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US Men's National Team (17 Viewers)

CletiusMaximus said:
Pulisic is starting in a huge game for Chelsea that just kicked off at Valencia.  Hudson-Odoi is injured, Mount on the bench.  Not to read too much into these past few games, but it really seems that Pulisic is ahead of Mount on the winger depth chart.  When they line up in a 4-3-3 as they are today (and last weekend at Manchester City), the attacking band has been CP and Willian behind Abraham.
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Looks like he and Willian have switched sides today.

 
Quiet half for Pulisic but he did have a fabulous run with the ball late in the half to set up a scoring chance.  Very good game, 1-1 at half now.

 
Wow what a game!

No joke, Valencia should have scored 6 . Missed PK and 3 sitters missed.  A terrible misses too, almost complete whiffs.  It looked like 12 year olds at striker for Valencia.  If they don't advance they are going to be sick.

I expect Pulisic may sit this weekend.  He went the full 97 and the game was end to end.

 
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Reactions: Ned
Pulisic is really settling into his role at the club.  I'd say he's got that LW spot locked up at this point unless his form really drops off.  He'll get rested as their schedule is full for the next 3 months, but I'd bet he'll play every important match going forward as he's consistently looks like their most dangerous player.

Man Chelsea's defense is troubling though.  

 
Very solid full 90 shift for Dest today in their 2-0 win.   It puts Ajax and Chelsea in good spots to get out of the group with one game to play and both teams play at home in the last game.

RBL are in first by 3 points but not yet through.  They may need a draw in their last game to give Adams a shot in the knock out rounds.

RBA are 3 points out of second but looks almost impossible for Marsch to advance the team.  They not only have to play Liverpool in the last game, the team they are chasing, Napoli, plays Genk, who has managed only 1 point in 5 games.

 
Great read for Chelsea fans, I will just clip out the Pulisic love but read the whole thing if you want a bigger team picture

=========

https://www.espn.com/soccer/chelsea/story/3995142/chelsea-are-youngrich-and-among-the-worlds-best-the-scary-part-theyre-likely-to-get-even-better

Among Premier League players who have played at least half of their team's available minutes, Pulisic is third in non-penalty goals plus assists per 90 minutes (NPG+A/90) (1.11) and fifth in expected goals plus expected assists (xG+xA) (0.87), according to the site FBRef.com. When he has been on the field this season, Pulisic has simply been one of the most productive attacking players on the planet.

 
NewlyRetired said:
Great read for Chelsea fans, I will just clip out the Pulisic love but read the whole thing if you want a bigger team picture

=========

https://www.espn.com/soccer/chelsea/story/3995142/chelsea-are-youngrich-and-among-the-worlds-best-the-scary-part-theyre-likely-to-get-even-better

Among Premier League players who have played at least half of their team's available minutes, Pulisic is third in non-penalty goals plus assists per 90 minutes (NPG+A/90) (1.11) and fifth in expected goals plus expected assists (xG+xA) (0.87), according to the site FBRef.com. When he has been on the field this season, Pulisic has simply been one of the most productive attacking players on the planet.
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The best part about it is that it's not invisible.  Sometimes you have guys that have great stats and you wonder how it's possible, but when watching Chelsea, it's very apparent that Pulisic is one of, if not their best attacking player.  Glad to see the stats back up the eye test.

 
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NewlyRetired said:
RBA are 3 points out of second but looks almost impossible for Marsch to advance the team.  They not only have to play Liverpool in the last game, the team they are chasing, Napoli, plays Genk, who has managed only 1 point in 5 games.
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They are only 2 points out of second, but realistically they can only advance in place of first-place Liverpool - by beating Liverpool by 2 goals. They would then have the tiebreaker over Liverpool (Liverpool won 4-3 at RB). A 1-goal victory would only be enough if RB scores 4 or more. RB have a better overall goal difference, so a 4-3 win would put RB in ahead of Liverpool. 
 

tiebreaks:

points between teams

goal difference between teams

goals scored between teams

Away goals scored between teams

goal difference in group (RB +5, LIV +3)

 
I have noticed a change in Pulisic tactics wise when playing for Chelsea vs playing for Dortmund.  I don't know if it player or coach driven.

At Chelsea, Pulisic is far more likely to cut in towards goal when dribbling on the left, vs at Dortmund he held wide a lot looking to make a cross.

Also, Pulisic seems to get deep inside the box when ever the attack is coming from his opposite side when playing for Chelsea.  This has allowed him to pick up some tap in goals as he is not being well marked on these runs.

GGG's biggest responsibility imo is figuring out how to get the most out of Pulisic.  If he is playing this well against some of the best defenders in the world, he should be in a position to shred most Concacaf teams.

 
NewlyRetired said:
I have noticed a change in Pulisic tactics wise when playing for Chelsea vs playing for Dortmund.  I don't know if it player or coach driven.

