I think we need a new thread for this summer's tournaments, and any developments concurrent with those tournaments. The team is in a transitional state, let's have a transitional thread. Once we get through this summer, and have a permanent manager, I think TB (as is tradition) can make the new thread to carry us through Copa America and up to WC 2026.
Transitional how? Let me count the ways:
In short, this is an opportune summer for us to see where we're at, let the boys show out in lower-pressure situations, assess whether guys on the bubble are likely to be international-level quality, see which 2022 WC veterans are likely to hang on and be relevant for 2026 (or even Copa America), and continue building team cohesion for our youngest-squad-at-the-world-cup.
Here's what's on tap:
2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals
Semifinal: Thursday June 15th, 10pm ET / 7pm local, at the Raiders' home in Las Vegas, vs Mexico. I don't know if this can top last time, but that definitely set a fantastic precedent that this is a game and competition we decided to care about and send our best squad to, and I expect Mexico, Canada and Panama will consequently do likewise. NBA Finals Game 6, if played, will lead into this (8:30pm ET start).
Final: Sunday June 18th, 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm local, again at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, probably vs Canada. They dunked on us twice in WCQ. We kinda got the last laugh by not sucking at the actual World Cup, but there's no revenge opportunity like a head-to-head one. Note the time change; if the NBA Finals goes 7 games, this will be head-to-head with Game 7.
I expect us to bring our first-choice squad, as if we were calling them in for the Copa America next year, and give them more reps together. Biggest roster questions for me are at Centerback: whether we see Miles Robinson and/or Walker Zimmerman, given that their club season is in full swing, Miles is only recently back from his ACL tear and Zim is getting older. Tim Ream, at 35, being our most in-form CB, and who you really can't be betting against being our best CB come next summer, either. "Backup #6" is an open competition, with Tyler Adams out, but we may stick to more of the double-pivot we played against El Salvador and instead make McKennie play a bit more defense, rather than auditioning a few contenders for Berhalter-ball.
Unlike 2 years ago, we do not have a friendly scheduled before or after the NL Finals, because coming hot on its heels is...
2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup
June 24th - July 16th
USA matches:
Saturday 6/24, 9:30pm ET, vs Jamaica, in Chicago (Soldier Field)
Weds 6/28, 9:30pm ET, vs Trinidad & Tobago*, in St Louis (CityPark)
Sunday 7/2, 7:00pm ET (!), vs Nicaragua, in Charlotte (BofA Stadium)
* This opponent is actually TBD, and will only be decided on 6/20 in the qualifiers. But it'll probably be T&T.
Our quarterfinal (whether we win the group or are runner-up) will not be until Sunday July 9th, in Cincinnati. Semis on 7/12 (San Diego or Las Vegas), Finals on 7/16 (Los Angeles)
Mexico has Qatar in their group, so that's fun.
I expect us to call in our B- and C-team for this. Recall that for players on the bubble of the A-team, it's actually not so easy a call whether to accept a call-up here. Luca de la Torre famously declined his invite in 2021, in favor of arriving early to his club's preseason, and it paid off huge for him in that he won a starting job at Heracles, kicked butt with them, and got a move to Celta de Vigo in La Liga last summer, which saw him actually make the squad for Qatar (and where he should've seen the field a bit). I expect this team will be a motley crew of U-20s breaking out, old vets like Acosta, Roldan and Arriola seeing if they still got it, and guys who had been sidelined making a bid to re-enter the picture, like Mihailovic, Pomykal, Dike, Booth, EPB, etc. We'll also learn how Josh Sargent is rated following his season for Norwich.
MLS will be going on semi-hiatus shortly after this tournament concludes, with the inaugural Leagues Cup running 7/21 - 8/19, serving as a chance for MLS and Liga MX to gauge each other's strength and make a few bucks giving fans a chance to see matchups they otherwise wouldn't. That competition has its own thread, but I raise it here because it probably has national-team roster implications for both the US and Mexico, in terms of which domestic players they call in.
18 months ago, Memo Ochoa told TUDN that "Mexico is the mirror in which the USA wants to see itself and wants to copy". We then went out and stomped them in Cincinnati in what might still be the most complete game I've ever seen this generation play, and Pulisic had a little something waiting for Ochoa. A year later, Mexico didn't make the R16 in Qatar, and, well, we did. Mexico didn't make the U20 WC or Paris Olympics, and we did. Now 6 months on from that, the USMNT's star has continued to rise, and Mexico's has continued to fall. Now, ours is the program whose lead their fans want their federation to follow, on youth development, coaching, selling players abroad, and so on. We should have a few looks in that mirror these next 6 weeks or so, and then we'll see who's the fairest one of all.
Transitional how? Let me count the ways:
- Successful World Cup run despite getting almost nothing from our probably most talented player (edit: meaning Gio Reyna), who needs to get his shit together for both club and country
- A million senior-team regulars changing or probably-changing clubs this summer. The Leeds trio, Sergino Dest to Union Berlin (hi @candylandriots !), Pulisic, Balogun, Weah, and many others
- We, uh, have no manager. And our interim manager left yesterday, and so we got an interim-interim manager. This might inspire jokes all around about how we're not a serious program, except...
- ...The USSF brass has, against all odds, continued kicking ass and taking names. Recruited Balogun. Got us into the Copa America next year. Hired a Sporting Director who seems, uh... well-qualified?! Lining up friendlies as if we're a team that good teams actually want to play. El Cashico. This is probably the most the federation has been winning since about 1994.
