Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
I have read that Chelsea plan to have him as #2 this season and will give him most of the preseason minutes. So maybe they released him but asked for him not to be used unless it was needed?
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US Men's National Team (10 Viewers)
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CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
I was thinking they probably brought these three guys in with the understanding each would start one game. I guess we'll see on Sunday. I doubt they got to this level of analysis, but you could say that Turner started in what was expected to be the most competitive game of the three, Johnson the least competitive and Gaga playing the middle game in terms of quality of opponent. Its a stretch but works for me.
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
Interesting to contrast this with Pulisic. Supporters (at least the online warriors) cried foul every time he was asked to play anywhere other than his exact preferred position in the precise formation that was deemed acceptable for his skill set. Thankfully, I don't think Pulisic himself ever complained during the brief period when Tuchel needed him to fill in on the right side or at wingback, but I think his dad sent out a couple woe-is-me tweets.
El Floppo
Footballguy
Balo is the obvious first choice 9. At this point Pepi has played his way in as the 2nd choice and has shown solid upside. But we know how fickle forward play is after the last few years... so any of Pepi, Sarge, Jesus (who is still youngish), Dike, Vazquez and hopefully others will have their shot depending on form.
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
If the focus is the world cup, you just have to look at the last qualifying cycle to see how difficult and ultimately meaningless the discussion is three years out. I get why we do it and I'm all here for it, but at this point in the last cycle we routinely started guys like Bradley, Zardes and Trapp. Daniel Lovitz played in 13 USMNT games in 2019 with 6 starts.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
I would be peachy with this.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
Nope, can't do it
I understand your general point but this vears WAAAAY to close to "only 3 games every 4 years has meaning"
There are so few games in each cycle, almost every game (except probably camp cup cake) has real meaning in determining what should be our strongest lineup, our strongest formation, our strongest roster, our depth behind our strongest roster, etc etc.
I honestly have no idea why people even follow the team if trying to discuss these things are not interesting. They are the core of being a national team fan, otherwise one just becomes a World Cup fan (which of course there is nothing wrong with, everyone can enjoy the sport how ever they want).
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
to think this was going to be Brazil and Argentina :(
At least the people in Minnesota can see a game with out the fear of frost bite
==========================
U.S. Men's National Soccer Team
@USMNT
𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗿!
USA vs Uzbekistan Sept. 9 St. Louis
USA vs Oman Sept. 12 St. Paul
At least the people in Minnesota can see a game with out the fear of frost bite
==========================
U.S. Men's National Soccer Team
@USMNT
𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗿!
USA vs Uzbekistan Sept. 9 St. Louis
USA vs Oman Sept. 12 St. Paul
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
How ever the October friendlies look juicy!
===============
USA will host Germany and Ghana in October
===============
USA will host Germany and Ghana in October
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Henceforth known as a 'Zendejas'.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
The Athletic | Football
@TheAthleticFC
The Jamaica women’s national team is set to head to the Women’s World Cup with crowdfunding help to cover some costs of accommodation and meals.
PIK95
Footballguy
LOVE IT!
Quite The Wall they had to scale.
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
Nope, can't do it
I understand your general point but this vears WAAAAY to close to "only 3 games every 4 years has meaning"
There are so few games in each cycle, almost every game (except probably camp cup cake) has real meaning in determining what should be our strongest lineup, our strongest formation, our strongest roster, our depth behind our strongest roster, etc etc.
I honestly have no idea why people even follow the team if trying to discuss these things are not interesting. They are the core of being a national team fan, otherwise one just becomes a World Cup fan (which of course there is nothing wrong with, everyone can enjoy the sport how ever they want).
The fun thing is this thread is so old and we've all been here so long that someone with some time on their hands could go back to the time roughly 3 years before Qatar and read what some of us were saying back then (
). My guess is that Turner was not on anyone's radar, Zach was considered the uncontested #1 with Miazga and Brooks in the back line. Agree its all good fun and interesting but I wonder - what are the odds there is a player or two out there right now that almost no one is considering for 2026 who is not only going to make the team but will be a significant contributor? I think we were all well aware of Tyler Adams in the winter of 2019 but I doubt anyone thought he would be one of the best if not the single most important player for the US in Qatar.
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NewlyRetired
Footballguy
With every poor shot you could see in his face he kept thinking "I am blowing my chance, I am blowing my chance". It is probably the most pressure I have seen a guy put on himself in a blow out.
ChiefD
Footballguy
And he double-screwed himself by passing up wide open passes to his waiting teammates just so he could try to score. In a blow out.
I get it - he's young and trying to make his mark. But that also jumped out at me.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
I hope there are some players that will emerge, that is most of the fun of watching so closely during the cycle.Nope, can't do it
I understand your general point but this vears WAAAAY to close to "only 3 games every 4 years has meaning"
There are so few games in each cycle, almost every game (except probably camp cup cake) has real meaning in determining what should be our strongest lineup, our strongest formation, our strongest roster, our depth behind our strongest roster, etc etc.
