would think that it would be a while before he was even a regular making the bench. Then he would need to show that he was worth of being a late game sub. Maybe over the summer he would challenge for being a rotational starter.

I haven't seen anything about him with Leipzig other than he was transferred.

Adams is a fucking stud. He's too good to be sitting on the bench at Leipzig. 

Keep in mind he had over 50 apps with New York as a teenager. MLS is MLS but that is uncommon - especially with a club like that that has a bit more money. 

[Ted Lange 16110]

http://americansoccernow.com/articles/predicting-berhalter-s-march-roster-what-will-a-full-team-look-like

Predicting Berhalter's March roster: what will a full team look like?

GOALKEEPERS
 

1)      Zack Steffen
2)      Ethan Horvath
3)      Brad Guzan

CENTRAL DEFENDER

4)      John Brooks
5)      Matt Miazga
6)      Aaron Long
7)      Walker Zimmerman

 

FULLBACKS
 

😎    DeAndre Yedlin
9)     Nick Lima
10)   Fabian Johnson
11)   Antonee Robinson

 

CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS

12)   Tyler Adams
13)   Weston McKennie
14)   Michael Bradley
15)   Wil Trapp

 

WINGERS/ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS
 

16)   Christian Pulisic
17)   Paul Arriola
18)   Cristian Roldan
19)   Sebastian Lletget
20)   Duane Holmes

FORWARDS

21)   Tim Weah
22)   Bobby Wood
23)   Josh Sargent
24)   Jozy Altidore
25)   Andrija Novakovich

[drt 639]

Well that would be cool.

[ztejas 43467]

If we could just clone Pulisic and have one of them play left back we would be set. 

[VinyVango 694]

6 hours ago, Ted Lange said:

http://americansoccernow.com/articles/predicting-berhalter-s-march-roster-what-will-a-full-team-look-like

Predicting Berhalter's March roster: what will a full team look like?

GOALKEEPERS
 

1)      Zack Steffen
2)      Ethan Horvath
3)      Brad Guzan

CENTRAL DEFENDER

4)      John Brooks
5)      Matt Miazga
6)      Aaron Long
7)      Walker Zimmerman

 

FULLBACKS
 

😎    DeAndre Yedlin
9)     Nick Lima
10)   Fabian Johnson
11)   Antonee Robinson

 

CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS

12)   Tyler Adams
13)   Weston McKennie
14)   Michael Bradley
15)   Wil Trapp

 

WINGERS/ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS
 

16)   Christian Pulisic
17)   Paul Arriola
18)   Cristian Roldan
19)   Sebastian Lletget
20)   Duane Holmes

FORWARDS

21)   Tim Weah
22)   Bobby Wood
23)   Josh Sargent
24)   Jozy Altidore
25)   Andrija Novakovich

I'd be happy with that.  It would be nice to have young players who are acclimated to playing together.

[Napoleon 8687]

It would be a dream is Michael Bradley didn't suit up for either match.

And will Jozy pick up a knock:
1) Before the camp?
2) During the camp?
3) In the first match?

[Ted Lange 16110]

4. Warming up for the first match

[ztejas 43467]

No no. 20 seconds into the first match so we have to burn a sub.

[Napoleon 8687]

I glanced at Soccer By Ives' site and saw someone about the former USMNT midget - "Chris Armas introducing 'some different ideas' tactically to Red Bulls".

After initially be thankful once again that Armas got injured in the run up to the 2002 World Cup, which paved the way for a relatively untested Pablo Mastroeni to not only make the roster, but become a pseudo-star for the team. (Pablo started and played 90+ minutes in both wins and 80 minutes in the loss to Germany, but didn't play in the tie with S. Korea or the loss to Polan.) I also was thinking "Who did Armas replace for the NYRB job?"

I looked it up and was reminded that Jesse Marsh had quite the NYRB job mid-season last year to become an Assistant for RB Leipzig... where our recently mentioned Tyler Adams has quickly made himself a regular in the starting XI.

Marsh went to Princeton, so he's a little different cat than the average soccer player and his willingness to give up a manager's spot to become an assistant coach shows that he is willing to adapt and take a less traditional route to possibly becoming a European manager. Also, I'm sure that he has really helped Tyler adapt to life in Eastern Germany and life in the Bundesliga. I'm not going to say that Jesse is probably like a father figure to Tyler, but I'm sure that he is serving as a favorite teacher looking out for his former pupil and it seems to working out well for both of them with Leipzig solidly in 4th place (4 points and +15 GD over 5th place) in the Bundesliga, where the Top 4 slots go to the Champions League next year.

Leipzig has won 2 in a row in league play in addition to winning in the DFB Polka (German Cup). So they are 3 - 0 with Tyler starting. Not too shabby.

Here's a generic interview with Tyler, but he seems like he is ~23 to 25... but I think that it was from a year ago, right before the 2018 season for NYRB. He would have just turned 19 when he gave this interview. Compared to college football players & basketball players... wow.

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=3402055

Edited February 8, 2019 by Napoleon

[Ted Lange 16110]

 

[Napoleon 8687]

RB Leipzig decided that they were tired of winning, so they didn’t start Tyler Adams and only I erred him at 90’+1.

They drew 0-0.

Wonder if they are going to want to start winning again for their next match. 

[Ted Lange 16110]

I 

 

[Ted Lange 16110]

No biggie just a 20 year old American steamrolling right through the heart of the Bayern defense in a Bundesliga match...

 

[Napoleon 8687]

So is Weston pretty much playing the #8 for Schalke?

