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US Men's National Team (141 Viewers)

Very cool story from Reddit about how close the 5000 strong population Montserrat is to qualifying for the Gold Cup

Montserrat is a tiny island in the Caribbean, home to approximately 5,000 people. Half of the island is inaccessible (including the capital, Plymouth) because of the Soufriere Hills Volcano eruption in 1995, which also meant over 7,000 people left the island to USA, Antigua or the UK.

A map of Montserrat

The Montserrat National Football team are ranked 200th in the world, below Gibraltar, Guam, Samoa and Malta just to name a few. Most of the players are born in the UK, having Montserattian parents or grandparents, who left the island either because of the volcano or because of the lack of jobs in the 50's and 60's. They joined FIFA in 1991, and in their first international lost to St Lucia 3-0. Willie Donachie, a former Scottish international who played in the 1978 world cup, manages the team.

Montserrat were featured in a film known as The Other Final, which focused on a game being played on the day of the 2002 World Cup final between the two lowest ranked teams in International Football - Montserrat and Bhutan.

Lyle Taylor is the team's main man and captain. Playing up front for Charlton this season, he has 14 goals in League One this season. Brandon Comley is another important player, who plays for Colchester United in League Two, whilst Adrian Clifton, Dean Mason and James Comley play together at Maidenhead in the National League. Alex Dyer plays in Norway, for Lillestrøm, on loan from Elfsborg. The Rest of the team play in the lower leagues in England.

The Montserrat line up against Aruba.

Matty Willock, who plays for Crawley Town on loan from Manchester United is another player that is eligible for the Montserrat National Team, along with his brothers Joe and Chris who play for Arsenal and Benfica (but I bet they'd prefer to play for England).

The Nations League qualifying has Montserrat in 15th and they play the Cayman Islands next, who are ranked 203rd in the world, and have failed to win any of their qualifying games. Montserrat would surely be the favourites in that one. To qualify for the Gold Cup, Montserrat would have to finish 10th or above.

Now, the teams above Montserrat. Belize play Guyana, and St Kitts & Nevis play Suriname. These are difficult games for Belize and St Kitts & Nevis. If they both fail to win, the odds will heavily swing in Montserrat's favour. French Guiana face Canada, which they should struggle to win, and El Salvador (who we nearly drew with!) play against Jamaica, which will be a tough test for them. If these teams fail to win then Montserrat will have qualified, if they beat the Cayman Islands.

On the 27th of March, the draw for the next Nations League will take place. Having already qualified for Group B, it could be a very busy year ahead for Montserrat.

For me, someone born in the UK with Montserrattian grandparents, it would be amazing to see them play in the Gold Cup. It's a miracle that we have beat Aruba and Belize, but to get to the Gold Cup would be a spectacular achievement.
Montserrat beat the Cayman Islands 2-1 last night!  The moves them into 7th spot temporarily in the Concacaf Nations League. 

They now need to wait out some other results to see if they make the Gold Cup (need to finish tenth or better to qualify)

 
Pomykal looks like he is getting entrenched at the 8 for Dallas as he gets another start today.

More good news is that 18 year old Jesus Ferreira gets his first pro start for Dallas today at the 9 spot.

 
Truth:  I thought he might be really hurt the second he rolled over.  There was a blank look on his face and my first thought was that it seemed like shock from pain.  Then they showed the replay and I figured he was done for the year.  Roll your ankle like that just running and you might be out 4-6 weeks.  Do it from 30+" in the air and you probably shred some stuff.
I thought the same with the look on his face. Watching live, it seemed like a head injury type blank stare. Then when I saw the injury, it was more a look like he knew something bad happened.

That said, it could just be a really, really bad sprain and not a full tear. Hopefully....

 
I thought the same with the look on his face. Watching live, it seemed like a head injury type blank stare. Then when I saw the injury, it was more a look like he knew something bad happened.

That said, it could just be a really, really bad sprain and not a full tear. Hopefully....
When the ankle pops, you know it. Swag knew it... to me, that's the look on his face. He knows he's out for an unspecified amount of time which the wrong time to happen with a new coach. Yeah... Hopefully it's the 1-2 week good sprain, they tape him up and he's good to go (kinda). Hopefully not the high ankle or worse where he's out for a long time. 

 
Pomykal looks like he is getting entrenched at the 8 for Dallas as he gets another start today.

More good news is that 18 year old Jesus Ferreira gets his first pro start for Dallas today at the 9 spot.
Turned it on at the end of the first half. He is integral to everything they're doing from there. Also pushed forward to creat a shot for himself- something I'd like to have seen from any of the central MFs for the US vs ECU

 
something I'd like to have seen from any of the central MFs for the US vs ECU
as ridiculous as Zardoz's goal was, many people have pointed out that he at least attempted a shot on goal.  It was one of the few times there were not 14 defenders in front of the US player.

 
as ridiculous as Zardoz's goal was, many people have pointed out that he at least attempted a shot on goal.  It was one of the few times there were not 14 defenders in front of the US player.
Saw a number of tines guys were around the box with the ball looking to pass instead of trying to open up a foot of space and let one rip.