I honestly have no idea why people even follow the team if trying to discuss these things are not interesting. They are the core of being a national team fan, otherwise one just becomes a World Cup fan (which of course there is nothing wrong with, everyone can enjoy the sport how ever they want).
The fun thing is this thread is so old and we've all been here so long that someone with some time on their hands could go back to the time roughly 3 years before Qatar and read what some of us were saying back thenbag
As for Adams, he became a cog in 2018 when Sarachan turned the team into "next generation" after the debacle in T&T. He went almost all youth as Adams and Weston both broke into the team. Adams played 8 times in 2018 for the US and by winter of 2019, he made the move to the Bundesliga where he started immediately when joining.
The likelihood of a Turner emerging is very low though because it is so rare these days that a player just comes out of no where like he did. Starting the sport late, going to college etc are not really part of the US development cycle any more. He may be one of the last of his kind. I am very hopeful though that players who were maybe not a part of youth national teams emerge in their mid 20's going forward. What happened last cycle (having the youngest national team in the world), I hope was a one off.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
yeah I agree.
The Roldan assist really stood out here. Roldan still has not scored as a Nat but still had the intelligence to lay the ball off for an easy goal for Milhailovic instead of going for his own glory.
Pretty sure that a lot of us posted something to the effect of "Tim Ream should never appear in a USMNT uniform again"
The fun thing is this thread is so old and we've all been here so long that someone with some time on their hands could go back to the time roughly 3 years before Qatar and read what some of us were saying back then
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
I certainly did.
And to be fair to all who said this, it wasn't with out merit, he looked absolutely cooked at times for the Nats, to the point where even a fairly loyal GGG flat out dropped him off the team.
He has had one of the great end of career trajectories I can ever remember for a US player.
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
I think the 2018-2022 cycle was a bit unique because of the "Lost Generation" of US players. We lost a lot of mainstays at once (Clint, Howard, Bradley) and we finally had the young guys start hitting (and got a number of dual nats). I think we might have one or two guys break through. Maybe a college CB like Miles or something. Maybe someone who we've already written off will put it together. Like Tessman or Keaton Parks. But I think we have a pretty good idea of the core of the team, even considering the guys we might expect to graduate up (like Paredes).
We certainly know a lot of the core team, but I'm guessing that if we each predict the full 26 man roster today, our predictions will be surprisingly inaccurate overall (between injuries, competition, weird career trajectories, oddball coaching preferences, etc.)
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Amen. I'm really glad you brought this up.
You want to know why these vets get called in? Because they set incredible examples. How to work, how to take care of your body, how to put the team first, how to stick to your role during the 90, how handle criticism from the coach. etc etc etc
Given the scoreline and that he'd never scored for the US, it would have been 100% understandable for Roldan to let one fly. But he was unselfish and did the right thing for the team. Loved that play.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
If it is 26, we could see a couple of new names, but if it returns to 23 (all the tournaments around the world appear to be going back to 23), I bet there is no more than 1 player whose name has not yet appeared in this thread in one form or another.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
It is only 2 games so far and it will likely change if the US get a deep run in but as of right now the one player who comes out of this the best is, ironically, Aaronson.
prefontaine
Footballguy
To be fair to Berhalter, I don't think this happened. Ream withdrew from a camp for family reasons. Berhalter stopped calling him at that point.
prefontaine
Footballguy
I guess but other guys ****ting the bed doesn't change how poorly he's played over the last 8 months or so. IMO, it's Booth, Paredes, Wiley, and the like that benefit.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
I am pretty sure he stopped calling him because he did not think he was a quality player any more. I don't think it had anything to do with family reasons after the one time he pulled out. If GGG thought he was still a quality player, I am sure he would have kept calling him. It always felt to me like GGG lost confidence in him (just as many of us did).
When I said dropped him from the team I was not talking like it was a Fabian issue (where he was sent home for being a *****), I just meant that GGG stopped calling him all together.
Ream was so certain he was unfavored, he was hesitant to even accept the call up to the WC as he thought he was so far in the dog house he could not escape. He even asked GGG to let him sleep on it before he accepted the call up, which luckily GGG did.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
It will be interesting to see if those guys get called up in the fall friendlies over Aaronson. Competition is good so I am hopeful that all will be fighting, and maybe some come out clearly on top at the club level.
encaitar
Footballguy
To me, Jesus makes zero sense as a third striker. A third striker needs to be someone who does something the top 2 strikers don't. Balogun and Pepi are both just better versions of Fereira. We need a 3rd striker who is either a defensive specialist to help close out games with the press(probably Sargent at this point) or who is a mammoth presence in the middle in games we are chasing and punting balls into the box(maybe Dike? right now). Neither of those describe Jesus.
prefontaine
Footballguy
I think the sleep on it comment was more about this quote in the press conference for the last camp prior to the World Cup:
“He's been captaining the side and some of the things that we're looking for in our centerbacks is to play a high line, cover a lot of space behind them, be dominant in the air dominant on offensive end defensive set pieces, and that's not Tim’s strengths,” Berhalter said bluntly.