Would Tyler Adams be the #6?

Can we have squad where no one can possibly argue that Michael Bradley should even be on the bench?

[Ted Lange 16110]

Weston has played everything from cb to striker for schalke 

[ztejas 43467]

On 2/9/2019 at 12:52 PM, Napoleon said:

RB Leipzig decided that they were tired of winning, so they didn’t start Tyler Adams and only I erred him at 90’+1.

They drew 0-0.

Wonder if they are going to want to start winning again for their next match. 

Hasn't he been playing a shit-ton of minutes as of late? Maybe he needed a bit of rest. The last thing they want is for him to blow an ACL and ruin his transfer value. He ain't staying at Leipzig. 

Yeah, he played 90' 3 days prior in the Pokal. Understandable they wouldn't start him. 

Edited February 11, 2019 by ztejas

[Napoleon 8687]

Josh came on in the 75th minute and helped save the day for Werder Bremen.

[Napoleon 8687]

Tyler Adams gets his first Bundesliga assist:

 

If you watch the entire video, you see that he is still definitely learning. He makes plenty of mistakes in addition to his good plays.

Here's an article about today's assist. https://sbisoccer.com/2019/02/adams-records-first-assist-for-rb-leipzig

 

[shnsajax 3591]

Tyler Adams gets his first Bundesliga assist:
[/url]  
If you watch the entire video, you see that he is still definitely learning. He makes plenty of mistakes in addition to his good plays.
Here's an article about today's assist. https://sbisoccer.com/2019/02/adams-records-first-assist-for-rb-leipzig
 

The cut and turning the defender for a quick pass was nice. I’m ok w a 20 year old learning in Germany.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Knoxtnhorn 6054]

On 2/9/2019 at 5:33 PM, Ted Lange said:

Weston has played everything from cb to striker for schalke 

I watched the 2nd half of his game.  He was all over the field.  They were playing with 10.  It was like watching Bradley on one of his best days - except with speed.

[Napoleon 8687]

U.S. Soccer president Cordeiro: Confederations Cup is no more, Gold Cup might be discontinued

Carlos Cordeiro hinted the FIFA Confederations Cup and CONCACAF Gold Cup might not be around much longer. 

As part of the annual U.S. Soccer general meeting, federation president Carlos Cordeiro said that the FIFA Confederations Cup won’t be played again, and the reverberations could be felt in the biennial CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The Confederations Cup has been contested every summer before the World Cup since 2005, collecting the reigning continental champions along with the current World Cup champion and upcoming host nation for an eight-team tournament.

But with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar taking place during the winter due to extreme heat, FIFA announced plans last year to do away with the Confed Cup. Potential replacements have been floated, including an expanded Club World Cup, which is held in relative anonymity every December.

While there’s been no official word from FIFA, Cordeiro seemed to confirm the Confed Cup has been shuttered, and offered another possible replacement.

“It’s done and over with,” he said, according to The Athletic. “In place of Confederations Cup there will be intracontinental playoffs to get to that 48-team (World Cup).”

That would certainly be enticing for soccer fans, but what about teams that look at the Confed Cup as a reward, a proving ground?

Teams like the United States?

One of the U.S. men’s national team’s high-water marks was finishing as runners-up at the 2009 Confed Cup, during which the Yanks handed Spain its only competitive loss in a major tournament during its stretch of winning back-to-back-to-back European Championships and the 2010 World Cup.

Playing in the Confed Cup has been a big prize for teams in CONCACAF. The USMNT used the 2009 edition as a stepping stone to winning its group in South Africa the following summer. Mexico played in the 2017 tournament and shocked defending champion Germany to open last summer’s World Cup before reaching the knockout stages.

Winning the Gold Cup represents a chance for teams like the United States and Mexico to test themselves against world-class competition – and those chances are few and far between, considering Europe and South America are wildly more competitive than North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Cordeiro went on to say the Gold Cup could be scrapped after the 2021 edition.

“The Gold Cup is only legislated for this year and 2021, so it could go on but it may not happen,” he said.

“There have been talks in the last year between CONMEBOL (the South American confederation) and CONCACAF on a kind of combined Copa America,” he added, “but they haven’t been able to come to an agreement on that.”

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/u-s-soccer-president-cordeiro-confederations-cup-no-gold-cup-might-discontinued-204617821.html

[Braff Zacklin 13617]

This blows. I like the Confed Cup. Fuck FIFA and fuck Qatar.

[LurkingHorn 1066]

10 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

This blows. I like the Confed Cup. Fuck FIFA and fuck Qatar.

I like it as well. I'm kind of meh on the combined Copa America. I'd like to keep our own confederation's tournament but have it every 4 years instead of every 2. 

[Bottlecap 1523]

Hope Qatar was worth it Sepp et al, you fucking pieces of shit

And do they mean they're gonna scrap one out of the two Gold Cups? Why would they do away with a whole Confed championship tournament? I hope we do join some sort of permanent Copa America tho. 

[Napoleon 8687]

Mix Diskerud showing some skill as his team wins 5-1 in its quest to reach the group stage of the Asian Champions League.

 

[Bartles 769]

Cordeiro casually drops in "intercontinental playoffs" with no logistical details...probably no more convenient than current set up

[ztejas 43467]

6 hours ago, Napoleon said:

Mix Diskerud showing some skill as his team wins 5-1 in its quest to reach the group stage of the Asian Champions League.

 

All 14 fans in attendance were riveted. As were the dozens more watching on TV.

[gsoda3 3262]

didn't know that's where diskerud was playing now.