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US Men's National Team (11 Viewers)

for those that have the hopes for a deep US run, you want to root for KSA or Poland today (a Poland draw preferably).

The winner of the US Netherlands game may have a winnable quarter finals game if Argentina does not win the group. The US-Neth winner could be looking at the winner of Aussi/Poland or Aussie/KSA, which is pretty much the best case possible for a quarter final game.

If Argie tops group with a win today, they will play Aussie and then be the likely quarterfinal team the US-Neth winner meets

Obviously, I'd rather make a semifinal but the idea of the US playing Messi and Argentina in the quarterfinals sounds awesome.
 
Fox reporter - "one of our US team doctors specializes in core and pelvic injuries" - not sure why but made me chuckle. Give CP a nut massage and get him back out there.
 
I think you're being too results-oriented here. Things could have played out very differently. If we replayed everything 100 times with GGG making all the same decisions, I think the distribution of outcomes would be something like:
Fail to qualify for WC: 15%
Qualify but eliminated in group play: 45%
Qualify and make it to knockout rounds: 40%
But for events like this, results are all that matters. Probabilities are fun to discuss in advance to see where things are going but the reality is Gregg did guide the young team through without allowing a non-pk goal.
 
Soccer, man...
Ryan O'Hanlon@rwohan

Australia have ... the worst expected-goal differential (minus-3.96) of any team at the World Cup, per
@StatsPerform. They've conceded more shots (50) and more touches inside their own penalty area (110) than any other team, too. I love the World Cup.
 
assuming everyone is available, who are our top 5 PK takers?

that is a tough one because many times the players you want to take them have been subbed out.

I think Jesus and maybe only Haji take them for their club teams.

Obviously Pulisic is first on the list as he has never missed one for the US from what I can remember. I would trust some of the skill players like Dest, and Ream. Weston seems like the moment would not be too big for him.
 

I’m not sure how we’ll known Mike Francesca is nationally but he’s huge in NYC area.
He’s a blowhard dope and his analysis on “sock rrrr” is hysterically bad here.

That's not actually Francesa. But it is funny
Yeah even he couldn’t be that dumb.
And that’s saying something

I am unsure how many remember this but Francesca became kind of infamous for inviting a soccer expert on the show for a World Cup segment and asked him if players were allowed to use both feet to play the ball.
 
I wonder what kind of emotions Pepi, Nips and Steffen are going through. It must be a roller coaster of stuff, especially for Nips as this was his last chance to go to a WC.
 

I’m not sure how we’ll known Mike Francesca is nationally but he’s huge in NYC area.
He’s a blowhard dope and his analysis on “sock rrrr” is hysterically bad here.

That's not actually Francesa. But it is funny
Yeah even he couldn’t be that dumb.
And that’s saying something

I am unsure how many remember this but Francesca became kind of infamous for inviting a soccer expert on the show for a World Cup segment and asked him if players were allowed to use both feet to play the ball.
He wanted to know if they COULD kick with both legs...

Like were they physically capable of doing so.
 
But for events like this, results are all that matters.
If you're talking about backwards looking evaluation of whether GGG was successful in this cycle, I agree.

If you're talking about trying to evaluate how good a coach he actually is, and whether we prefer him to an alternative next time around, I'd strongly disagree.
 
Adams was on Good Morning America today. Nice to see the pit bull DM getting to raise his profile.
This is irrelevant to the team's performance but as a fan I have felt the USMNT lacked players with great personality especially in comparison to the USWNT who have always had big personalities. The way Adams handled the Iran press conference was amazing and if I were US Soccer he would be the face of the team during the next cycle, Pulisic and McKennie may be more talented players but I can't imagine anyone could represent the team better than Adams has.
 
Talked to my kids yesterday. I have two boys in high school - almost all the kids were watching from their laptops or phones in their classes.

