USMNT: Watching From Outside The Arena

Titans Bastard

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Three friendlies have been officially announced by the USSF:


March is another FIFA window where only one friendly was scheduled. That's so Canada of us. However, with Sarachan in charge, scheduling one less friendly may be doing the fans a favor...

One interesting thing about the Paraguay friendly is that it will be played in a very small venue by recent USMNT standards. WakeMed Park, home of North Carolina FC and North Carolina Courage, is about 10k.
 

Titans Bastard

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Wahl reports that Seattle Sounders GM Garth Lagerwey is under consideration for the USSF GM job.

I'd support that hire. Lagerwey is a really smart guy who has been successful at two organizations who operate in very different ways. He's spent a fair amount of time working on the Sounders' developmental pipeline. He went outside the box to bring in Tom Byer to do some work in Seattle.
 

Titans Bastard

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Bocanegra is reported to be another candidate:


The early returns on Atlanta United are very strong, but Boca still doesn't have too much of a track record as an executive. How much of ATL's success is down to him vs. using Tata as a recruiter vs. their spending vs. other FO personnel? Time will tell and there just hasn't been much time.
 

Cellar-Door

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No Bocanegra, apparently:

Not sure if he ever wanted it, but almost immediately people brought up concerns about a major paid position going to one of the people integral to Cordeiro getting the Athletes Council vote and thereby the Presidency. Wouldn't have looked great even if he was the best qualified.

Who are the contenders?
The Sounders GM sure sounded like he didn't want it.
No Bocanegra.
Do they go outside the US?
Offer it to one of the losing Presidential candidates (Caliguri, Martino?)
Coach/GM and give someone like Bielsa free reign?

It's not totally clear what the position does and who is qualified.
 

Titans Bastard

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Not sure if he ever wanted it, but almost immediately people brought up concerns about a major paid position going to one of the people integral to Cordeiro getting the Athletes Council vote and thereby the Presidency. Wouldn't have looked great even if he was the best qualified.

Who are the contenders?
The Sounders GM sure sounded like he didn't want it.
No Bocanegra.
Do they go outside the US?
Offer it to one of the losing Presidential candidates (Caliguri, Martino?)
Coach/GM and give someone like Bielsa free reign?

It's not totally clear what the position does and who is qualified.
I think Lagerwey is interested, depending on compensation and the extent of the role. He's being a little coy because he doesn't want to come cheaply and he doesn't want to alienate anyone if he ends up staying with Seattle. I listened to an interview with him on a podcast a few weeks ago. The USSF GM role came up and I definitely came away with the impression that he's open to it.

Some other possible candidates:
  • Claudio Reyna - director of football operations at NYCFC and formerly the youth technical director for the USSF
  • Earnie Stewart - sporting director at Philadelphia Union and formerly TD at NAC Breda and AZ Alkmaar
  • Craig Waibel - GM of RSL, not as experienced but is building an impressive operation vis a vis youth development right now
  • Tab Ramos - because you know he'll get an interview.
I don't see Caligiuri or Martino has good candidates for this role. I want someone with experience running an organization.

For me, there's no slam-dunk, obvious candidate.

I don't have any foreign candidates on my list simply because I wouldn't know where to start looking. I'm not opposed to that option, but I think my ideal scenario is hiring a smart American who is very familiar with the complicated lay of the land of youth soccer here, and who is very willing to bring in foreign expertise rather than hand key federation roles as patronage jobs to the USSF insiders' club. I can't state with any confidence who would execute on that, though.


As mentioned in your post, what exactly is the extent of the GM role? Hiring a USMNT manager, obviously. But how does it interact with the existing youth technical director role? Are they both necessary? I see four broad areas that need management: (1) USMNT manager, (2) youth national teams, (3) the Development Academy or any other youth soccer that's directly facilitated by the USSF, and (4) youth development at the grassroots level in general.

Hopefully when the dust settles there is clarity of purpose in all of these areas and appropriate manpower allocated to each.
 

Titans Bastard

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He was always busy with the U17s last season, but this kid needs to play more this year.
 

Titans Bastard

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I know all of you have been complaining about the CONCACAF Gold Cup and how there are just too many good teams on the outside looking in. At long last, your nightmare is over.

Gold Cup expands to 16:

 

Titans Bastard

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I don't know how it will all shake out, but if the GMs are limited to NT matters, the USSF better have good people on the youth side. Right now they have Tab Ramos as Youth Technical Director, who mostly seems to be coaching the U20s and coordinating the YNTs. From the outside perspective, there doesn't seem to be nearly enough personnel or effort focusing on broader youth development issues.
 

