USMNT: To Rüssia With Love

Tangled Up In Red

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I believe the hold up is the FIFA rule that states that if a player is naturalized, he must have resided in his new country for five years after age 18 before becoming eligible to play. This rule was adopted to prevent the likes of Qatar from making it rain passports on random Brazilian imports. Manneh has been in the US since his teens and he's even been legally adopted by his original host family in Texas. Although he plays for Vancouver, he reportedly commutes from the geographical curiosity of Point Roberts, WA to stay on track.

It is possible to apply for a waiver of this rule (Zelalem successfully did so), especially given Manneh's non-soccer-related ties to the US. Worst case scenario, he'd be eligible when he turns 23 in December 2017.
What is he like as a player? What are his projections and ceiling?
 

Titans Bastard

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What is he like as a player? What are his projections and ceiling?
He's a really fast winger who has had an inconsistent career in MLS since joining the league in 2013. He looks unplayable sometimes, but has a tendency to disappear from games. 2016 looked like a step forward for him in terms of consistency, but the season was cut short in early July because of injury so it's hard to say for sure.

Given our lack of winger depth and how electric he can be, I definitely like him as an impact substitute. I'm not ready to proclaim him more than that yet.

Our player pool got pretty slow for a while, but it's looking up. Yedlin, Morris, Pulisic, now guys like Manneh. Wood is up there, too.
 

Infield Infidel

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Keeper derby now up to 9
Howard (injured)
Guzan
Rimando
Horvath
Hamid (injured)
Yarbrough
Bingham
Frei (injured, not eligible yet)
Rowe

It's like quarterbacks, if you have more than one, you don't have one.
 

Titans Bastard

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There's a U-20 training camp in California that starts today. There's going to be another camp in Orlando from 1/31-2/10 prior to qualifying, which starts later in February.

GK
Jonathan Klinsmann (California)
J.T. Marcinkowki (Georgetown)
Brady Scott (De Anza Force)

DF
Hugo Arellano (LA Galaxy)
Marcello Borges (Michigan)
Marlon Fossey (Fulham)
Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake)
Aaron Herrera (New Mexico)
Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City)
Tommy Redding (Orlando City)
Miles Robinson (Atlanta United)
Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union)

MF
Danny Acosta (Real Salt Lake)
Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls)
Coy Craft (FC Dallas)
Jonathan Gonzalez (Monterrey)
Jonathan Lewis (New York City FC)
Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake)
Jonathan Suarez (Querétaro)
Eryk Williamson (Maryland)

FW
Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers)
Brooks Lennon (Liverpool)
Josh Sargent (Scott Gallagher Missouri)
Brandon Vazquez (Atlanta United)


Ramos has called in a few new faces this time, but we're getting to the point in the cycle where if you aren't in camp it's a pretty bad sign for your chances of making the team. That doesn't apply to some foreign-based players who are in season and thus availability is tough. The U-20 manager has to try to strike a deal to convince clubs to release players for qualifying; usually that involves promising to never ask for them for friendly camps. I think there's still a chance to get players like Carter-Vickers, Zelalem, Akale, and Perez for qualifying. Ramos doesn't seem to like Haji Wright very much and he's never called up McKinze Gaines. Weston McKennie is injured and the timeline is tight.
 

Titans Bastard

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Tim Howard was the latest to mouth off about dual nationals this past week. He's since backpedaled a little bit. I find the "vaguebooking" approach to this topic to be irritating and counterproductive. If you think Tim Chandler (or whoever) has a shitty attitude, then be specific about. If not, saying nothing at all is a lot better than painting the whole group with the same brush.

Some USMNT breakout player predictions. There's a decent Kljestan interview video embedded in the article, too. I've always found him to be a lot more engaging than some of the regulars like Bradley, who is totally anodyne most of the time.

Some tactics talk from Klinsmann which I find to be...illuminating:

“We always discuss movement off the ball – so how does this happen? Well movement off the ball, I cannot show you on the writeboard, because movement off the ball is something that I read on the field because I read space, I create space. I cannot put that into a lecture – I mean, obviously I can talk about it. But all these element.... Just do it. If you do it five times the wrong way and five times you run into the wrong guy, the big guy, and he just takes you off, I think the sixth time you want to go around.”
 

Titans Bastard

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Bummer. Manneh was always going to leave because he's not eligible to play in games yet, but the Dallas duo are two players I thought might really make a move in this camp.
 

Titans Bastard

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Jorge Villafaña has been added to the camp roster.