- As a result of that good management, the U-20s are currently wrecking shit down in Argentina, look like more than the sum of their parts, and serious US Soccer fans are talking about Mikey Varas as a serious candidate for the big chair. Which also means we have some prospects bubbling up, who may push for senior-team involvement before too long (and/or a transfer out of MLS). Paredes at Wolfsburg, Che at Hoffenheim, GAGA, Diego Luna at RSL, Jalen Neal at RSL, Alvarado in Vizela, Obed at Seattle, Brandon Craig in Philly, and most eye-poppingly (And against expectations set by his last 3 years or so), Cade Cowell in San Jose looking like a world-beater.
- And most importantly, transitional because we're used to having a strong rival to our south to pace us, and, uh, well, El Tri has become LLL Tri for the last ~2 years, ever since we broke their brains in the 2021 Nations League Final. It's time for us to start some long-running beef with Colombia or Uruguay, imo. Not to mention those poutine-heads in the frozen north.
In short, this is an opportune summer for us to see where we're at, let the boys show out in lower-pressure situations, assess whether guys on the bubble are likely to be international-level quality, see which 2022 WC veterans are likely to hang on and be relevant for 2026 (or even Copa America), and continue building team cohesion for our youngest-squad-at-the-world-cup.
Here's what's on tap:
2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals
Semifinal: Thursday June 15th, 10pm ET / 7pm local, at the Raiders' home in Las Vegas, vs Mexico. I don't know if this can top last time, but that definitely set a fantastic precedent that this is a game and competition we decided to care about and send our best squad to, and I expect Mexico, Canada and Panama will consequently do likewise. NBA Finals Game 6, if played, will lead into this (8:30pm ET start).
Final: Sunday June 18th, 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm local, again at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, probably vs Canada. They dunked on us twice in WCQ. We kinda got the last laugh by not sucking at the actual World Cup, but there's no revenge opportunity like a head-to-head one. Note the time change; if the NBA Finals goes 7 games, this will be head-to-head with Game 7.
I expect us to bring our first-choice squad, as if we were calling them in for the Copa America next year, and give them more reps together. Biggest roster questions for me are at Centerback: whether we see Miles Robinson and/or Walker Zimmerman, given that their club season is in full swing, Miles is only recently back from his ACL tear and Zim is getting older. Tim Ream, at 35, being our most in-form CB, and who you really can't be betting against being our best CB come next summer, either. "Backup #6" is an open competition, with Tyler Adams out, but we may stick to more of the double-pivot we played against El Salvador and instead make McKennie play a bit more defense, rather than auditioning a few contenders for Berhalter-ball.
Unlike 2 years ago, we do not have a friendly scheduled before or after the NL Finals, because coming hot on its heels is...
2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup
June 24th - July 16th
USA matches:
Saturday 6/24, 9:30pm ET, vs Jamaica, in Chicago (Soldier Field)
Weds 6/28, 9:30pm ET, vs Trinidad & Tobago*, in St Louis (CityPark)
Sunday 7/2, 7:00pm ET (!), vs Nicaragua, in Charlotte (BofA Stadium)
* This opponent is actually TBD, and will only be decided on 6/20 in the qualifiers. But it'll probably be T&T.
Our quarterfinal (whether we win the group or are runner-up) will not be until Sunday July 9th, in Cincinnati. Semis on 7/12 (San Diego or Las Vegas), Finals on 7/16 (Los Angeles)
Mexico has Qatar in their group, so that's fun.
I expect us to call in our B- and C-team for this. Recall that for players on the bubble of the A-team, it's actually not so easy a call whether to accept a call-up here. Luca de la Torre famously declined his invite in 2021, in favor of arriving early to his club's preseason, and it paid off huge for him in that he won a starting job at Heracles, kicked butt with them, and got a move to Celta de Vigo in La Liga last summer, which saw him actually make the squad for Qatar (and where he should've seen the field a bit). I expect this team will be a motley crew of U-20s breaking out, old vets like Acosta, Roldan and Arriola seeing if they still got it, and guys who had been sidelined making a bid to re-enter the picture, like Mihailovic, Pomykal, Dike, Booth, EPB, etc. We'll also learn how Josh Sargent is rated following his season for Norwich.
MLS will be going on semi-hiatus shortly after this tournament concludes, with the inaugural Leagues Cup running 7/21 - 8/19, serving as a chance for MLS and Liga MX to gauge each other's strength and make a few bucks giving fans a chance to see matchups they otherwise wouldn't. That competition has its own thread, but I raise it here because it probably has national-team roster implications for both the US and Mexico, in terms of which domestic players they call in.
18 months ago, Memo Ochoa told TUDN that "Mexico is the mirror in which the USA wants to see itself and wants to copy". We then went out and stomped them in Cincinnati in what might still be the most complete game I've ever seen this generation play, and Pulisic had a little something waiting for Ochoa. A year later, Mexico didn't make the R16 in Qatar, and, well, we did. Mexico didn't make the U20 WC or Paris Olympics, and we did. Now 6 months on from that, the USMNT's star has continued to rise, and Mexico's has continued to fall. Now, ours is the program whose lead their fans want their federation to follow, on youth development, coaching, selling players abroad, and so on. We should have a few looks in that mirror these next 6 weeks or so, and then we'll see who's the fairest one of all.
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