At my daughters middle school - same thing. When Pulisic scored all the kids in her class started whooping and hollering and jumping around the room. :lol:

🇺🇸
 
For the games off, I don't remember specifics, but almost sure that we had multiple situations of healthy starters only starting 2 out of 3 games in a single qualifying window. Typically, the assumption was that they were being saved for the games that we "had" to win...but that meant that we were to some extent sacrificing the games that were tougher.
For all we know, that might have been the right choice. We qualified and yes, we had to sweat the last game in the Ocho, but that was always likely. It's not like we could cruise through qualifying and then get our asses handed to us (**cough** Canada, Belgium ***cough**).
 
For the games off, I don't remember specifics, but almost sure that we had multiple situations of healthy starters only starting 2 out of 3 games in a single qualifying window. Typically, the assumption was that they were being saved for the games that we "had" to win...but that meant that we were to some extent sacrificing the games that were tougher.
For all we know, that might have been the right choice. We qualified and yes, we had to sweat the last game in the Ocho, but that was always likely. It's not like we could cruise through qualifying and then get our asses handed to us (**cough** Canada, Belgium ***cough**).

we had the sweat the second to last game in the ocho. There was not much of a sweat in the last game when I think CR had to win by 8 to knock us out (and even then we would have at least had the playoffs to fall back on like CR did).
 
Agreed. 3-1-0 vs Mexico in four legit games. Two trophies we don't always win. Outplayed the other team in all three group stage matches (we've never come close to doing that before). Advanced to the R16 and we have a clear pattern of play and identity, with players in roles they can perform well. :shrug:

ETA: even if you want to forget the results, what do your eyes tell you? Mine say that the last three games are easily as good a run as the team has had. People forget that we got tonked by Poland and were fortunate to get draw vs Korea in-between the Portugal and Mexico games in 2002. And while we beat Egypt 3-0 and Spain 2-0 in 2009 we were terrible in the first two games. The Costa Rica--Paraguay--Ecuador trio in the 2016 Copa is up there as well, until the Johnson(?) red card. But we'd already been beaten by Colombia at that point.

I think England--Wales--Iran is a better trio of teams overall and for my money these last three games are probably the most complete, high-level run the US has ever had. And we advanced even though we probably didn't get the overall results we deserved.

I am neutral on Berhalter. But the problem with putting too much emphasis on results is that our talent is so much better than we've ever had before, so the results SHOULD be better even if the coaching sucks (I'm not saying it is).

What do my eyes tell me? My eyes tell me we looked every bit England's equal in that game playing them straight up, and our midfield and ball control players were BETTER than theirs for the first time in history. So then in that case, why did England coast through with 7 points while we were hunkering down to 20 minutes of bombardment from Iran with guys none of us were confident in trying to clear balls and hope the ref swallows his whistle on a penalty when we had the talent to control the game?

Results can be so fickle too. We were a quick whistle away from our World Cup ending on a PK drawn against a defender that GGG put in as a surprise start after logging 0 minutes of team USA play.

There's just no way to know with any of this. Maybe another coach doesn't even get out of qualifying. Maybe another coach doesn't get out of the knockout stage (which could've happened to us if a half dozen different plays changed by an inch). Maybe another coach has us 1st in the group and the world is talking about us in a totally different light than US soccer has ever been viewed before. Not likely, but if that's the goal in 2026, we have the talent for it now.

None of this helps, I'm sure, But the reality is there are just two ways to look at it and no way to know which is right.

1) We have a super young team, and had a lot of injuries during qualifying, and probably had no business getting to Qatar but GGG managed all those things and got us there and through to the knockouts and has managed to set us up decently for 2026 without screwing it up.

2) We have by far the most talent we've ever had, and still only squeaked through qualifying and eeked through the group stage with 5 points as we have several times before with far less talented teams.
 
There is one extra point (I guess in his favor) that no one has yet mentioned.

There was a very specific decision he made that could have torn the team asunder but in the end it looks to have all worked.