He's cooled off in Liga MX after a strong start, but it doesn't hurt to give him a look given the weakness of the pool at LB. His availability indicates that he might not be long for Santos Laguna.


There's also a U18 camp going on right now.

GOALKEEPERS (3): Eric Lopez (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Trey Muse (Seattle Sounders; Tukwila, Wash.), Alec Smir (NC Fusion; Greensboro, N.C.)

DEFENDERS (10): Jose Alfaro (Chicago Fire: West Chicago, Ill.), Jonathon Esparza (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Daniel Jones (New England Revolution Academy; West Hartford, Conn.), Jack Maher (Scott Gallagher; Caseyville, Ill.), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; Bear, Del.), Jake Morris (Seattle Sounders; Kirkland, Wash.), Stirling Russell (Seattle Sounders; Bellevue, Wash.), Aedan Stanley (St. Louis Scott Gallagher SC; Columbia, Ill.), Angel Uribe (Club Tijuana; San Diego, Calif), Aristotle Zarris (LA Galaxy; Casa Grande, Ariz.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Abdi Faris (IMG Academy; Bradenton, Fla.), Christian Cappis (Texans SC Houston; Katy, Texas), Jose Carranza (D.C. United; Manassas, Va.), Andrew Paoli (San Jose Earthquakes; San Jose, Calif.), Brian Perez (Club Tijuana; San Diego, Calif.), Brandon Servania (FC Dallas; Brimingham, Ala.), Noah Verhoeven (Vancouver Whitecaps; Surrey, B.C)

FORWARDS (8): Shaft Brewer (FC Dallas; Sacramento, Calif.), Griffen Dorsey (Colorado Rush; Evergreen, Colo.), Ernesto Espinoza (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Will Inalien (Portland Timbers; Taramac, Fla.), Justin McMaster (Philadelphia Union; King of Prussia, Pa.), Alfred Perez (Weston FC; Miami, Fla.), Emanuel Perez (CASL; Garner, N.C.), Justin Rennicks (New England Revolution Academy; Hamilton, Mass.)
There are a couple of Revs involved, though it seems like local academy players never make it past the US U18 level.
 

DJnVa

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23 man roster: http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/01/27/bruce-arena-names-23-man-roster-us-friendly-against-Serbia

GOALKEEPERS (3): David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls)

DEFENDERS (8): DaMarcus Beasley (Unattached), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Greg Garza (Atlanta United), Chad Marshall (Seattle Sounders), Jorge Villafana (Santos Laguna), Walker Zimmerman (FC Dallas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Jermaine Jones (LA Galaxy), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Chris Pontius (Philadelphia Union)

FORWARDS (3): Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution), Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders)
 

Infield Infidel

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That is a bit curious. I'm not usually fan of Zusi but even I'm curious how Zusi looks there. Do players move on/off roster between friendlies?

Barring injury I'm figuring Yedlin will be there in March.
 

Titans Bastard

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The lineup graphic:



It's Jozy's 100th cap.

Bench:

Substitutes: 12-Luis Robles, 22-David Bingham, 3-Brad Evans, 7-DaMarcus Beasley, 8-Jordan Morris, 9-Juan Agudelo, 10-Benny Feilhaber, 14-Jorge Villafaña, 18-Sebastian Lletget, 20-Dax McCarty, 21-Walker Zimmerman, 23-Chris Pontius
 

Titans Bastard

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It should be mentioned that this is very much a Serbian B team made up almost entirely of domestic players. Six players in the squad have a solitary cap, that's it.
 

Titans Bastard

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So, it would be really bad to lose then?
It wouldn't be a great look, but you should never read too much into Jan camp results. Arena did say that the formation he uses in these games is probably going to be what happens in March, though.
 

Titans Bastard

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US has mostly controlled this game, though they haven't created much real danger yet. In a 4-2-3-1 I'd like to have at least one winger whose game is more vertical and goal-dangerous than Nagbe and Bedoya (whose strengths lie elsewhere). But that's what Pulisic is for.

Bradley is playing very deep and so far has been clean.
 

Titans Bastard

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Garza lucky not to concede a penalty, but it's ruled to be just outside the 18.
 

Titans Bastard

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Great tackle by Marshall in the box leads to a counter that nearly results in a goal, but Serbia clears just before Nagbe can get to the cross.
 

luckiestman

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US has mostly controlled this game, though they haven't created much real danger yet. In a 4-2-3-1 I'd like to have at least one winger whose game is more vertical and goal-dangerous than Nagbe and Bedoya (whose strengths lie elsewhere). But that's what Pulisic is for.

Bradley is playing very deep and so far has been clean.

