USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

Titans Bastard

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It's basically the same type of field I play on in my adult league - except there isn't a loose dog running around and the substitutes aren't drinking beer.
...yet.


This is a complete waste of time. The players look like they are playing to not get injured, which is what they should be doing. I missed a bit just before and after HT, but I thought Horvath looked confident. But mostly, there's nothing to be learned here.

It's weird to say, but I'm a big fan of the Wondo sub. Get Pulisic outta here.
 

Titans Bastard

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Wondo, killer of small CONCACAF nations.

Belize and Cuba bow before him.
 

Titans Bastard

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Holy shit. A Cuban player kicks Birnbaum in the face after a reckless jump and draws serious blood -- ref doesn't even call a foul. It wasn't intentional but that's a straight red even by the standards of a friendly.
 

Titans Bastard

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Holy shit. A Cuban player kicks Birnbaum in the face after a reckless jump and draws serious blood -- ref doesn't even call a foul. It wasn't intentional but that's a straight red even by the standards of a friendly.
Birnbaum ended up getting eight stitches for this. Ouch.

Roster changes for NZ

OUT: Horvath, Brooks, Cameron, Chandler, Johnson, Pulisic, Morris, Wondo, Wood
IN: Hamid, Orozco, Besler, Parker Acosta, Boyd, Agudelo

Current roster:

GK - Bingham, Hamid, Yarbrough

DF - Acosta, Besler, Birnbaum, Gonzalez, Orozco, Parker, Yedlin

MF - Arriola, Bradley, Gooch, Kitchen, Kljestan, Williams

FW - Agudelo, Altidore, Boyd, Green


A bunch of guys head back to Europe after what's probably one of the most pointless international breaks of their careers. Morris is leaving because Seattle has a key game against Houston on Wednesday.


It's a nice moment for Boyd to return to US camp for the first time in 2.5 years after a long injury saga, but he's only played four Regionalliga games since coming back. Agudelo, meanwhile, has been in very good form.

No clue who among the GKs will start. Yedlin and Acosta are likely the starting fullbacks. Parker (a CB) and Gooch are still looking for debuts.

With the lack of established wide midfield options in this roster, I'd expect Green to start again and maybe even one of Arriola/Gooch. In a throwaway friendly against a weak opponent, I really hope we don't bother with something pointless like using Williams or Kitchen in a wide position.


Agudelo -- Altidore
Green -- Kljestan -- Bradley -- Arriola
Acosta -- Besler -- Gonzalez -- Yedlin
GK
I'll predict Arriola gets the nod over Gooch because he has a few caps under his belt and Gooch has zero. No idea on the GK, but if pressed I'll guess Bingham. I also wouldn't be shocked if JK gave Birnbaum the nod over Omar.
 

Titans Bastard

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Experimental lineup tonight against New Zealand. Supposedly this is how the pieces fit together:


Green - Altidore - Yedlin
Bradley - Kljestan - Kitchen
Acosta - Besler - Gonzalez - Orozco
Yarbrough
We'll see how this looks in reality. Fullbacks need to provide width in a 4-3-3 and we've got a CM and a CB manning those spots tonight. I'll bet that the 4-3-3 will morph into something else sooner or later.

I'm seeing reports on Twitter that Gooch is likely to play the last 30 minutes.
 

Titans Bastard

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We look shitty, but I can't recall a single time when the US looked good in a 4-3-3 against any opponent, under any coach, at any level.

Yarbrough has looked shaky. Every time I see him, he looks like the sort of guy who wouldn't have a prayer of a US call up if he played for an MLS club. He's like the Orozco of GKs.
 

Titans Bastard

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Green scores! Awful goalkeeping, though. Jozy flicked on a goal kick and Green did his cut-to-the-right move and beat the GK to the near post.
 

Titans Bastard

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Gooch comes on for Acosta for his debut. Hopefully he can liven up what has been a snoozer. Orozco shifts to LB and Yedlin goes back to RB (thankfully). Yedlin: still not a winger, and never will be.
 

Titans Bastard

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Gooch has had an immediate impact. He nearly pressured the GK into a turnover, then a minute later delivered a nice ball into the box.

