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US Men's National Team (37 Viewers)

Presser is still going

Berhalter on Pulisic: "in this camp we're going to look at him as the No. 10, slanted to the left -- we played with two No. 10s last camp, we're going to do that again."

 
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Wanted to see Nagbe.

Agree with the rest of the comments made so far.
I saw something about Nagbe on twitter........let me see if I can find it....ok here it is not much but this is what Berhalter said:

"Nagbe and Jozy in the mix, just not the right time for fitness/short preseason" yada yada

 
I think for these two friendlies I am going to focus on how the defense looks (since I think the core is what we will see in qualifying).

Offensively it looks to be hoping Pulisic can do something special, else it is just hard work and hope for the best.

 
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Berlhalter's final comment

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"This is just one squad called in for one group of games, and nothing more than that." Young guys omitted so they can get competitive games, others omitted because of injury/fitness. "Any player who isn't included it doesn't mean they don't have a chance with the NT."

 
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Berlhalter's final comment

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"This is just one squad called in for one group of games, and nothing more than that." Young guys omitted so they can get competitive games, others omitted because of injury/fitness. "Any player who isn't included it doesn't mean they don't have a chance with the NT."
Uh...yeah. duh, Greg.

Hopefully he's got the next 20-30 guys on speed dial and has explained explicitly to each one why they weren't called in.

 
Andy pointed it out originally- but Adams is well-suited for that RB/DCM role, as long as it's more of a 3 man back line. he can motor to cover ground and seems to understand positional play exceptionally well. i just don't want him to be stuck at RB more than dCM.

 
I also wonder how Yedlin fits in here.  Is he capable of the RB/CDM switch?  :unsure:
I don't think so.  You need some decent foot technique when you wander into the middle of the field.  He does not possess a high enough level for that IMO.  He barely has enough technique to bomb up the wing.

I am sure Berhalter will give him some time there to make sure since athletically he can easily make the offensive to defensive transition well enough (and probably better than Lima).

 
I probably did not post that sound bite but I read that he already called a ton of players to explain why they were not called.
I should acknowledge I have absolutely no idea how he explained this to Holmes (assuming he was even called).

How do you tell a guy who is starting, playing well, getting a ton of minutes in a league every bit as good if not better than MLS and for a team trying to get promoted into the EPL that he is not good enough when looking at the rest of the roster............

 
I should acknowledge I have absolutely no idea how he explained this to Holmes (assuming he was even called).

How do you tell a guy who is starting, playing well, getting a ton of minutes in a league every bit as good if not better than MLS and for a team trying to get promoted into the EPL that he is not good enough when looking at the rest of the roster............
fitness issues, IMO. 

not saying that's the case, but that will be greg's go-to when it doesn't make sense like this.

 
@NewlyRetired thx again for all that you do in here.  I'm going to hate the day I have to rely solely on reddit to get this sort of info and be able to chat about it without getting drowned in all the bs.

 
Morris over Weah...cmon man!!!

weah’s last dump has more talent than Morris.

You don’t slow play that kind of talent IMHO.

 
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Yeah...let’s pigeonhole our three best players into a system :confetti: 
hopefully Berhalter will be true to what he says here:

"I'm really excited about (the flexibility)," Berhalter said on a media conference call Tuesday. "We’ll do something in this camp, and it won’t be set in stone. It’s not to say that these guys are always going to play that position, but this are our initial ideas. We’d like to see how they interpret those positions. We know it’s not going to be perfect, and that’s fine.  We’ve been talking to them about where they’re going to play and it’ll be nice to actually see it.”

"We want to find a spot where he can affect the game, where he can get more out of his teammates and bring more out of him to score goals and make assists," Berhalter said. "In this camp, we’re going to look at him as a No. 10. Within that structure, there’s flexibility. Sometimes you see the wingers going inside and the 10’s going wide. We just want to see how that looks, we want Christian to be flexible, take advantage of 1v1’s and get him in front of goal.”

"He can play the right back tucked in, naturally when you look at his skill set," Berhalter said. "He’s slanted to the right a lot with RB Leipzig, especially when he’s pulling out in the buildup to open up and get the ball but he can also play central midfield. For us, it’s going to be looking at him in one of those positions, evaluating him and moving forward.”

“If I’m thinking about Weston as a No. 10 who defends as a No. 8, or Christian as a No. 10 who can also move wide, or Tyler as a right back that can also come inside," Berhalter said, "those are the things that are exciting to me.” 

 
"We want to find a spot where he can affect the game, where he can get more out of his teammates and bring more out of him to score goals and make assists," Berhalter said. "In this camp, we’re going to look at him as a No. 10. Within that structure, there’s flexibility. Sometimes you see the wingers going inside and the 10’s going wide. We just want to see how that looks, we want Christian to be flexible, take advantage of 1v1’s and get him in front of goal.”
Has anyone asked him how he plans to protect CP against all the concacafy nonsense?  Like maybe get him some steel calf guards?

 
Pulisic as a 10 that attacks and goes wide when needed:  I like this and it makes the most sense given the teams lack of offense.  Pulisic really should be given free reign to go where ever he wants.   Lletget did well in this exact role in the January friendlies and while the competition is much stronger this time, I think it is also fair to say Pulisic is a much better player than Lletget.

Weston as a 10 that defends like an 8: I like this as well.   Even though Schalke uses him every where but in goal, I think his best performances have come when he has been in the middle of the field with a slightly defensive posture.    If Adams is going to be put out at RB, Weston's ball winning ability is going to be crucial since neither Bradley or Trapp are good in that area.