I always forget how many flies kellyn tries to catch out there.

 
Pomykal looks like he is getting entrenched at the 8 for Dallas as he gets another start today.

More good news is that 18 year old Jesus Ferreira gets his first pro start for Dallas today at the 9 spot.
American fans I think are going to love new Dallas coach Luchi Gonzalez.   He was one of the main driving forces behind the FC Dallas academy success and now he is giving the kids a real chance.

Not only did the two kids above play today, with 11 minutes left in a tie game, he subbed in 17 year old Thomas Roberts who ended up making the key pass for the game winner, in what was his pro debut.

 
The rarest of rare happens again today.  An American teenager is starting at the ten spot in MLS.

I won't be able to watch but I hope @Ted Lange as your Bartender and or @Nedcan give us a summary of how Aaronson does for Philly.
I wouldn't read too much into him getting the start; Union couldn't even fill the bench they're so short on players.  Between the international break, injuries, and new players not ready to play, they only had 5 players on the bench.  They had to sub their backup RB in for Ilisinho at RW. 

I didn't get to watch the game, but it sounds like he was dangerous at times and had a solid game.  Needs to work on not getting muscled off the ball.  Fontana subbed in for him around 80' and was solid but not at Aaronson's level.  

 
On a separate note, Matt Real is going to have to bust his ### to break into the first team.  Sounds like Wagner was awesome again at LB; Union found a diamond in the rough apparently.

 
I watched most of this game.  It ended up 0-0 but the US was by far the dominant team creating chance after chance after chance.   Just a bit snake bitten today.

The defense of Araju, CCV, Robinson and Robinson shut down Holland well.

It was very nice to see 17 year old Araju marking Justin Kluivert all game and handling him well.

Miles Robinson continues to impress.  I think he is already better than CCV.  Better on the ball and much quicker on his feet.

Parks had a strong game distributing the ball.  Very decisive passing and many times looking to break at least one line.

Weah was very energetic but his final touch was a bit off.  I am not yet convinced he has the skill set to be an above average winger but I think he could be great in a 2 striker setup (of which appears to be going the way of the do do bird for now).

Sargent looked solid.  His combination play was again excellent in the middle and drew a clear PK that was not called.  Did not have luck, like the rest of the team, in finishing.

Antonee Robinson did not look good against Egypt but looked very good today.  He was getting up and down the field well. 

The US played a 4-3-3 where Milhalovic pushed up really high, sometimes past Sargent and the wing backs kept wide and attacked from both sides.

 
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Cincy beat NE today 2-0 and Kenny Saief had goal and assist in the game.

I would love to see Kenny get a chance again with the Nats.  He just has to stay healthy.

 
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Cincy beat NE today 2-0 and Kenny Saief had goal and assist in the game.

I would love to see Kenny get a chance again with the Nats.  He just has to stay healthy.
I watched most of the game - he was very good. His vision on some of his passes were fantastic.  

Dude NE looks rough

 
Gold Cup field is set:

Teams in with byes: US, Mexico, Honduras, T&T, Panama, Costa Rica

Teams qualified via Nations League: Martinique, Canada, Cuba, Haiti, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Curacao, Bermuda, Guyana

*Montserrat just missed top 10 by coming in 11th.  8 teams were tied on 9 points and they were the only ones who missed the cut (via GD).

*Guatemala was missing from the entire qualifying process after being suspended by FIFA last year

 
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:(

FC Schalke 04‏Verified account @s04_en

@WMckennie has suffered a ruptured ankle ligament and is travelling home from the @USMNT to begin his rehabilitation in Gelsenkirchen. We wish you the speediest of recoveries, Weston

 
This sounds better than "ruptured"

Brian Sciaretta‏ @BrianSciaretta

US Soccer re-confirms today that Weston McKennie had no fractures after seeing a foot/ankle specialist in Houston. He was diagnosed with a moderate to high-degree left ankle sprain and is expected to miss several weeks

Jeff Carlisle‏Verified account @JeffreyCarlisle 8m8 minutes ago

Berhalter said re: McKennie injury, difference in language btwn Schalke's release & what US Soccer is saying is "semantics. It's an ankle sprain." In terms of returning in time for the Gold Cup, GB says with an injury like this McKennie will have to take it "week by week."

 
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Berhalter said that Horvath gets the start against Chile.  He should see more action in the first 5 minutes than Johnson did all game against Ecuador.