There was the Bradley we know and love passing backwards nearly to the other team
 

Titans Bastard

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I really hope Portland's Nagbe-to-left-wing plan for 2017 works. It would be great to have someone of his talent moved from the crowded CM pool to the barren pool of wide midfielders. He just has to show he can be consistently effective.
 

OCST

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Some of these Serbian players look skilled but they have zero sense of team cohesion. The US players know each other a little bit, as random a group as it is.
 

Titans Bastard

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January camp friendlies are rarely pretty. In that context, I think the US has looked reasonably good and cohesive, even if the game has been a bit drab.

I think they'll be helped when they get more first-choice players back, which will add a ton more speed on the flanks (Pulisic, Yedlin, Johnson >>>>> Garza, Zusi, Bedoya in that regard).
 

Titans Bastard

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Very heavy pressure from the US over the last 5-6 minutes but Serbia's defense is cleaning everything up.
 

Titans Bastard

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Both Serbia and then Pontius come close, but this one looks like it is destined to finish 0-0.
 

Titans Bastard

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The second and final winter friendly is tonight against Jamaica. Jermaine Jones and Sacha Kljestan have left camp. Jones is gone because they want to look at other midfield combinations (JJ is suspended for the next qualifier), while Kljestan and his wife are expecting a baby.

Arena has said that Jorge Villafaña will be starting at LB, Walker Zimmerman will make his US debut and start at CB, and Luis Robles is starting at GK.


---

The final U-20 friendly camp leading up to qualifiers has been announced:

GK
Jonathan Klinsmann (University of California)
J.T. Marcinkowski (Georgetown)
Brady Scott (De Anza Force)

DF
Hugo Arellano (LA Galaxy)
Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake)
Aaron Herrera (University of New Mexico)
John Nelson (Internationals SC)
Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City)
Tommy Redding (Orlando City)
Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union)

MF
Danny Acosta (Real Salt Lake)
Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls)
Coy Craft (FC Dallas)
Jonathan Gonzalez (Monterrey)
Jeremiah Gutjahr (Indiana University)
Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake)
Jonathan Suarez (Querétaro)
Eryk Williamson (University of Maryland)

FW
Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers)
Brooks Lennon (Liverpool)
Jonathan Lewis (NYCFC)
Victor Mansaray (Seattle Sounders)
Emmanuel Sabbi (Las Palmas)
Brandon Vazquez (Atlanta United)


Since we're getting very close to qualifying, I think the team will largely be drawn from this pool, since a number of top players are unavailable.

There's a growing amount of buzz around Tyler Adams right now. The Dax McCarty trade has really cleared the way for a lot more playing time for him and Sean Davis. He's reportedly shown very well in MLS preseason so far and I've heard he had a very strong U20 camp last time around. He's still 17 and eligible for the next U20 team as well, but he might be able to fill a hole at DM for this team -- and hopefully, for the US in a few years.

We'll see if Ramos was able to cut any deals to get some of the better Euro-based players for qualifying. Part of that deal would almost certainly be that he won't be able to take them for pre-qualifying camps, so we won't know until the final roster is released. I expect that he'll be able to get Marlon Fossey from Fulham to play RB, but that might be it.
 

Titans Bastard

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http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2017/02/03/19/07/20170203-news-mntvjam-starting-lineup-notes

4-1-3-2 tonight. Birnbaum and Zusi are the only starters vs. Serbia to remain in the lineup. Switching to a two-forward formation makes a lot of sense to me given the contours of the player pool.

Tonight’s U.S. MNT Starting XI vs. Jamaica (4-1-3-2):
12-Luis Robles; 19-Graham Zusi (capt.), 15-Steve Birnbaum, 21-Walker Zimmerman, 14-Jorge Villafaña; 20-Dax McCarty; 23-Chris Pontius, 10-Benny Feilhaber, 18-Sebastian Lletget; 9-Juan Agudelo, 8-Jordan Morris

Substitutes: 1-Nick Rimando, 22-David Bingham, 2-Greg Garza, 3-Brad Evans, 4-Michael Bradley, 5-Chad Marshall, 6-Darlington Nagbe, 7-DaMarcus Beasley, 11-Alejandro Bedoya, 17-Jozy Altidore
 

Titans Bastard

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BTW, there have been rumors that the US is playing this game on a shitty, narrow turf field to undercut USWNT claims that the men never have to deal with these types of conditions.
 

Titans Bastard

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An Agudelo header sends Morris through, Jordan tries to hit it through Blake's legs, but it takes a slight deflection for a corner. Feilhaber initiates a set play that results in a curled shot just wide. Two good chances.
 

