USMNT 2020/21

...and we can't beat a tiny island nation of Whales.

 

most of the talent is super young. They aren't gonna be super consistent.

 

BeWales.

 

NarWales.

 

USMNT looking very good against Panama. It took a goal for them to wake up, but I have never seen this much skill on the ball.

 

I hope they can convince Yunus Musah to commit to the program.

 

If that happens, then your midfield is set with McKinney / Adams and Pulisic / Musah / Reyna. Just gotta throw in a capable striker (Sargent, Soto, Gioacchini, Dike?) and a couple of defenders next to Brooks/Dest and you've got a pretty good team. Would be looking good if Richards and Cannon keep progressing. Hope they don't continue to rely on MLS has-beens or middling players but that's probably asking too much.

 

These games were proof enough that MLS players should only be used in a depth situation. Once this group of Euro's gels (along with Pulisic and Sargent) they're going to be the most exciting USMNT ever. I saw enough in these 2 games to beg Berhalter to never EVER call up the likes of Bradley, Altidore, Arrilola, etc. I'm ok with a Jordan Morris in a 23 man roster or some younger players. But the last generation needs to be removed from consideration, period. If Pulisic and Sargent were out there, I'm confident we would've soundly beaten Wales and probably put up double digits against Panama.

 

That was barely a scrimmage against an amateur team. Nothing to take from that game at all.

 

Couple friendlies this week being played in Europe. Tomorrow vs Jamaica and Sunday vs Northern Ireland. First time since 2019 much of the full squad is in...including Pulisic, Dest, Sargent, and Reyna. Yunus Musah (who just recently pledged to the US over England), Daryl Dike (who is tearing s*** up in the English Championship), and some other youngsters are around too. All players are Euro based with the exceptions of Kellyn Acosta and Aaron Long. A couple players will have to leave after the Jamaica game because of COVID restrictions so they can be available for their next club game.

3/25, 1 pm Central Vs Jamaica (being played in Austria)

3/28, 11 am Central vs N. Ireland (Belfast)

 

Very good win vs Jamaica (4-1) today. A lineup that one would think would be most of how they'll look in games that count later this year with a couple of exceptions. Dest was the player of the match with a fantastic goal and strong play on the left. He and Pulisic look like they can create a left side that will create havoc against anyone. Pulisic looked ok today. Clearly still knocking off rust. Same with Gio Reyna. Josh Sargent played well getting into good spots. Took some good defending to keep him out of the net. Sebastian Lletget scored 2 but I'm still completely unimpressed by him. He's merely a placeholder for McKinney. They had him taking free kicks and he was miserable. Musah was good in a holding mid role. Reggie Cannon wasn't good on the right back and, like Lletget is likely just a placeholder for Tyler Adams. John Brooks and Aaron Long were decent together but I want to see Brooks with Chris Richards...which will hopefully happen in Sunday's game with N. Ireland.

What's nice to see is a US team being creative. They're unafraid to take players on and create going forward instead of always having to play from the counter. This team will press and possess better than any US team in history...and will only get better with McKinney in the fold. They're finally beating teams they should beat and in the matter they should beat them.

I have to wonder how many of these guys will play in the Olympics (should the U-23s qualify with a semifinal win against either Honduras or Canada on Sunday).

 

the dudes are really never going to go to another olympics.

 

The USMNT is a totally separate team than the U23 team that lost in the qualifier.

 

While the USMNT Senior team still has tons of potential and lot to be excited about, it's super disappointing to see the continuous failures from the program at the youth levels. They are lacking almost basic fundamentals.

 

Part of the problem is that more than 1/2 of the senior team that was playing would've made up that qualification team a year ago. The players that hadn't left the MLS at that point could've still played. FIFA doesn't require clubs to release players for the Olympics (or the qualifying of) because it's not considered an official FIFA competition. Put many of the players that played well against Jamaica and N. Ireland on that field and there's almost certainly going to be a different result.

Still...all of the countries face that issue. There's clearly a gap between those that have moved on to Europe and those in the MLS. I'd almost venture to say that Jason Kreis should be fired immediately. If he couldn't get those guys even remotely interested to qualify, then he's not a top level coach. They were unprepared. They were not interested. They played like they couldn't have cared less. Maybe it's because of the fact that many of them are doing the hard work and won't get to experience the fruits of that since the European players would've been called in. I get that. It sucks. But you sure as s*** don't get a chance if you f*** off like they did and not even qualify in the first place.

I still have all the confidence in the world that the senior team is going to qualify this time. They get it. They understand what will happen domestically should they fail again...at least in regards to the fan base (which has already been hanging on by a thread since the 2018 disaster and the hiring of Berhalter). Failure to qualify for 2022 would be incredibly devastating to this program...way worse than the last time. These players with dual citizenship options won't come here. Fans will stop showing up and purchasing gear. It's not enough that we're hosting in 2026. We should be contending by then. The team that played the 2 friendlies this week, with the addition of Weston McKninney, is going to make some noise IF they get to Qatar.