Danny Williams on for Kitchen. Kitchen and Bradley didn't seem to be quite on the same page defensively tonight.
 

Titans Bastard

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NZ equalizes off a corner, a deflected shot that got by Bingham. Not great defending by the US.
 

Titans Bastard

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Boyd makes a return to the field for the US, replacing Jozy late.

This game is boring and this int'l break has been dreadful.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Gooch was a bright spot for that debut. I think he has a very good shot at taking Bedoya's job on this team soon.
 

InstaFace

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He hasn't featured for the Fightin' Klinsmanns for a while, but Timothy Chandler just had an absolute monster game against Bayern Munich starting at RB, including a sizzling assist that was chested in past a complaining Neuer. I wonder if he might give Yedlin some competition if he gets enough playtime with the MNT to gel with them.
 

DJnVa

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That sucks.

He's not a bad option to have in your camp. He's not world class but I don't like leaving any talent behind.
 

soxfan121

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Anyone who refuses a call up - if the reason isn't family or health related - can go piss up a rope, and fuck off.
 

Infield Infidel

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If we told every guy who turned down a call up for a friendly to fuck off, we wouldn't have a team. Dempsey, Williams, Chandler, Howard, Johnson, Morris? I mean, that's just off the top of my head. I think Yedlin turned one down last year.

This is such a mountain out of a molehill. They were whatever friendlies against Cuba and New Zealand, who cares.
 

Cellar-Door

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Yeah it all depends on why you turn it down.
For Nagbe the bigger concern to me is that it sounds like he isn't happy being a rotation/bench option. If that's the case then he shouldn't get more calls, he's just not good enough to be an every match regular.
 

soxfan121

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If we told every guy who turned down a call up for a friendly to fuck off, we wouldn't have a team. Dempsey, Williams, Chandler, Howard, Johnson, Morris? I mean, that's just off the top of my head. I think Yedlin turned one down last year.

This is such a mountain out of a molehill. They were whatever friendlies against Cuba and New Zealand, who cares.
I forgot "club considerations". Anyone on that list turn down a call up for a reason that wasn't family, health, or club? Dempsey (health), Williams (club), Chandler (club), Howard (club), Johnson (when was this?), Morris (club) - right?

If Nagbe is refusing a callup because he doesn't like the coach - as implied in the article - I stand by my statement: piss up a rope and fuck off.
 

Infield Infidel

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Way to move the woodwork. Chandler turned down calls for two years, and not just for friendlies. Howard took a sabbatical. Players have different reasons for skipping crap friendlies, that's no reason to shut the door on them, this wasn't Brazil or even like, Bosnia. Every intl break is different; for this one, why would you call a guy and not have a plan to play him?

I don't think it's necessarily implied that he didn't like the coach, and it said family reasons were at least part of the reason. He also wanted to know if he'd get PT, which in crap friendlies, should be planned out ahead of time, before the coach even makes the call. I get not wanting to be strung along.

We also don't know when Nagbe got the call; was it last minute when Bedoya pulled out? There's a lot more questions than answers in that very short article
 

SumnerH

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Feeler here: this thread is now years old. Should we split it at some point? Generally we split threads yearly or so. The new thread's first post would link back to this one and vice versa, for easy navigation. If yes, when is a good time?
 

soxfan121

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Way to move the woodwork.
Yes, I fucked up by not including "club considerations" in my first post. But since I've written about that in the past and can point to numerous examples of it, I think it could be excused as an oversight and not "moving the woodwork". But whatever floats your boat.

Chandler turned down calls for two years, and not just for friendlies.
And I'm on record in this thread - with many others - saying that Timmy could go piss up a rope, and fuck off. His lack of commitment to the USMNT is why he no longer gets a call, despite being one of our few acceptable options at fullback. I have no problem with the manager not bothering with Chandler and his lack of interest in being part of the team.


Howard took a sabbatical.
And he spoke to the manager and USA Soccer about it before he did ... and he lost his starting job as a result. He did it to focus on his club career. I'm not a fan, but I understand. Again - years of posts backing the same opinion, so same goalposts. If one cares about such a thing.