Titans Bastard

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Finally, 1-0!

Morris scores after some nice interplay with Feilhaber.

Great work from Feilhaber, really.
 

Titans Bastard

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Bradley for Feilhaber and Nagbe for McCarty. I'm guessing Lletget moves centrally and Nagbe stays out left.
 

Titans Bastard

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Villafana sends in a nice cross that Agudelo gets to, but there's not enough power/placement to score.

Now Evans comes on for Zusi.
 

Infield Infidel

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A much more entertaining match to watch than the Serbia match. Zimmerman got MoM and was pretty clean at the back. I appreciate how much Agudelo and Pontius threw there bodies around up front, not at all afraid of contact, and made room for others. Pontius DGAF. Those two, Lletget, Morris, everyone playing hard. That's the biggest difference, they played more tentatively under JK last couple of games
 
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Titans Bastard

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I think that the 4-1-3-2 concept tonight is going to be our go-to for the foreseeable future. It checks a lot of boxes:

1. Two forwards. The Altidore/Wood partnership is a good one and we have solid depth in guys like Morris and Agudelo. It is wasteful to give this group only one spot on the field.

2. With two forwards, there's less of a need for goal-dangerous wingers which means that we can get away with guys who want to pinch in a bit like Nagbe, Lletget, or Bedoya. Whoever emerges from that group will be balanced on the other side by a more vertical player like Pulisic. Plenty of overlapping potential on the pinched-in side with Johnson and Yedlin at fullback, too.

3. Chaining Bradley to a clearly defined DM role where he drops very deep and distributes to a more creative type like Kljestan or Feilhaber provides a good balance in the center.



Going into March, the big question is who starts at RCB since it looks increasingly likely that Cameron will not be available.

vs: Honduras

Suspended: Jones & Chandler

Altidore --- Wood
Nagbe --- CM --- Pulisic
Bradley
Johnson --- Brooks --- RCB --- Yedlin
Guzan​

CM = Kljestan or Feilhaber
RCB = Besler, Gonzalez, Birnbaum?

Bench: Rimando, Lichaj, Villafaña, losers from the RCB battle, McCarty, Kljestan/Feilhaber, Lletget, Bedoya, Zardes, Morris, Agudelo
 

Quintanariffic

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Is Guzan a sure thing to start vs Honduras? He's not doing anything st the club level right now. My money may be on Rimando at this point, which is a sad indictment of JK IMO for not developing anyone behind Guzan and Howard.
 

DJnVa

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Grant Wahl on Bruce Arena: http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2017/02/02/bruce-arena-usmnt-manager-us-soccer

“We need to take initiative, regardless of who we are playing,” says Arena, who famously preached “first tackle, first foul, first shot, first goal” in the locker room before the U.S.’s World Cup 2002 upset of Portugal. “We can’t be intimidated. We want to compete like we compete in everything we do in our society. We are aggressive people. We want to be leaders in every field.”
•  He sees Bradley, 29, as a defensive midfielder. Whereas Klinsmann often tried to use the U.S. captain in an attacking role (with mixed results), Arena wants Bradley in a ball-winning position in front of the back line. “He’s a guy who can help you in buildup and possession,” the coach says. “He’s got a great work rate. He’s a leader. He’s vocal. So he checks a lot of boxes.”

•  Sacha Kljestan could get a lot more playing time. The 31-year-old attacking midfielder had a career year with MLS’s Red Bulls in 2016 (six goals, 20 assists), and he earned a long-awaited callback to the national team. Now he could become a starter. “We need a better player in the midfield in terms of passing and being more creative,” Arena says. “Sacha has some skills that we need on the field.”

•  The German-based Americans who rose under Klinsmann will still play a big part.Though none of them were involved in the January camp, which took place outside of a FIFA international window, Arena clearly values their roles. He started his new tenure in December by visiting five players stationed in Germany: winger Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), forward Bobby Wood (Hamburg), midfielder Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach) and defenders John Brooks (Hertha Berlin) and Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt). “That’s an important part of it,” Arena says. Their performance will be crucial in the eight World Cup qualifiers of 2017. The 18-year-old Pulisic, in particular, is on the verge of stardom.

•  Clint Dempsey won't play an immediate role. The No. 2 all-time U.S. men’s goal scorer, now 33, has been one of the national team’s few reliable finishers in big games, but an irregular heartbeat has kept him from playing competitively since last August. Dempsey has started training again with MLS’s Seattle Sounders, but Arena has ruled him out from playing for the U.S. in March.
 
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