And I am of course talking about the massive decision to send Weston home during qualifying as a punishment for missing curfew. I think Weston's dad eventually and publicly thanking GGG for how he handled it really helped soothe any rough edges.
 
assuming everyone is available, who are our top 5 PK takers?

that is a tough one because many times the players you want to take them have been subbed out.

I think Jesus and maybe only Haji take them for their club teams.


Obviously Pulisic is first on the list as he has never missed one for the US from what I can remember. I would trust some of the skill players like Dest, and Ream. Weston seems like the moment would not be too big for him.
Gio takes them for Dortmund or at least he does at times.
 
assuming everyone is available, who are our top 5 PK takers?

that is a tough one because many times the players you want to take them have been subbed out.

I think Jesus and maybe only Haji take them for their club teams.

Obviously Pulisic is first on the list as he has never missed one for the US from what I can remember. I would trust some of the skill players like Dest, and Ream. Weston seems like the moment would not be too big for him.
Gio takes them for Dortmund or at least he does at times.

He is some one I would trust as well and could be on the field at that point.
 
Taylor Booth was named the Eredivisie player of the month. 12 players on the Dutch roster also play in the Eredivisie, meaning we left home a player that is better than half their side. :whistle:

and while not apples to apples, their big break out player this World Cup has been the beast Gekpo.

You know who has a better scoring rate in the same league as Gekpo? Pepi..
 
Lets do a Turner break down

1) He is not Ederson nor will he ever be. There is a chance he could have some sort of screw up with his feet against the Dutch after 3 very good games. That all being said, I would rank he no lower than the mid tier of the WC keepers in terms of feet. I don't think this is anything even close to a weakness any more.

2) He does not require regular playing time to be an effective keeper in an immediate need. This is both very important for the US and well as my next point

3) Should Ramsdale ever get hurt, I think Turner would be good enough to help Arsenal contend for title

4) Turner will be 31/32 during WC 2026. With him being a late bloomer and keepers generally playing longer, I think he will still be in his prime in 2026 and we may even hope for a better version of him since he does not yet seem to have reach his peak.
 
I agree with most of what you said about Turner, but getting regular games at club level is important. He will need to be sharp on the technical stuff when he is asked to step up for the USMNT, but he'll also have to do well giving in-game instructions to the defense, which really only gets done during real matches when everyone is going 100%. Getting only cup minutes is not ideal.

That said, GK might be the least affected position for real minutes in terms of sharpness and readiness to take on a big national team match.
 
This is a good primer

=============
USMNTProspects
https://twitter.com/ProspectsUsmnt
@ProspectsUsmnt

A thread on 10 youth talents we might see for the USMNT in 2023 that didn’t make the WC team, plus 2 bonus additions.

Gaga Slonina (‘04): Nearly made the USMNT WC team. Based on the training camp selection, he was likely the 5th GK. Earned a move to Chelsea. How his adaption process to the top levels of the game goes will determine how quickly we see him integrated into USMNT on regular basis.

Bryan Reynolds (‘01): Has been an up/down stint since joining Roma. Now on loan in Belgium. Has started playing well in recent months. Finishing off a good season will do his case much good. Will he return to Roma? Unknown. Regardless, USMNT RB depth isn’t what we once thought.

John Tolkin (‘02): Capped off a great season in MLS with call to pre USMNT WC camp. Don’t overlook that. Indicates USMNT call up not far away. Question will be does he spend another year in MLS or make jump now. Young LB depth starting to get crowded. Will be tough to break in.

Jonathan Gomez (‘03): He has yet to debut for Real Sociedad, but consider the level of club he’s trying to break in at. A team competing for a UCL spot. Has made bench 3 times in last 9 months. He’s getting close. Hard to believe he doesn’t appear for USA or Mexico again in 2023.

Mauricio Isais (‘02): He’s the starting LB for the Champions of LigaMX. Capped that off with a call to the Mexico pre WC camp (Mexican-American). Came a little bit from nowhere this season. It’ll be difficult to recruit him for USMNT, but we have to attempt to recruit him.