Players have different reasons for skipping crap friendlies, that's no reason to shut the door on them, this wasn't Brazil or even like, Bosnia. Every intl break is different; for this one, why would you call a guy and not have a plan to play him?
Yes - club considerations, health, and family issues. What are other acceptable reasons? "I don't feel like it?"

I don't think it's necessarily implied that he didn't like the I don't think it's necessarily implied that he didn't like the coach,
Part of the reason was a lack of playing time, but there were other ways in which Nagbe didn’t feel valued by Klinsmann.

That is the dictionary definition of implied.

and it said family reasons were at least part of the reason.
Where does it say that? Oh, the "obvious excuse" dismissed by the source of the piece? I mean... sure. OK.

He also wanted to know if he'd get PT, which in crap friendlies, should be planned out ahead of time, before the coach even makes the call. I get not wanting to be strung along.
He's a marginal player. He should be guaranteed playing time in order for him to join the team? "Strung along"? Delicate snowflakes. SMH. Nagbe - if he wants to be part of the USMNT - should show up and work hard. He is not some superstar to be guaranteed playing time. He is an MLS starter who should be taking every opportunity to increase his profile, and depth of experience, by working hard and supporting the team. There are zero players in the current pool who should be guaranteed playing time; and with this manager, it should be quite clear that Diva bullshit (read: Donovan impersonations) don't impress him much. Nagbe has an inflated sense of his own value and the manager should suck up to him with guaranteed playing time? That's ridiculous.

We also don't know when Nagbe got the call; was it last minute when Bedoya pulled out? There's a lot more questions than answers in that very short article
This is a reasonable point. But refusing an replacement call - i.e. you're out of the top 18, but there's now an opening for you to come in an impress us and get into the top 18 - is arguably even more egregious.

This guy (Nagbe) isn't good enough to dictate terms. He isn't good enough to have a guaranteed spot, or to have guaranteed playing time. He is a fringe talent for the USMNT and he should be willing to come in, work hard, and earn his place. Or he can go piss up a rope, and fuck off. I'd rather have Graham Zusi and his "I'll do whatever I can to be on the team" attitude than this fucking guy, seven days a week. So would 99% of coaches and managers.

And really, it is Darlington Nagbe. If he were any good, he wouldn't be toiling away in MLS like a scrub. So, ultimately, no great loss for the program.
 

McBride11

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You can't complain about playing time as a marginal player and then refuse call ups, unless someone is dieing or being born.
Getting time against a few poor teams could allow him to impress and get more call ups / PT.

I mean wasn't that Jozy's MO of crushing weak sides and solidifying a spot.
 

Infield Infidel

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Yes, I fucked up by not including "club considerations" in my first post.
As for "club considerations", Nagbe has three matches this week for a playoff bubble team, including a CCL qualifier. So there's your club considerations.

And I'm on record in this thread - with many others - saying that Timmy could go piss up a rope, and fuck off. His lack of commitment to the USMNT is why he no longer gets a call, despite being one of our few acceptable options at fullback. I have no problem with the manager not bothering with Chandler and his lack of interest in being part of the team.
Chandler got called up for WC and literally got the call and started against Cuba in the recent break; do you even watch games? Respectfully, I think you are out of your depth here.

Part of the reason was a lack of playing time, but there were other ways in which Nagbe didn’t feel valued by Klinsmann.

That is the dictionary definition of implied.

Where does it say that? Oh, the "obvious excuse" dismissed by the source of the piece? I mean... sure. OK.
Wahl: I’m told that “family time” wasn’t the only reason Nagbe decided not to come, though. Part of the reason was a lack of playing time, but there were other ways in which Nagbe didn’t feel valued by Klinsmann.
This is more hedged than a row of bushes. I don't see anything about it being an "obvious excuse". Nagbe has a nine-month old and a two-year-old at home, so yeah family may actually be a big part of the reason. The only person on record is Steve Zakuani, who's buds with Nagbe and is on his side. Nagbe and JK have said zilch, so like I said, there are plenty of unanswered questions.
He's a marginal player. He should be guaranteed playing time in order for him to join the team? "Strung along"? Delicate snowflakes. SMH. Nagbe - if he wants to be part of the USMNT - should show up and work hard. He is not some superstar to be guaranteed playing time. He is an MLS starter who should be taking every opportunity to increase his profile, and depth of experience, by working hard and supporting the team. There are zero players in the current pool who should be guaranteed playing time; and with this manager, it should be quite clear that Diva bullshit (read: Donovan impersonations) don't impress him much. Nagbe has an inflated sense of his own value and the manager should suck up to him with guaranteed playing time? That's ridiculous.
We all know JK is the only diva around. Nagbe is super humble, he's a really solid dude who stressed for years to get citizenship to play for USMNT. He's a frickin' refugee! He's a hard worker for Portland, he's played 40 of the 42 matches for them and only missed two matches because he got Nigel deJonged. I mean, he's won the MLS Fair Play award twice, and does a lot of other refugees.