September 15, 2022.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
That could very well be. It all tied into Ream thinking GGG did not rate him. Here is what Ream said
=============
Tim Ream admitted he nearly declined his call-up to the United States men's national team for the 2022 World Cup.
WHAT HAPPENED? The center back has been excellent for Fulham upon the club's return to the Premier League, thus it was no surprise for fans of the English top-flight to see him called up to the USMNT for the World Cup. However, Ream himself was taken aback by the call given his lack of playing time for his country before the tournament, and almost declined the chance to go to the Middle East.
WHAT THEY SAID: "To see [Gregg Berhalter's] name pop up on my phone, I was just like, 'No way, this could not be possible,'" he explained to Men in Blazers. "It took some convincing [for me to go to Qatar]. I can be completely honest with it, the way things had gone, I just wasn't in the right place mentally right then and there with that first phone call to say, 'Yeah I'm there.' Because I wasn't fully confident that they were confident that I could help the team, and so I told him I had to sleep on it."
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
Well yes, but the coach also needs to consider replacing one of Pepi/Balogun. It is not just the role of the 3rd striker that needs to be found, GGG and company need to find some one who could step into for Balogun or Pepi if they get injured.
I don't expect it will be Jesus for either a 3rd striker or a replacement for the top two guys, but I am pretty certain he is going to be in the mix some where during the cycle as we hopefully figure it out.
Hopefully a 3rd candidate surfaces but it was so rough last cycle, we should probably be happy enough with Pepi and Balogun at this point. Those two this cycle should be significantly better than anything we had last cycle.
SpurrierisisGod
Footballguy
If the roster limit drops back down to 23, 3rd striker is out of the question. You bring 2 and the extra slot goes to someone that is versatile that can play AM or striker maybe even a wing in a pinch. It's a luxury and insurance policy.
Fun to debate who that should be along with the top 2 strikers. From what we've had in the past, I don't think there is a wrong (or horrible) answer now
Fun to debate who that should be along with the top 2 strikers. From what we've had in the past, I don't think there is a wrong (or horrible) answer now
encaitar
Footballguy
This is true. Honestly I think Weah is the 3rd striker on paper if we have to go to 23. He's shown the most versatility of anyone on the team. I also think he's 3rd LB and RB if we're forced to 23, given that he's shown he can do it at the club level.
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
AC Milan are working on Yunus Musah deal. Direct contacts taking place with Valencia since Monday — understand opening verbal proposal around €17m plus add-ons being discussed.
gianmarco
Footballguy
USA Milan
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
I forgot that Musah holds an Italian passport so he won't need one of the valuable non EU spots. Milan supposedly have only one of these spots left and Pulisic would need it according to The Athletic.
For some reason I thought Pulisic had a Euro passport as that is what allowed him to play in Germany before he was 18.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
Reminder that the T&T game is on Fox (the main channel) on Sunday. Kickoff is expected at 7:06pm.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
Musah and Milan have come to personal terms on a 4 year contract. Milan and Valencia still negotiating fee
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
Pulisic and Milan have advanced their talks. Agreement expected soon. No word on how close Chelsea and Milan are
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
If only Dest could stick around, it could be reminiscent of Berlusconi's Guillit-Rijkaard-van Baasten Milan teams in the 80's.
encaitar
Footballguy
Pulisic had a Croatian passport when he went to Dortmund, so you're correct on that. No idea why he wouldn't still have it. Gotta believe the Athletic is wrong on that one, although that is surprising.
B Maverick
Footballguy
Maybe he didnt or couldnt renew it for some reason?
encaitar
Footballguy
Couldn't he just reapply for it though? He's technically a Croatian citizen(dual USA) after getting his citizenship there to play for Dortmund. Seems weird that he'd make Milan waste a non-EU spot if all it took was a little bit of paperwork on his part to avoid that.
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
Technically has Croatian citizenship and an EU passport. Agree the Athletic article (which I've not read) is likely confused or maybe something happened we're not aware of. For now, I'm blaming BREXIT for this.
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
I went back to double check to make sure I did not read wrong. Here is the pertinent section
=============
AC Milan are in talks to sign USMNT midfielder Yunus Musah from Valencia.
Musah holds an Italian passport so crucially would not take up another non-EU registration slot in Milan’s transfers for this season.
The 20-year-old has been a regular at Valencia for the last three years after joining from Arsenal in 2019.
Following a year in the B team, Musah has made 108 appearances for Valencia’s first team over the last three seasons, scoring five goals.
Despite Valencia’s struggles in La Liga, Musah impressed and continued to be regularly selected in the US team. He started every game at the 2022 World Cup, as the US lost to the Netherlands at the round-of-16 stage.
Milan also retain an interest in Musah’s USMNT team-mate Christian Pulisic.
If they were to sign the 24-year-old Chelsea forward, he would occupy the final non-EU registration spot.
![[icon]](/data/avatars/m/5/5167.jpg?1660313464){kind=avatar}
NewlyRetired
Footballguy
ESPN is reporting that Pulisic and Milan came to agreement today. Chelsea and Milan are still negotiating.
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