 
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:(

FC Schalke 04‏Verified account @s04_en

@WMckennie has suffered a ruptured ankle ligament and is travelling home from the @USMNT to begin his rehabilitation in Gelsenkirchen. We wish you the speediest of recoveries, Weston


This sounds better than "ruptured"

Brian Sciaretta‏ @BrianSciaretta

US Soccer re-confirms today that Weston McKennie had no fractures after seeing a foot/ankle specialist in Houston. He was diagnosed with a moderate to high-degree left ankle sprain and is expected to miss several weeks

Jeff Carlisle‏Verified account @JeffreyCarlisle 8m8 minutes ago

Berhalter said re: McKennie injury, difference in language btwn Schalke's release & what US Soccer is saying is "semantics. It's an ankle sprain." In terms of returning in time for the Gold Cup, GB says with an injury like this McKennie will have to take it "week by week."
wtf.

ruptured vs sprained. that's a BIG difference in semantics and recovery. week to week vs months.

 
wtf.

ruptured vs sprained. that's a BIG difference in semantics and recovery. week to week vs months.
some are speculating that the translation to ruptured means much more to us in English than it does in the original German.

In any case I am not expecting him to play in the Gold Cup.  That is a ton of minutes and a huge opportunity for some one, I just don't know who.

 
concacaf nation's league update: I still have no idea wtf this is. but here it is...

Late last night, the final matches in CONCACAF Nations League qualifying concluded, and the confederation learned which teams would participate in League A, League B, and League C of the 2019-20 CONCACAF Nations League, set to begin in September. The United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago automatically qualified for League A as participants in the last Hexagonal round for 2018 World Cup qualifying. Canada, Haiti, Martinique, Cuba, Curaçao, and Bermuda will join the Hex participants in League A.

The CONCACAF Nations League draw will take place Wednesday night (10:00pm, Univision), where teams will be drawn into groups. League A will consist of 4 groups of 3 teams, League B will have 4 groups of 4 teams, and League B will have 3 groups of 3 teams and 1 group of 4 teams. Teams in each League are divided into pots, with groups consisting of one team from each pot. The winner of each group in League A will qualify for the Nations League final in June 2020, while the 3rd place finisher in each group will be relegated to League B. League B group winners will be promoted to League A, while the 4th place teams will be relegated to League C. League C group winners will jump up to League B.

So, who could the USMNT face this fall? This is how League A shapes up:

League A

Pot 1 - Mexico, United States, Costa Rica, Honduras

Pot 2 - Panama, Canada, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago

Pot 3 - Martinique, Cuba, Curaçao, Bermuda

League B

Pot 1 - Jamaica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, French Guiana

Pot 2 - Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Guyana

Pot 3 - Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia

Pot 4 - Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, Montserrat

League C (* Guatemala suspended by FIFA)

Pot 1 - Guatemala, Guadeloupe, Bonaire, Puerto Rico

Pot 2 - Aruba, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands

Pot 3 - U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla

 
It sounds like 18 year old keeper David Ochoa is in a perfect situation if he keeps playing well.  He is the starting keeper for Real Monarchs in the USL and if he has a good year, could be in perfect position to take over for Rimando when he retires from RSL this fall.

 
concacaf nation's league update: I still have no idea wtf this is. but here it is..
The Nations League qualifiers just completed yesterday and double dipped as the Gold Cup qualifiers to find the remaining ten teams.

There is not much to Nations League proper.  It will just be a handful of games that "matter" (only 3 subs etc).

 
how on earth did Jamaica fall that far?

also- all my favorite places rounding up the bottom of Group C... probably not a coincidence.

 
concacaf nation's league update: I still have no idea wtf this is. but here it is..
The Nations League qualifiers just completed yesterday and double dipped as the Gold Cup qualifiers to find the remaining ten teams.

There is not much to Nations League proper.  It will just be a handful of games that "matter" (only 3 subs etc).
IIRC, they were talking about integrating this into WCQ?

 
how on earth did Jamaica fall that far?

also- all my favorite places rounding up the bottom of Group C... probably not a coincidence.
Guat is going to run rampant in League C.  I know the suspension screwed everything up but those games are going to be meaningless now for both them and the opponents.

 
Concacaf in its full glory!

There is some sort of mix up in who got yellow cards for the Cayman Islands.  As such they may have started an ineligible player against Montserrat, which if true, by the rules should change the 2-1 Montserrat win into a 3-0 win.

The score difference would be enough to bump them up to tenth and into the Gold Cup (in place of ELS).

 
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Concacaf in its full glory!

There is some sort of mix up in who got yellow cards for the Cayman Islands.  As such they may have started an ineligible player against Montserrat, which if true, by the rules should change the 2-1 Montserrat win into a 3-0 win.