This is a reasonable point. But refusing an replacement call - i.e. you're out of the top 18, but there's now an opening for you to come in an impress us and get into the top 18 - is arguably even more egregious.
Or he was prepping for this week already with his club and changing diapers.

This guy (Nagbe) isn't good enough to dictate terms. He isn't good enough to have a guaranteed spot, or to have guaranteed playing time. He is a fringe talent for the USMNT and he should be willing to come in, work hard, and earn his place. Or he can go piss up a rope, and fuck off. I'd rather have Graham Zusi and his "I'll do whatever I can to be on the team" attitude than this fucking guy, seven days a week. So would 99% of coaches and managers.
There's a difference between dictating terms and knowing where you stand. He's been called up for 14 games, he's had 10 caps, all subs, eight appearances under 30 minutes. That's hardly a fair shake. JK couldn't get him one start in 14 matches, including a handful of friendlies? I doesn't seem like JK has a plan for him, and a manager should have a plan for every player. Would you want to take time from your job and family to work for someone with no plan for you? Remember as a central mid he has to get a feel for all the players on the field; it's tough to bed in in 25 minute stints. It's not like winger or forward or fullback, where you more or less have one job.

And really, it is Darlington Nagbe. If he were any good, he wouldn't be toiling away in MLS like a scrub. So, ultimately, no great loss for the program.
If JK ices him out (which we don't know yet), it's a loss because it's entirely shortsighted. Every central mid who has played extensively for USMNT lately will be on the wrong side of 30 come 2018. Nagbe is one of few who will be under 30, except for pups like Zalelem and Arriola. He's also at least as good on the ball as anyone we have, and USMNT needs players with better ball skills (har har) out there to take heat out of a game when the opponent is going well. Why are we playing veterans against scrub teams? Cuba and New Zealand are perfect opportunities to give him a start.
 
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soxfan121

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Respectfully, I think you are out of your depth here.
Probably. I was reacting to a half-assed, unsourced "news item" that implied there was an issue between the player and the manager. And as a believer in the manager, I may have stumbled into territory that was over my head.

That said, I stand by the basics of my opinion: Playing for your country is an honor, and should be respected. I have no problem with any coach or manager dropping a player who refuses a call-up for any reason other than health, family issues, or club considerations (that are discussed with the NT manager before the call-up is refused).
 

Infield Infidel

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The sources could be awesome or terrible, unless someone on the record says something we really won't know anything until the next international break, if even then. But managing a national team is an even bigger honor than playing. JK is the caretaker responsible for his second cohort of national team players. These guys only get a few bites at the apple, while JK could theoretically coach forever, here or elsewhere.

edit- Frankly, I feel bad for Nagbe, first he gets deJonged and now this. Anyone who sees their life and career flash before their eyes at the cleats of Nigel deJong gets a lifetime pass from me.
 
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SumnerH

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Feeler here: this thread is now years old. Should we split it at some point? Generally we split threads yearly or so. The new thread's first post would link back to this one and vice versa, for easy navigation. If yes, when is a good time?
Anyone? Should I just split it at a quiet time? Let it grow forever?
 

soxfan121

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Anyone? Should I just split it at a quiet time? Let it grow forever?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but most threads get split yearly (or so) because most sports feature a yearly-season. The title here properly identifies the time span between the USMNT's "full season" - which ends in Russia, in 2018. Everything before that is prep and or qualifying.