Johnny Cardoso (‘01): We’ve been waiting for better performance. Now he’s finally had a breakout season in Brazil. He’s been highly rated by US program for a long time. Wasn’t far from making USMNT WC team. Could move to Europe in January. Transfer rumors starting to pick up.

Aidan Morris (‘01): Like Tolkin, he made the USMNT pre WC camp, as one of the two non U-20 Olympic eligibles. That indicates they wanted him in camp with USMNT staff and senior call up not far. Rebounded from long-term injury with a good season in MLS. Plays a position of need.

Taylor Booth (‘01): In hindsight, he could’ve helped USMNT WC roster. Maybe with foresight too. However, he should be a USMNT staple very soon. A versatile midfielder that can play almost anywhere. Coming off Player of the Month in Eredivisie. He’s having a breakout season.

Malik Tillman (‘02): He wasn’t far from making USMNT WC team. Coach chose some veterans over him. Might’ve not been ready to contribute, but this is his first season of regular first team football. Has had some ups/downs for Rangers, but should be USMNT regular soon enough.

Ricardo Pepi (‘03): By far the biggest and most talked about snub from the USMNT WC team. You won’t find many who agreed with the decision, but Pepi has found recent success on loan in Eredivisie. If he continues that success, he has potential to make USMNT CF spot his own soon.

Daryl Dike: He’s a late ‘00, so he’s no longer a youth talent anymore for us, but he’s young and has big potential. A year and a half ago many thought he could become one of best Americans of his generation. Has struggled a lot with injuries since. Needs to stay on the field.

Roman Celentano: Another late ‘00. He was probably the best rookie in MLS this past season, and the most ready of the young American GK’s to be integrated into USMNT. He’s only 22, so he’s young for a GK, but quickly earned a starting spot at FCC and was very credible as rookie.

Going in the wrong direction: Bello, Otasowie, Bassett, Tessmann, Busio, KDLF, Llanez, Hoppe

Duals that require a switch: Balogun, Okoh, Lund, Thorvaldson, Suzuki, Richardson
 
I agree with most of what you said about Turner, but getting regular games at club level is important. He will need to be sharp on the technical stuff when he is asked to step up for the USMNT, but he'll also have to do well giving in-game instructions to the defense, which really only gets done during real matches when everyone is going 100%. Getting only cup minutes is not ideal.

That said, GK might be the least affected position for real minutes in terms of sharpness and readiness to take on a big national team match.

I agree entirely.

I was more speaking to if he stays at Arsenal, he likely won't get regular minutes and as such, the fact that he has shown to be sharp on limited minutes is important.

I would always prefer regular minutes even if he had to make a step down in clubs, but my guess is that he is going to be slightly too good to be loaned out and not quite good enough to replace a #1 who has been excellent for his club.
 
I agree with most of what you said about Turner, but getting regular games at club level is important. He will need to be sharp on the technical stuff when he is asked to step up for the USMNT, but he'll also have to do well giving in-game instructions to the defense, which really only gets done during real matches when everyone is going 100%. Getting only cup minutes is not ideal.

That said, GK might be the least affected position for real minutes in terms of sharpness and readiness to take on a big national team match.

I agree entirely.

I was more speaking to if he stays at Arsenal, he likely won't get regular minutes and as such, the fact that he has shown to be sharp on limited minutes is important.

I would always prefer regular minutes even if he had to make a step down in clubs, but my guess is that he is going to be slightly too good to be loaned out and not quite good enough to replace a #1 who has been excellent for his club.
What other very good national team keepers are not the #1 for their club?
 
I agree with most of what you said about Turner, but getting regular games at club level is important. He will need to be sharp on the technical stuff when he is asked to step up for the USMNT, but he'll also have to do well giving in-game instructions to the defense, which really only gets done during real matches when everyone is going 100%. Getting only cup minutes is not ideal.