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I don't know how it will all shake out, but if the GMs are limited to NT matters, the USSF better have good people on the youth side. Right now they have Tab Ramos as Youth Technical Director, who mostly seems to be coaching the U20s and coordinating the YNTs. From the outside perspective, there doesn't seem to be nearly enough personnel or effort focusing on broader youth development issues.
Suppose they looked to the development academy leadership at top MLS clubs for such a role, are there any names that stand out to you as having a clue when it comes to advancing youth development nationwide?
 

Titans Bastard

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Suppose they looked to the development academy leadership at top MLS clubs for such a role, are there any names that stand out to you as having a clue when it comes to advancing youth development nationwide?
I'd divide it into two buckets, coaching education people and organization/politics people. It's possible that one person could handle both but it'd be more realistic to put a duo in place who could each work to their strengths.

The USSF already has a director of coaching education, a Dutch guy named Nico Romeijn. He was hired in 2015 and previously performed a similar role for the KNVB. Many USSF technical staff including Romeijn keep a low profile, so it's hard to tell if (a) he's any good and (b) if he is good, whether he's been empowered to do his thing.

Whether Romeijn is the guy or someone else is needed, that's the sort of role in which I'd go with foreign expertise.

It makes more sense to have the organization/politics person be an American or at least someone who has a track record in US youth soccer. The reality is that US youth soccer is big and complicated. It takes a while to get a true sense of the lay of the land and there are a lot of prickly/arrogant coaches and clubs who need to be dealt with in a diplomatic fashion, however frustrating that may be.

I'd go with a development-minded GM or the right academy director. Dallas, RSL, Seattle, and NYRB are clubs that are doing some good things in terms of development/scouting/recruitment, so I'd look there first. I don't feel qualified to make specific recommendations because you really have to be up close to tease out the extent to which specific individuals are responsible for a club's success at youth development.

The realistic options really depend on the scope of the roles that the USSF carves out. If this GM position is really just going to hire/fire coaches and help monitor the player pool, that's a pretty limited role. I wouldn't leave an MLS GM job for that, for example.

Likewise, if the USSF wants to more specifically delineate the roles that we're talking about, how much power is delegated to them will determine the caliber of the interested pool.
 

Titans Bastard

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Hey, nobody wants to be a GM with very limited authority to do things other than hire an NT manager:

The newly created U.S. Soccer men’s general manager position has yet to be filled, and multiple sources says the job is being seen as unattractive by many of the people who were originally intended to be targets for it. Those sources say the GM job as it’s designed isn’t nearly powerful enough and doesn’t have any control over youth development.

There is also concern that with the GM reporting to CEO Dan Flynn and Flynn not planning to stay on for the long term that it could be a bad fit when a new CEO comes in to replace Flynn and oversee the GM. Two sources went so far as to say they think U.S. Soccer created the position to show an angry fanbase it was doing something different when in fact they don’t think the federation really wants to make wholesale changes despite missing the 2018 World Cup.
 

Infield Infidel

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When they talked about the position initially, the mentioned it not having a ton to do on the youth side.
There will be “connectivity” between the GM and those involved with youth development and the youth national teams, Mooney added, but the federation felt there was “significant distance” between the grassroots and the senior national team. The GMs will be part of a larger technical structure focusing on those senior teams—“a brain trust,” Flynn called it—and won't be directing all of U.S. Soccer’s on-field initiatives.

“In an indirect way, those general managers will have input on what we’re doing on the player development side,” Flynn said.
This doesn't make a lot of sense. You have to ingrain a philosophy through the program, so coaches know what to coach and scouts know what to look for. Plus a lot of these candidates have that kind of power at their clubs, why would they not want it with the national team.
 

Titans Bastard

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The Adams-McKennie-Pulisic midfield of the future is going to be so good.
 

Titans Bastard

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US vs. Bolivia on May 28.


Current schedule:

3/27 vs. Paraguay @ Cary, NC
5/28 vs. Bolivia @ Chester, PA
6/2 @ Ireland
6/9 @ France
 

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Thomas Rongen, U.S. Soccer's chief international scout, decided to go on a twitter barrage today arguing that Leo Messi has a low football IQ and that Argentina's recent "struggles" are Messi's fault.

This does not exactly inspire confidence in the U.S. Soccer operation.
 