The score difference would be enough to bump them up to tenth and into the Gold Cup (in place of ELS).
fingers' crossed!

 
wtf.

ruptured vs sprained. that's a BIG difference in semantics and recovery. week to week vs months.
I'm not surprised - when they talk about Pulisic and his muscle tears, it's really just a slight pull.  While both technically correct (even when you're sore from a hard work out, you have torn muscle fibers), the German translation makes it sound so much worse.  

 
It sounds like 18 year old keeper David Ochoa is in a perfect situation if he keeps playing well.  He is the starting keeper for Real Monarchs in the USL and if he has a good year, could be in perfect position to take over for Rimando when he retires from RSL this fall.
The University of DE GK signed with the Monarchs; we are tied pretty tight with UD Soccer so I'll get nosy every once in a while to see whats up.

 
Ned said:
I'm not surprised - when they talk about Pulisic and his muscle tears, it's really just a slight pull.  While both technically correct (even when you're sore from a hard work out, you have torn muscle fibers), the German translation makes it sound so much worse.  
Pretty sure the German language only exists to make things sounds worse.

 
El Floppo said:
ruptured vs sprained. that's a BIG difference in semantics and recovery. week to week vs months.
Maybe - but "high ankle sprain" is easily a several week injury, as opposed to week-to-week.

Hope for the best.  Sucks when players pick up knocks in friendlies - but its part of the game.

 
Jeff CarlisleU.S. soccer correspondent

United States and Schalke midfielder Weston McKennie is expected to miss the remainder of the Bundesliga season with a left ankle injury suffered in the U.S.'s 1-0 friendly victory over Ecuador on Thursday, a source has told ESPN FC.

 
Jeff CarlisleU.S. soccer correspondent

United States and Schalke midfielder Weston McKennie is expected to miss the remainder of the Bundesliga season with a left ankle injury suffered in the U.S.'s 1-0 friendly victory over Ecuador on Thursday, a source has told ESPN FC.
well, ####.

 
I am following a Konrad thread about citizenship.

He is not yet a Spanish citizen.   If he plays for the US U20 in the World Cup, he will not ever be able to play for Spain even using the one time switch rule.  The one time switch is only allowed if you are already a citizen of said country when the youth cap tying even occurs.

He could only play for US or Haiti in the future if he does not get his Spanish citizenship before the WC.

He is actively seeking his Spanish citizenship so that he can freely move with in Europe but I don't know if it will be done in time for the WC.

The likelihood of him being good enough for Spain is very very low but it would be nice to remove the possibility entirely just in case he becomes great.

 
not good

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

MLS Buzz‏ @MLS_Buzz

According to a report from Bild in Germany, Hannover 96 are not planning on using the purchase option for #USMNT striker Bobby Wood, so Hamburg are now looking to sell him to #MLS. The problem? No one in MLS wants to pay what it would take to sign him.

 
I am following a Konrad thread about citizenship.

He is not yet a Spanish citizen.   If he plays for the US U20 in the World Cup, he will not ever be able to play for Spain even using the one time switch rule.  The one time switch is only allowed if you are already a citizen of said country when the youth cap tying even occurs.

He could only play for US or Haiti in the future if he does not get his Spanish citizenship before the WC.

He is actively seeking his Spanish citizenship so that he can freely move with in Europe but I don't know if it will be done in time for the WC.

The likelihood of him being good enough for Spain is very very low but it would be nice to remove the possibility entirely just in case he becomes great.
I misread.  I don't think Konrad has started the citizenship process yet which means he is almost all but certain not to have it in time for the U20 WC.

Now all we need is for Tab to pick him and play him at least 1 minute in the WC and he is a Yank for life in FIFA's eyes (I don't see Haiti as any threat).

Unfortunately this won't work for either Mendez or Ledezema.   They can still switch later if they want even if capped in the WC.

 
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NewlyRetired said:
Concacaf in its full glory!

There is some sort of mix up in who got yellow cards for the Cayman Islands.  As such they may have started an ineligible player against Montserrat, which if true, by the rules should change the 2-1 Montserrat win into a 3-0 win.

The score difference would be enough to bump them up to tenth and into the Gold Cup (in place of ELS).
MOST. CONCACAF. EVER.

Except for that time they arrested the current and former CONCACAF Presidents for corruption.  

 
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All "sprains" are ligament tears -- so I bet the word tear got translated as ruptured.  Despite the fact it may not mean fully severed.

:nerd: :grad:

 
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Except for that time they arrested the current and former CONCACAF Presidents for corruption.  
based on evidence provided by the Concacaf General Secretary who was doing what he could to stay out of jail himself  :)

I know Africa has a crazy confed too but damn, Concacaf rarely ceases to entertain :)

 
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