At Chelsea, Pulisic is far more likely to cut in towards goal when dribbling on the left, vs at Dortmund he held wide a lot looking to make a cross.

Also, Pulisic seems to get deep inside the box when ever the attack is coming from his opposite side when playing for Chelsea.  This has allowed him to pick up some tap in goals as he is not being well marked on these runs.

GGG's biggest responsibility imo is figuring out how to get the most out of Pulisic.  If he is playing this well against some of the best defenders in the world, he should be in a position to shred most Concacaf teams.
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Most Epl teams won't be allowed to kick the everliving crap out of him the way Mexico, Panama, Honduras and surely El Salvador will in the hex. Hell...even socialist huggy bear northern neighbors chopped him down.

And yeah...Gggg doing something tactically to get the most out of one player...I don't see it happening. But would be nice.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Andy.

ETA...and digging the analysis- will have to keep an eye out for that.

 
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:)

==============

@pal_read

Everyone was getting along at my parents house for Thanksgiving, it was getting quite boring. So I asked my dad "Hey dad, do you think Lozano is better than Pulisic?" It's been 15 min of arguing between my dad (Mex) and my brother (USA)

 
The latest rankings from FIFA were released recently.  The hex is close to being set.  I believe only the 6th team has any semi real chance of changing.

Mexico, US, CR, Jamaica, Honduras and ELS are the top 6 now.

Canada is on the outside looking in.  Panama can not make the hex any more.

 
18 year old American Owen Otisowie has been playing in the Wolves U21 team.  Yesterday he not only got invited to travel with the main Wolves club for their Europa league game, he even made the bench.  He did not make his debut but this is probably a good sign that he is being watched closely by Wolves.

Owen was born in the US and moved to England.  He has already represented the US at the youth level but is also eligible for Nigeria and England.

He has also been linked to bigger clubs recently

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7722125/Wolves-starlet-Owen-Otasowie-wanted-Liverpool-Arsenal-PSG.html

 
I am sure there are other examples of this but I can't recall another American's career face planting so hard in his mid 20's after everything before it looked positive.  He is probably just 6 months away from the USL at this rate :(   I guess Jozy had a similar time but at least that was in the EPL.  Wood is struggling in Bundie 2 to even look alive.

============

@BrianSciaretta

Bobby Wood subbed out at HT with HSV trailing Osnabruck 2-0. Per @WhoScored , he only had 15 touches, with 0 shots, 0 key passes. Last week in his first start of the season, he had only 13 touches over 59 minutes with 0 shots and 0 key passes. Brutal season so far for Bobby

 
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Reactions: Ned
Dest, Pomykal, Pepi, Busio, Reyna, and Richards have been nominated for US Young Player of the Year.

Seems like an easy vote for Dest.

In terms of the nominations, I think Uly got screwed.  He played better in the U20WC than either Pepi and Reyna did at the U17 WC, and he has been much better at club level than both Reyna and Pepi imo.

 
NewlyRetired said:
18 year old American Owen Otisowie has been playing in the Wolves U21 team.  Yesterday he not only got invited to travel with the main Wolves club for their Europa league game, he even made the bench.  He did not make his debut but this is probably a good sign that he is being watched closely by Wolves.

Owen was born in the US and moved to England.  He has already represented the US at the youth level but is also eligible for Nigeria and England.

He has also been linked to bigger clubs recently

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7722125/Wolves-starlet-Owen-Otasowie-wanted-Liverpool-Arsenal-PSG.html
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Made the bench today again, this time for a league game.  Very cool.

 
We've talked a lot about Jesse Marsch in here, but another American coach is doing well again.  

David Wagner has Schalke in the top 3 in the Bundesliga and in contention for the UCL in his first season there.  It's even more impressive when considering they barely escaped relegation last year before hiring Wagner.

He was the coach I wanted the US to go after in 2018(although he was killing it with Huddersfield at the time) before they hired GGG.

 
Some US may news..

Stop the presses, Danny Williams came off the bench in the 1st division in...Cyprus.

Mix didn't dress in S Korea

Andrija Novakovich started, scored ONE goal, registered TWO assists, and played 90 minutes in Frosinone’s 4-0 win over Empoli on Saturday

Zack Steffen started, made five saves, and played 90 minutes in Fortuna Dusseldorf’s 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Alfredo Morales started and played 90 minutes for Fortuna Dusseldorf.

John Brooks started, registered ONE assist, and played 90 minutes in Wolfsburg’s 3-2 loss to Werder Bremen on Sunday. 

Josh Sargent came off the bench and played 14 minutes for Werder Bremen

Erik Palmer-Brown started and played 90 minutes in Austria Wien’s 5-0 win over Hartberg on Sunday.