Titans Bastard

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Thomas Rongen, U.S. Soccer's chief international scout, decided to go on a twitter barrage today arguing that Leo Messi has a low football IQ and that Argentina's recent "struggles" are Messi's fault.

This does not exactly inspire confidence in the U.S. Soccer operation.
Rongen seems to have a few loose screws these days.

Who is responsible for holding the chief international scout accountable? Ah, that's right - nobody, really. This is why we need an overarching TD/GM role, not some bullshit hire-the-manager nonsense.
 

Titans Bastard

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Thomas Rongen, U.S. Soccer's chief international scout, decided to go on a twitter barrage today arguing that Leo Messi has a low football IQ and that Argentina's recent "struggles" are Messi's fault.

This does not exactly inspire confidence in the U.S. Soccer operation.
Apparently Rongen was fired last October. I hadn't realized and I have no idea if he was replaced.

 

Titans Bastard

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https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2018/03/16/16/32/20180316-news-u20mnt-heads-to-spain-for-matches-vs-france-and-atletico-madrid

The U20 team will hold the second camp of the cycle in Spain. They are playing France twice and then Atlético Madrid's U21 team.

The roster:

GK
C.J. Dos Santos (Benfica)
Phillip Ejimadu (Nacional Atlético Clube)
Brady Scott (Köln)

DF
Sergino Dest (Ajax)
Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union)
Jake Morris (Seattle Sounders)
Manny Perez (N.C. State)
Matthew Real (Philadelphia Union)
Sam Rogers (Seattle Sounders 2)
Aedan Stanley (Saint Louis FC)
Angel Uribe (Tijuana)

MF
Frankie Amaya (Pateadores)
Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United)
Chris Goslin (Atlanta United)
Andres Jimenez (Envigado)
Richie Ledezma (Real Salt Lake)
Alex Mendez (LA Galaxy)
Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas)
Juan Pablo Torres (Lokeren)

FW
Shaft Brewer (unattached)
Zyen Jones (Schalke)
Ulysses Llanez (LA Galaxy)
Nebiyou Perry (Köln)
Justin Rennicks (Indiana)
Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen)


Thoughts:
  • As is typical with U20 camps, there are many top players in this age cohort missing. Tyler Adams will likely be with the USMNT and there are rumors that PSG's Timothy Weah is getting a call up too. Players like Chris Durkin (DC), Ben Mines (NYRB), and Anthony Fontana (Philly) aren't here, possibly because they've gotten some playing time early in 2018 for their clubs.
  • Ejimadu and Jimenez are from-out-of-the-blue picks who weren't on any fan radars. Jimenez is with a Colombian first division club. Ejimadu is with a minor club in the Sao Paulo area who play in the state's second division league.
  • Club notes: I missed that Perry moved from AIK to Köln. Shaft Brewer had a brief stint with RB Leipzig, but he was never going to make it there. He was on trial with LAFC with a view to a loan, but that seems to have not panned out.
  • Llanez is the first player born in 2001 to be called up this cycle.
  • Rennicks, who is from Hamilton, MA, is the sole New England representative.
 

Titans Bastard

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The roster for the Paraguay friendly is out. It’s experimental and fairly Euro-based.

GK Alex Bono (Toronto FC)
GK Bill Hamid (Midtjylland)
GK Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew)
RB Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest)
RB Shaq Moore (Levante)
RB DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United)
CB Cameron Carter-Vickers (Ipswich Town)
CB Matt Miazga (Vitesse)
CB Erik Palmer-Brown (Kortrijk)
LB Antonee Robinson (Bolton Wanderers)
LB Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna)
MF Tyler Adams (NYRB)
MF Marky Delgado (Toronto FC)
MF Weston McKennie (Schalke)
MF Darlington Nagbe (Atlanta United)
MF Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)
MF Kenny Saief (Anderlecht)
MF Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew)
MF Tim Weah (PSG)
FW Andrija Novakovich (Telstar)
FW Rubio Rubin (Tijuana)
FW Bobby Wood (Hamburg)


Lots of wide defenders and few CBs. The opposite is true of midfield where there are many CMs and few attackers of any stripe. I think Weah is more of a forward but he was listed in the midfield.

Robinson and CCV have been playing regularly in the Championship, and generally have gotten solid reviews. Robinson’s clubs is pretty bad though.

Moore has had a few first team starts but has not played all that much.

I’m interested in Saief given our dearth of wide options.

Pulisic is being given a break. He could use a physical and mental break given his year and his form. BVB also are playing Bayern right after the break.