However, as II points out, if we're gonna do it - now's the time, before the Hex (another step in qualifying) happens.

The sources could be awesome or terrible, unless someone on the record says something we really won't know anything until the next international break, if even then. But managing a national team is an even bigger honor than playing. JK is the caretaker responsible for his second cohort of national team players. These guys only get a few bites at the apple, while JK could theoretically coach forever, here or elsewhere.

edit- Frankly, I feel bad for Nagbe, first he gets deJonged and now this. Anyone who sees their life and career flash before their eyes at the cleats of Nigel deJong gets a lifetime pass from me.
I wanted to get back to this, as it keeps invading my thoughts while I'm doing other things:

You're absolutely right. The National Team is a symbol - in a special, unique, unclassifiable way - that means a ton to us. Especially refugees, and those who've worked their asses off to become citizens and represent our country. I failed to think about that in previous replies and I want to say that I understand now why this struck a nerve, and how wrong I was about it. Personally, the NT inspires the irrational, crazy fan in me, and I know for you and many others. The connection is different, and it is guys like Nagbe - who come here, love it, and work to represent it honorably - deserve better from (stupid) fans like me. I was wrong and I apologize.

Go America.

 

Titans Bastard

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The US U-20s will play in a friendly tournament in Manchester, UK over the October international window. The lineup is good - they play Germany, Netherlands, and England.

The roster:

GK
Jonathan Klinsmann (California)
Justin Vom Steeg (Fortuna Düsseldorf)

DF
Hugo Arellano (LA Galaxy II) - CB/LB
Marcello Borges (Michigan) - LB
Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur) - CB
Marlon Fossey (Fulham) - RB
Tommy Redding (Orlando City) - CB
Miles Robinson (Syracuse) - CB
Toni Suddoth (Stuttgart) - RB
Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union) - CB

MF
Danny Acosta (Real Salt Lake) - DM
Luca de la Torre (Fulham) - AM/CM
Derrick Jones (Philadelphia Union) - CM/DM
Brooks Lennon (Liverpool) - winger/FW
Weston McKennie (Schalke) - CM
Jonathan Suarez (Querétaro) - ?
Gedion Zelalem (Arsenal) - CM

FW
Jeremy Ebobisse (MLS/Charleston Battery) - FW
Victor Mansaray (Seattle Sounders) - FW
Emmanuel Sabbi (Las Palmas) - FW
Sebastian Saucedo (Veracruz) - FW/winger
Isaiah Young (PDA) - FW/winger


This is one of the stronger U20 camp rosters we've seen so far, aided by the first appearances of CCV and Zelalem since the last U20 WC when they were playing up a cycle. True débutantes are Toni Suddoth (RB with Stuttgart U19) and Derrick Jones (CM who spent the year in USL with Philly's second team in Bethlehem).

As always is the case due to injuries and unavailabilities, a number of our top U20 players are not present.
Ebobisse scored a hat trick against the Dutch, but overall it looks like the camp didn't go very well. Impossible to diagnose problems without seeing games, of course.


1-0 loss to Germany

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 0 0
GER 1 0 1

GER – Philipp Ochs (penalty kick) 14th minute

Lineups:
USA: 1-Jonathan Klinsmann; 2-Marlon Fossey, 14-Tommy Redding, 5-Cameron Carter-Vickers (capt.), 3-Marcello Borges; 10-Gedion Zelalem, 6-Weston McKinnie, 11-Sebastian Saucedo (15-Isaiah Young, 81); 7-Brooks Lennon (8-Derrick Jones, 68), 9-Emmanuel Sabbi (18-Jeremy Ebobisse, 68), 20-Luca De La Torre
Substitutions Not Used: 4-Jonathan Suarez, 12-Justin Vom Steeg, 13-Miles Robinson, 16-Hugo Arellano, 17-Toni Suddoth, 19-Victor Mansaray, 21-Danny Acosta, 24-Auston Trusty
Head coach: Tab Ramos