Emmanuel Sabbi started and played 60 minutes in Hobro’s 101 draw with Aalborg on Sunday

Jonathan Amon did not dress in Nordsjaelland’s 1-1 draw with Lyngby on Friday.

Shaq Moore started and played 90 minutes in Tenerife’s 3-1 loss to Almeria on Saturday

Kenny Saief did not dress in Anderlecht’s 3-2 loss to Oostende on Sunday.

Chris Durkin came off the bench and played three minutes in Sint-Truiden’s 2-1 win over Genk on Saturday.

Sergino Dest came off the bench and played 23 minutes in Ajax’s 5-2 win over Twente on Sunday

Haji Wright started and played 90 minutes in VVV Venlo’s 1-0 loss to AZ Alkmaar on Sunday.

Eerste Divisie

Richard Ledesma started and played 83 minutes in Jong PSV’s 3-2 win over  Helmond Sport on Friday.

Alex Mendez started and played 45 minutes in Jong Ajax’s 3-2 win over Telstar on Friday.

Chris Gloster did not dress for Jong PSV.

Josh Pynadeth dressed but did not play for Jong Ajax

 
I don't see this at all.  I hope Lampard does not try this.  Pulisic is not built to be a solitary central striker. 

If you put him in an old fashioned 2 striker setup he could thrive but I think the two CB's will simply pummel him out of many games in a single striker set up.

==========

Pulisic has scored six goals in his last eight appearances for Chelsea and Lampard feels the United States international is an option to start in the No.9 position.

"We'll see,” Lampard said at Stamford Bridge. “He's got an ability to run behind the line and to be sharp in central areas, which will naturally get him more goals but I'm not going to say right now that's the solution. We'll see going forward.”

 
NewlyRetired said:
I don't see this at all.  I hope Lampard does not try this.  Pulisic is not built to be a solitary central striker. 

If you put him in an old fashioned 2 striker setup he could thrive but I think the two CB's will simply pummel him out of many games in a single striker set up.

==========

Pulisic has scored six goals in his last eight appearances for Chelsea and Lampard feels the United States international is an option to start in the No.9 position.

"We'll see,” Lampard said at Stamford Bridge. “He's got an ability to run behind the line and to be sharp in central areas, which will naturally get him more goals but I'm not going to say right now that's the solution. We'll see going forward.”
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Well, that really depends on how they want him to play.  If they're hoping he'll hold up play with his quick dribbling and control he's gonna get killed, but I doubt that is what is planned.  Plus, Mount plays almost like a false 9 instead of a 10 anyway, so he and Pulisic linking up/switching off COULD maybe work.  I assume this is only a possibility if Abraham doesn't recover quickly though.  I'd be pretty shocked if it does happen though.

 
encaitar said:
Well, that really depends on how they want him to play.  If they're hoping he'll hold up play with his quick dribbling and control he's gonna get killed, but I doubt that is what is planned.  Plus, Mount plays almost like a false 9 instead of a 10 anyway, so he and Pulisic linking up/switching off COULD maybe work.  I assume this is only a possibility if Abraham doesn't recover quickly though.  I'd be pretty shocked if it does happen though.
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I know it is so old school these days but man would I love to see a 4-4-2 with Pulisic and Bats playing together up top.  An old fashioned huge banger paired with the smaller dribbler to combo with. 

 
NewlyRetired said:
This is a great read.  The guys at StatsBomb validating what our eyes are seeing in that Pulisic is making the leap from good, to great player.

https://statsbomb.com/2019/12/christian-pulisic-is-on-his-way-to-becoming-a-superstar/
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Wow.  That's a great read.  He's in line - stats wise - with current Salah and Sterling?  That's insane for a 21 year old.  I know we've all held hopes that he could become world class, but if his development continues in this pattern, he WILL be one of the best players in the world.  Exciting.

 
encaitar said:
Wow.  That's a great read.  He's in line - stats wise - with current Salah and Sterling?  That's insane for a 21 year old.  I know we've all held hopes that he could become world class, but if his development continues in this pattern, he WILL be one of the best players in the world.  Exciting.
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What is really exciting for me is that he does not need to "develop" per say from here.  He just needs to "maintain" this level over an extended period (seasons) to be a top 10 player in the world.

Of course we all acknowledge maintaining this level over the entire second half of the season is probably unrealistic but just the fact that we can even mention it is amazing.

If he stays healthy he is going to have lots and lots of chances to shine.  It is going to take multiple poor games to see him removed from lineup (on a consistent basis).

 
blend said:
Someone asked Uly Llanez's dad if we had reached out to Uly re: the Olympic team and his response was that he has only heard from Mexico.

https://twitter.com/ULlanez/status/1201902200852639745?s=20

Which, I understand why he may not be on the Olympic roster, but the lack of communication continues to be amazing to me.
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Every time this issue comes up, it is maddening.  15 seconds to say "great goal this weekend!"