Novakovich has scored a boatload of goals, albeit at a low level. He’s also fairly agile for a very tall striker.

It’s hard to make an XI with such an imbalanced midfield. We may see Adams wide in a 4-1-4-1 (which has to be the most consistently boring formation in the sport, right?).
 

Titans Bastard

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Kekuta Manneh has been added to US camp. While that boosts the small number of wide midfielders on the roster, Manneh isn't actually that good.

Paxton Pomykal has withdrawn from the U20 camp. He made his first appearance of the season for FC Dallas yesterday and did decently well. It appears that he'll be involved in next weekend's game against Portland.
 

OCST

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The roster for the Paraguay friendly is out. It’s experimental and fairly Euro-based.

GK Alex Bono (Toronto FC)
GK Bill Hamid (Midtjylland)
GK Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew)
RB Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest)
RB Shaq Moore (Levante)
RB DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United)
CB Cameron Carter-Vickers (Ipswich Town)
CB Matt Miazga (Vitesse)
CB Erik Palmer-Brown (Kortrijk)
LB Antonee Robinson (Bolton Wanderers)
LB Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna)
MF Tyler Adams (NYRB)
MF Marky Delgado (Toronto FC)
MF Weston McKennie (Schalke)
MF Darlington Nagbe (Atlanta United)
MF Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)
MF Kenny Saief (Anderlecht)
MF Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew)
MF Tim Weah (PSG)
FW Andrija Novakovich (Telstar)
FW Rubio Rubin (Tijuana)
FW Bobby Wood (Hamburg)


Lots of wide defenders and few CBs. The opposite is true of midfield where there are many CMs and few attackers of any stripe. I think Weah is more of a forward but he was listed in the midfield.

Robinson and CCV have been playing regularly in the Championship, and generally have gotten solid reviews. Robinson’s clubs is pretty bad though.

Moore has had a few first team starts but has not played all that much.

I’m interested in Saief given our dearth of wide options.

Pulisic is being given a break. He could use a physical and mental break given his year and his form. BVB also are playing Bayern right after the break.

Novakovich has scored a boatload of goals, albeit at a low level. He’s also fairly agile for a very tall striker.

It’s hard to make an XI with such an imbalanced midfield. We may see Adams wide in a 4-1-4-1 (which has to be the most consistently boring formation in the sport, right?).
Robinson, known as "Jedi," is on loan to Bolton from Everton. He leads Bolton in assists this year and by all accounts is having a great season as a left back who both defends well and gets forward. Bolton fans want him to stay, but since Leighton Baines is getting old and the Toffees were reduced to picking fans out of the stands to play LB during his inevitable lengthy absence this year, Everton would be well advised to keep him. Of course, being Everton, they will probably screw it up. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/everton-defender-antonee-robinson-gets-14429203
 

Titans Bastard

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Robinson, known as "Jedi," is on loan to Bolton from Everton. He leads Bolton in assists this year and by all accounts is having a great season as a left back who both defends well and gets forward. Bolton fans want him to stay, but since Leighton Baines is getting old and the Toffees were reduced to picking fans out of the stands to play LB during his inevitable lengthy absence this year, Everton would be well advised to keep him. Of course, being Everton, they will probably screw it up. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/everton-defender-antonee-robinson-gets-14429203
Everton gave Robinson their U18 player of the year award for the 2014/15 season and signed him to pro deal. He traveled with the first team on their preseason Asia tour that summer, but badly injured his knee and missed the 2015/16 season. That's the triple whammy of (a) knee injury possibly costing the player speed and/or agility, (b) missing a key year of development, and (c) making it even easier to get lost in the mix as an injured and unproven young player at an EPL academy. I downgraded my expectations, but he's bounced back nicely.

Similar to what you wrote, my highly scientific social media check-ins over the course of the season indicate that Bolton fans love him.

Being a standout player on a bad Champo club like Bolton doesn't prove that you're EPL quality, but when you are a left back it definitely earns you a USMNT look or three.
 

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Is there anywhere to see the scores or a game report from that u20 game against france? I've been trying to google around about it, but have found nothing.
 

Titans Bastard

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Is there anywhere to see the scores or a game report from that u20 game against france? I've been trying to google around about it, but have found nothing.
Nada.

The USSF will probably put out a basic box score at the end of the week for all three U20 games.
 

Titans Bastard

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The "not going to the WC" kits are officially here....