Adams as a false RB: This I do not like.    And it has nothing to do with Adams.  I think he will function well in this role but the knock on effect is that either Trapp or Bradley are now going to be the player who sits by themselves in front of the CB's defensively and I don't think either player has the lateral mobility to handle this by alone.   I guess the hope is that the wingers like Arriola are going to run their nuts off getting back to help cover but this concerns me.    Adams has something that can not be taught in his weird ball magnetism.   That is such an under rated part of the game and if combined with Weston in the middle of the field, I feel like the US could be elite (Concacaf respectively) in this area.

 
Has anyone asked him how he plans to protect CP against all the concacafy nonsense?  Like maybe get him some steel calf guards?
with only one "skill/flair" player on our roster for the foreseeable future, it makes things so easy for opposing coaches to plan for.  

"see the skinny kid?  kick him every time you can"

 
Adams as a false RB: This I do not like.    And it has nothing to do with Adams.  I think he will function well in this role but the knock on effect is that either Trapp or Bradley are now going to be the player who sits by themselves in front of the CB's defensively and I don't think either player has the lateral mobility to handle this by alone.   I guess the hope is that the wingers like Arriola are going to run their nuts off getting back to help cover but this concerns me.    Adams has something that can not be taught in his weird ball magnetism.   That is such an under rated part of the game and if combined with Weston in the middle of the field, I feel like the US could be elite (Concacaf respectively) in this area.
In transition, I think the RB/CM hybrid operates very much like half of a double-pivot.   I think it’s specifically designed to allow Gregg to have a distributor who reads the game well (like Mikey or Trapp) without expecting them to cover so much ground in having the sole responsibility to shield the CBs.  

 
In transition, I think the RB/CM hybrid operates very much like half of a double-pivot.   I think it’s specifically designed to allow Gregg to have a distributor who reads the game well (like Mikey or Trapp) without expecting them to cover so much ground in having the sole responsibility to shield the CBs.  
I agree but I was more talking about when the US is playing stronger opponents and not having possession much in where Adams will be pushed more into a true RB role to cover the wing. 

Maybe in these cases, Weston will drop back to reform the triangle to give us two holders.

 
In transition, I think the RB/CM hybrid operates very much like half of a double-pivot.   I think it’s specifically designed to allow Gregg to have a distributor who reads the game well (like Mikey or Trapp) without expecting them to cover so much ground in having the sole responsibility to shield the CBs.  
I get the feeling that good tactical clubs will be able to game plan and exploit this setup fairly effectively.  My guess is you can pin Adams back at RB and then isolate the CBs.

 
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US Soccer fans in the Queen City may get their first chance to see the USMNT play in Cincinnati for the first time ever. According to the official social media accounts of the Venezuelan Men’s National team, the two countries will be squaring off in an international friendly in Cincinnati on June 9th.

The match will serve as a tune-up for the USMNT as they get ready for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup here in the States. Venezuela will be gearing up for the 2019 Copa America being held in Brazil.

 
Scuffed‏ @zlebmada

Confirmed: the roster for a U.S. U20 camp in Murcia, Spain, next week will be released this afternoon. Roster for the U23s, who will play 2 matches at the same venue, will be released tomorrow. Likes like the two camps will be separate despite taking place in the same location

 
Ballack making US fans sweat when we realize we are placing most of our eggs in this German basket.....

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"We crashed out of the World Cup early, have been relegated in the Nations League, and the Champions League ended in the round of 16 for all German sides. This is a hint that we're not doing everything right. There's no reason to sugarcoat things."

 
We knew this was coming but I cringed any way.  American's recently have not faired well when coaching changes happen

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USMNT Only‏ @usmntonly

Weston McKennie’s Schalke have parted ways with coach Domenico Tedesco. Huub Stevens will serve as interim coach.

 
We knew this was coming but I cringed any way.  American's recently have not faired well when coaching changes happen

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

USMNT Only‏ @usmntonly

Weston McKennie’s Schalke have parted ways with coach Domenico Tedesco. Huub Stevens will serve as interim coach.
is Huub coming from inside the building?

can't imagine somebody from the organization would minimize what swag's given the team, in terms of energy and versatility. the kid's been everywhere for them when, really, they should have had better options. says something about the kid and his place on the team.

eta: but yeah... better to have stayed with the horse that's gotten him this far for sure.

 
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That U20 roster looks fantastic, and the following players are not even on it

Tyler Adams, Josh Sargent, Tim Weah, Mark McKenzie, Paxton Pomykal, James Sands, Brady Scott, Richie Ledezma
Was just looking it over and thought the same thing. Really solid top to bottom.

Is Konrad accepting the callup?

 
Dunno...I thought he was a multi national? Keeping his options open? Had he represented the US previously?
I don't know Spanish laws well enough to know if he can play for them, but he is American born and bred of Hatian decent (born and grew up in Miami).

He went to a US U18 camp last year.

 
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The good news about Konrad is that his situation is similar to Weah's. 

Even if they turn out to be one of the best US players in history, they likely would never make the Spanish (Konrad) or French (Weah) national teams.

 
I counted 9 European players.  Was hoping we'd be further along than that.  :shrug:
This is B squad (see my list above for the players missing) and even then you are looking at half the roster is already seeded in Europe.   

I think that is pretty good considering where we were even just 10-15 years ago when 90% of the roster would have been college players.

 

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