5-3 loss to the Netherlands

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 2 1 3
NED 2 3 5

USA – Jeremy Ebobisse (Gedion Zelalem) 9th minute
NED – Dennis van der Heijden (Ilias Alhaft) 37
NED – Dennis van der Heijden (Gervane Kastaneer) 44
USA – Jeremy Ebobisse (Gedion Zelalem) 45+2
USA – Jeremy Ebobisse (Victor Mansaray) 58
NED – Kenneth Paal (Patrick Joosten) 79
NED – Dennis van der Heijden (Abdelhak Nouri) 84
NED – Dennis van der Heijden 90+4

Lineups:
USA: 1-Jonathan Klinsmann; 17-Toni Suddoth (16-Hugo Arellano, 45), 13-Miles Robinson, 14-Tommy Redding (capt.), 3-Marcello Borges (2-Marlon Fossey, 45); 6-Weston McKinnie, 8-Derrick Jones, 10-Gedion Zelalem; 7-Brooks Lennon (20-Luca De La Torre, 69), 18-Jeremy Ebobisse (9-Emmanuel Sabbi, 69), 19-Victor Mansaray (11-Sebastian Saucedo, 69)
Subs Not Used: 4-Jonathan Suarez, 5-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 12-Justin Vom Steeg, 15-Isaiah Young, 21-Danny Acosta, 24-Auston Trusty
Head coach: Tab Ramos


2-0 loss to England

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 0 0 0
ENG 0 2 2

ENG – Ovie Ejaria (Ainsley Maitland-Niles) 84th minute
ENG – Dominic Solanke (penalty kick) 90+4

Lineups:
USA: 1-Jonathan Klinsmann; 13-Miles Robinson (2-Marlon Fossey, 65), 14-Tommy Redding, 5-Cameron Carter-Vickers (capt.), 16-Hugo Arellano; 8-Derrick Jones, 21-Danny Acosta, 10-Gedion Zelalem (7-Brooks Lennon, 83); 20-Luca De La Torre, 18-Jeremy Ebobisse (9-Emmanuel Sabbi, 65), 11-Sebastian Saucedo (19-Victor Mansaray, 77)
Subs Not Used: 4-Jonathan Suarez, 12-Justin Vom Steeg, 15-Isaiah Young, 17-Toni Suddoth, 19-Victor Mansaray, 24-Auston Trusty
Not Dressed: 3-Marcello Borges, 6-Weston McKinnie
Head coach: Tab Ramos
 

Titans Bastard

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...or CCV. *hold me*
Guess who has been invited to his first USMNT camp? Hard to see him playing, though.

Goalkeepers (4): Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough; 11/0), Ethan Horvath (Molde; 0/0), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids; 32/0), William Yarbrough (Club Leon; 0/0)

Defenders (9): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 8/1), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United; 2/0), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin; 0/0), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; 0/0), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt; 1/0), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca; 10/0), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moenchengladbach; 13/1), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana; 5/1), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United; 4/0)

Midfielders (9): Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 6/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC; 29/5), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland; 0/0), Julian Green (Bayern Munich; 0/0), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids; 14/0), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls; 17/2), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund; 3/2), Caleb Stanko (FC Vaduz; 1/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City; 14/3)

Forwards (4):
Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC; 31/16), Aron Johannsson (Werder Bremen; 3/1), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 3/0), Bobby Wood (Hamburg; 6/2)


No Beckerman for two key matches - seems like JK has officially moved on.
 

InstaFace

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What are the numbers next to each player's team?

Guess who has been invited to his first USMNT camp? Hard to see him playing, though.
All to the good, but it makes me ask... whatever happened to the Matt Miazga hype train?

No Beckerman for two key matches - seems like JK has officially moved on.
With Jones and Zusi in the mix, that's a hard argument to make.

Also, Julian Green as a midfielder? Wasn't he being used as a striker by Bayern?
 

Titans Bastard

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What are the numbers next to each player's team?
I just copied/pasted from the USSF press release, but it means caps/goals in WCQ games.

All to the good, but it makes me ask... whatever happened to the Matt Miazga hype train?
What happened is that he moved to Chelsea, a club to whom he was likely just a small, irrelevant pawn in a much larger relationship between club and agent.