That said, GK might be the least affected position for real minutes in terms of sharpness and readiness to take on a big national team match.

I agree entirely.

I was more speaking to if he stays at Arsenal, he likely won't get regular minutes and as such, the fact that he has shown to be sharp on limited minutes is important.

I would always prefer regular minutes even if he had to make a step down in clubs, but my guess is that he is going to be slightly too good to be loaned out and not quite good enough to replace a #1 who has been excellent for his club.
What other very good national team keepers are not the #1 for their club?

give me a rough idea of what you consider "very good". Just a rough ranking number will suffice. My guess is though no matter what you say it will be none, but I wanted to look it up to be sure.
 
I agree with most of what you said about Turner, but getting regular games at club level is important. He will need to be sharp on the technical stuff when he is asked to step up for the USMNT, but he'll also have to do well giving in-game instructions to the defense, which really only gets done during real matches when everyone is going 100%. Getting only cup minutes is not ideal.

That said, GK might be the least affected position for real minutes in terms of sharpness and readiness to take on a big national team match.

I agree entirely.

I was more speaking to if he stays at Arsenal, he likely won't get regular minutes and as such, the fact that he has shown to be sharp on limited minutes is important.

I would always prefer regular minutes even if he had to make a step down in clubs, but my guess is that he is going to be slightly too good to be loaned out and not quite good enough to replace a #1 who has been excellent for his club.
What other very good national team keepers are not the #1 for their club?

give me a rough idea of what you consider "very good". Just a rough ranking number will suffice. My guess is though no matter what you say it will be none, but I wanted to look it up to be sure.
Top 20 ranked FIFA nations.
 
I agree with most of what you said about Turner, but getting regular games at club level is important. He will need to be sharp on the technical stuff when he is asked to step up for the USMNT, but he'll also have to do well giving in-game instructions to the defense, which really only gets done during real matches when everyone is going 100%. Getting only cup minutes is not ideal.

That said, GK might be the least affected position for real minutes in terms of sharpness and readiness to take on a big national team match.

I agree entirely.

I was more speaking to if he stays at Arsenal, he likely won't get regular minutes and as such, the fact that he has shown to be sharp on limited minutes is important.

I would always prefer regular minutes even if he had to make a step down in clubs, but my guess is that he is going to be slightly too good to be loaned out and not quite good enough to replace a #1 who has been excellent for his club.
What other very good national team keepers are not the #1 for their club?

give me a rough idea of what you consider "very good". Just a rough ranking number will suffice. My guess is though no matter what you say it will be none, but I wanted to look it up to be sure.
Top 20 ranked FIFA nations.

ok give me a moment to look some up. Instinct says US may be the only team but I want to double check.
 
This is a good primer

=============
USMNTProspects
https://twitter.com/ProspectsUsmnt
@ProspectsUsmnt

A thread on 10 youth talents we might see for the USMNT in 2023 that didn’t make the WC team, plus 2 bonus additions.

Gaga Slonina (‘04): Nearly made the USMNT WC team. Based on the training camp selection, he was likely the 5th GK. Earned a move to Chelsea. How his adaption process to the top levels of the game goes will determine how quickly we see him integrated into USMNT on regular basis.

Bryan Reynolds (‘01): Has been an up/down stint since joining Roma. Now on loan in Belgium. Has started playing well in recent months. Finishing off a good season will do his case much good. Will he return to Roma? Unknown. Regardless, USMNT RB depth isn’t what we once thought.

John Tolkin (‘02): Capped off a great season in MLS with call to pre USMNT WC camp. Don’t overlook that. Indicates USMNT call up not far away. Question will be does he spend another year in MLS or make jump now. Young LB depth starting to get crowded. Will be tough to break in.

Jonathan Gomez (‘03): He has yet to debut for Real Sociedad, but consider the level of club he’s trying to break in at. A team competing for a UCL spot. Has made bench 3 times in last 9 months. He’s getting close. Hard to believe he doesn’t appear for USA or Mexico again in 2023.