My verdict: meh. They aren't as boring and generic as the current jerseys, but it feels a bit gimmicky. I wish the 2017 Gold Cup jerseys stuck around for longer. They were the best ones we've had since ~2013 or so.

The US should just go with the Waldos permanently.
 

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The "not going to the WC" kits are officially here....


My verdict: meh. They aren't as boring and generic as the current jerseys, but it feels a bit gimmicky. I wish the 2017 Gold Cup jerseys stuck around for longer. They were the best ones we've had since ~2013 or so.

The US should just go with the Waldos permanently.
It's been a long time since I've wanted to purchase a US jersey. They've all been so meh for a while. The waldos were great though.
 

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By Nike's "why try USSF is going to extend this deal into the 23rd century" standards that is pretty decent, by "is this good" standards it's pretty bad. USSF's long term deals with Nike are terrible for the quality of the kits and other clothing items. Nike puts in zero effort, it's almost always garbage, and in 2022 when this deal ends they'll get another 10 year deal at whatever price they offer. Our only hope is the NCAA scandal expands and uncovers bribes to USSF and everyone goes to jail.
 

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To say these are merely “meh” does a disservice to the term “meh.” The last time the team had a worse kit was the ‘94 World Cup and even then it’s close.

I think the home design should follow the NEP mold: predominantly blue representing the Continental Army with very little or no British red.
Just make the Waldo’s with white shorts and socks the away kit going forward.
 

Titans Bastard

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Is there anywhere to see the scores or a game report from that u20 game against france? I've been trying to google around about it, but have found nothing.


One thing to note is that the US team is a mix of 1999s and 2000s (plus Llanez, a 2001) while France's squad is a mix of 1998s and 1999s. I don't know how strong this squad is relative to France's pool of 1998s and 1999s. But, well, Mbappe is a 1998.


I heard through the grapevine that Mark McKenzie (CB) and Richie Ledezma (DM) did well. Ledezma is an amateur in RSL's academy but his stock seems to be rising. I wouldn't be surprised to see him sign with RSL soon. It would be a good opportunity given that Beckerman is near the end of the line.
 

Titans Bastard

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By Nike's "why try USSF is going to extend this deal into the 23rd century" standards that is pretty decent, by "is this good" standards it's pretty bad. USSF's long term deals with Nike are terrible for the quality of the kits and other clothing items. Nike puts in zero effort, it's almost always garbage, and in 2022 when this deal ends they'll get another 10 year deal at whatever price they offer. Our only hope is the NCAA scandal expands and uncovers bribes to USSF and everyone goes to jail.
This is appropriate:

 

Titans Bastard

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4-1-4-1 tonight.

Wood
Saief -- Delgado -- Adams -- Nagbe
Trapp
Villafaña -- CCV -- Miazga -- Yedlin
Steffen​

Don't look for much creativity from that three-man midfield.
 
Last edited:

Titans Bastard

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The US is having one of those games where they generally look better than their opponent, but haven't actually created any danger. Most of their best moments have come down the left wing.
 

Titans Bastard

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Adams wins a penalty after Delgado plays him in behind the defense with a very nice pass.
 

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The US is having one of those games where they generally look better than their opponent, but haven't actually created any danger. Most of their best moments have come down the left wing.
There we go.

Wood converts the PK.
 

Titans Bastard

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Wood converts!

Bobby really needs a goal or two however he can get it. He's having a terrible year for terrible club.
 

Titans Bastard

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That was a really nice long ball. And what a beautiful run by Adams. I did not realize he was that fast. He blew by the CB.
Adams is pretty fast, but the Paraguayan defender also was slowed up because he didn't get a great read on Delgado's pass.


Adams' field coverage is elite. I think he could be a Jermaine Jones-like dynamo in the midfield, except with more positional discipline and less attacking flair.
 

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For a guy who hasn't shown blazing speed, Saief sure has beaten a lot of guys 1v1. That was a nasty run.
 

DJnVa

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No better way to build camaraderie than a little dust up after a cheap Paraguay foul.
 

Titans Bastard

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It's getting chippy. Paraguay picks up two quick yellows, the second of which was an obvious red in a competitive game.

This is a perfect opportunity for Miazga to deploy the jimmy-tapping skills he's been developing in the Eredivisie.
 

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This has probably been Trapp's best game in a US shirt. He's a nice passer from the DM position, but defensive toughness at the international level has always been the question for him. He's been solid tonight.
 

Titans Bastard

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Rubio Rubin on for Kenny Saief.

Saief looked useful, especially because he can play anyway on the left flank from LB to LW.