===========

Sr. Ulysses Perez Llanez

As a parent all we ask for is a follow up on this development and just simple phone to the player to tell that his development is reviewed

 
NewlyRetired said:
Not US related but still a very interesting story considering they are the closest comp to MLS

================================

@mexicoworldcup

'Tata' Martino will be talking to Liga MX owners to see if there is a way of reducing the number of foreign players in the league ... concern that players from the 3 U-17 WC finals in eight years won't be given opportunities
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Wow!  Tata got his way..........

==============================

@mexicoworldcup

Official: Reduction of foreigners in Liga MX heading towards 2022 and 2026 World Cups following meeting w/ Tata.

2020/21 -- 11 foreigners in total; 9 max in each starting XI

2021/22 -- 10 total; 8 max in each starting XI

2022/23 -- 9 total; 7 in each starting XI

 
encaitar said:
NewlyRetired said:
This is a great read.  The guys at StatsBomb validating what our eyes are seeing in that Pulisic is making the leap from good, to great player.

https://statsbomb.com/2019/12/christian-pulisic-is-on-his-way-to-becoming-a-superstar/
Click to expand...
Wow.  That's a great read.  He's in line - stats wise - with current Salah and Sterling?  That's insane for a 21 year old.  I know we've all held hopes that he could become world class, but if his development continues in this pattern, he WILL be one of the best players in the world.  Exciting.
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Its funny how the CP reactions are whipsawing.  We don't have to go back too far where his bad start had folks saying his move to Chelsea was a big mistake.  

(Not calling you out specifically)

 
Ned said:
Its funny how the CP reactions are whipsawing.  We don't have to go back too far where his bad start had folks saying his move to Chelsea was a big mistake.  

(Not calling you out specifically)
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You can certainly call me out if you want.  Two months ago it looked like a huge mistake to me.  He was clearly 4th or even 5th option on the wing even behind Pedro, who was playing terribly.  There wasn't a lot of silver lining to be found.  Hell, he got subbed out in a hugely important game for the USMNT less than 2 months ago.  We saw him crying on the sideline!

Apparently it was the best thing that could've happened to him.  Sometimes situations like that break a young player.  They aren't mature enough to deal with it or don't have the fortitude necessary.  Other times you find out there's even more to someone when the trying times come and we've obviously seen that.  Christian obviously took the criticism and benching for what it was and buckled down.  We then heard a few weeks later from Lampard how hard Christian was working in training.  We saw him come on and do exactly what you would hope an attacking sub would do.  Hell, there were a lot of Chelsea fans that thought an attacking sub was his calling for the team after those 3-4 games where he made an impact in them.

When he scored the hat trick against Burnley, some part of me thought it might just be an aberration, but I was obviously still thrilled.  Now that he's continued to score and impact the game for weeks on end it's apparent that it wasn't.  

I've said for a couple weeks now that Christian has looked far and away like Chelsea's best attacking threat, and he has.  That article was great because it showed HOW good he actually has been.  I wouldn't have guessed he wasn't just Chelsea's best attacking threat lately, but one of the best attacking threats in the whole league.  That's incredible and is proof of how his hard work is paying off.  I can only hope that his form continues because it's been a blast to watch.

 
El Floppo said:
Weeks on end = the last few weeks here, right?
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Things turned around for him in early/mid October where he had three very strong second half sub appearances.  Those led to the start against Burnley and the hat trick in late October.  If you include the three sub appearances, it is a run of ten games now, of which at least 8 he has been very good in.

 
This is probably my favorite youth player.  He has a soccer IQ few Americans have had, especially at his age.  He just turned 16 so this training chance in the off season is going to be important for his continued development.

==========

D.C. United

@dcunited

Homegrown Midfielder Moses Nyeman is training with the Borussia Dortmund U-19's in the German Bundesliga this offseason

 
NewlyRetired said:
This is probably my favorite youth player.  He has a soccer IQ few Americans have had, especially at his age.  He just turned 16 so this training chance in the off season is going to be important for his continued development.

==========

D.C. United

@dcunited

Homegrown Midfielder Moses Nyeman is training with the Borussia Dortmund U-19's in the German Bundesliga this offseason
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He's also Liberian right?  Can he get an early visa to play in Europe or is he stuck waiting until 18?

 
encaitar said:
He's also Liberian right?  Can he get an early visa to play in Europe or is he stuck waiting until 18?
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yes he was born in Liberia and moved to the US at a young age.  I don't think he holds a Euro passport via that birth but I don't really understand the rules.

I am hopeful he might get his first pro minutes with DC next MLS season.

 
I noticed the wiki stated that while Moses has played for the US U16 team, he can not yet represent the US in official games so he must still have some citizenship issues to finalize.

 
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