Mauricio Isais (‘02): He’s the starting LB for the Champions of LigaMX. Capped that off with a call to the Mexico pre WC camp (Mexican-American). Came a little bit from nowhere this season. It’ll be difficult to recruit him for USMNT, but we have to attempt to recruit him.

Johnny Cardoso (‘01): We’ve been waiting for better performance. Now he’s finally had a breakout season in Brazil. He’s been highly rated by US program for a long time. Wasn’t far from making USMNT WC team. Could move to Europe in January. Transfer rumors starting to pick up.

Aidan Morris (‘01): Like Tolkin, he made the USMNT pre WC camp, as one of the two non U-20 Olympic eligibles. That indicates they wanted him in camp with USMNT staff and senior call up not far. Rebounded from long-term injury with a good season in MLS. Plays a position of need.

Taylor Booth (‘01): In hindsight, he could’ve helped USMNT WC roster. Maybe with foresight too. However, he should be a USMNT staple very soon. A versatile midfielder that can play almost anywhere. Coming off Player of the Month in Eredivisie. He’s having a breakout season.

Malik Tillman (‘02): He wasn’t far from making USMNT WC team. Coach chose some veterans over him. Might’ve not been ready to contribute, but this is his first season of regular first team football. Has had some ups/downs for Rangers, but should be USMNT regular soon enough.

Ricardo Pepi (‘03): By far the biggest and most talked about snub from the USMNT WC team. You won’t find many who agreed with the decision, but Pepi has found recent success on loan in Eredivisie. If he continues that success, he has potential to make USMNT CF spot his own soon.

Daryl Dike: He’s a late ‘00, so he’s no longer a youth talent anymore for us, but he’s young and has big potential. A year and a half ago many thought he could become one of best Americans of his generation. Has struggled a lot with injuries since. Needs to stay on the field.

Roman Celentano: Another late ‘00. He was probably the best rookie in MLS this past season, and the most ready of the young American GK’s to be integrated into USMNT. He’s only 22, so he’s young for a GK, but quickly earned a starting spot at FCC and was very credible as rookie.

Going in the wrong direction: Bello, Otasowie, Bassett, Tessmann, Busio, KDLF, Llanez, Hoppe

Duals that require a switch: Balogun, Okoh, Lund, Thorvaldson, Suzuki, Richardson

This is terrific, thank you.
 
Brazil - Alisson - Starter Liverpool
Belgium - Courtois - Starter Real Madrid
Argentina - Martinez - Starter Aston Villa
France - Lloris - Starter Spurs
England - Pickford - Starter Everton
Italy - Donnarumma - Starter PSG
Spain - Simon - Starter Bilbao
Netherlands - Noppert - Starter Herenveen
Portugal - Costa - Starter Porto
Denmark - Schmeichel - Stater Nice
Germany - Neuer - Starter Bayern Munich
Croatia - Livakovic - Starter Dynamo Zagreb
Mexico - Ochoa - Starter Starter Club America
Uruguay - Rocket - Starter Nacional
Switzerland - Sommer - Starter Munchengladbach
USA - Turner - Backup Arsenal
Colombia - Ospina* - rotation Al Nassr
Senegal - Mendy - rotation Chelsea
Wales - Hennesey - backup Nottingham Forrest
Iran - Beiranvand - starter Persepolis


* I am unsure Ospina will be the starter any more for Colombia going forward

 
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please excuse any mistakes I made, I did that quickly but I think it is mostly correct
Good list. I think it's normal for 1-2 or more top sides to have backups. Argentina did for years with Romero. England have at times too but mostly because they lose form and thus their jobs (a bit like Mendy at Chelsea). Goalkeepers are strange animals as sometimes they just suddenly suck. I guess just very mental.

I noticed this the other day but Alison has been starting for Brasil in World Cup which surprised me because I too thought Ederson was their guy. Either one is starter for club so doesn't really matter.
 

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