He's currently starting at Vitesse and getting up to full fitness since it's the first time that he's playing regular first team soccer since the fall of 2015. He doesn't seem to be on Klinsmann's fast track, but since CB isn't a huge problem spot he doesn't need to be. Plus, are mid-table Eredivisie teams any better than MLS clubs? I ask because I don't watch the Eredivisie, but Dutch clubs have largely stunk it up in Europe for a number of years now.

Another angle would be that Miazga has been cap-tied and CCV has not as of yet.

With Jones and Zusi in the mix, that's a hard argument to make.
Hey, I just meant moved on from Beckerman. I mean, Orozco is still in the squad, too. But I'm wrong because BOTH Beckerman and Wondo were only left off because of undisclosed injuries.

Jeez, I try to give Klinsmann some credit and he has to go and burn me like that. And Caleb Stanko is a weird choice to replace Beckerman, as a player that's in and out of the lineup for the last place team in the Swiss League. I'd take Kitchen, Williams, or Acosta (who is not a LB, are you listening Jürgen?!) over Stanko, though hopefully we won't have to dip into our backups at this position.

Also, Julian Green as a midfielder? Wasn't he being used as a striker by Bayern?
Yes, during preseason Ancelotti spoke about how he sees Green only as a forward.

I'm not particularly bullish on Green as a winger, but we have more decent forwards than we do wingers, especially with the zero effort that's going into finding a way to get FJ back into the midfield.
 

Titans Bastard

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And Zelalem?!
He's back with Arsenal, largely playing for their U23 team except for a couple of sub appearances in the League Cup. Early on, some people viewed him as a creator or #10 type because he's so good on the ball. At this point, though, I think it's pretty clear that he's going to be a box-to-box connector / Claudio Reyna type. He'll be the sort of player who always makes himself available, never loses possession, and can circulate the ball to teammates with very high accuracy. He hasn't showed the vision or instincts to be a #10.

Reyna's US career was dogged by "what does he actually DO?!" type questions from a segment of the fanbase who wanted to wishcast him into a creator and I suspect Zelalem will be the same -- especially because Zelalem is so smooth that (a) it feels like he should be a #10 and (b) sometimes it looks like he isn't even trying that hard.

He's still 19 and needs some time. I'm not overly confident that he'll make it at Arsenal, but I think he'll be a good player. Arsenal has another '97 central midfielder, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who seems to be ahead of him in the depth chart.

I'm also not sure that he's a great fit for Klinsmann. Klinsmann strongly values work rate and Zelalem isn't an energizer bunny who covers a bajillion miles per game like Bradley, Jones, or Bedoya. Even before the recent falling out, JK wasn't making much use of the most similar possession midfielder in the pool, Darlington Nagbe. Now, Nagbe is a bit more enigmatic than Zelalem, but if GZ makes progress and enters the NT picture, it's something to monitor. Of course, with the possibility that Klinsmann only has about 18 months left in his tenure as manager, it may not matter that much.
 

Titans Bastard

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Thanks @Titans Bastard . Stellar as usual. Will be interesting as he continues to grow over the next few years, good sign he is playing at the u23 for a top team I would think.
Playing for the U23s is better than not playing for the U23s, but there's a huge, yawning gap between the U23 PL and the EPL. Some players in the U23 league will be stars in a few years, while a number of their teammates will be playing semipro ball for Stalybridge Celtic or Chelmsford City. Academy playing time without the context of scouting report is a tough gauge because we don't have stats like in baseball or draft pedigrees. We've had plenty of American youth at big clubs in Europe over the years; the problem is that many of them were the equivalent of a 19th round organizational soldier.

I think that Zelalem has a pretty solid floor and a pretty high ceiling. Still trying to get a handle on his likelihood of reaching it. According to Transfermarkt, his contract is up at the end of the season. What happens with his future contract negotiations, or lack thereof, will tell us something about how Arsenal values him.

For context, we also have a central midfielder who starts regularly for Chelsea's U23s named Kyle Scott. I haven't seen him much, but I'm pretty sure he's not that good. He went on an unsuccessful trial with a mid-level Eredivisie club this summer and likely is free to go whenever he gets an opportunity. Nothing special... but he starts in the U23 PL every week.
 

Titans Bastard

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Jordan Morris is OUT after picking up an injury in Seattle's playoff game.

He has been replaced by Alan Gordon(!)