USA National Team Watch

[Kadenge]

Meanwhile Josh Sargent has finally found his scoring boots with Norwich with 4 goals in 7 games

[gigi riva]

Looking forward to the US V Iran match looks like 1998 all overf again, this time Iran will be playing in there own backyard  will be interesting to see how the USA perform away from home soil . during qualifications they were not the greatest away from home 

[phresh]

8 hours ago, Kadenge said:

Meanwhile Josh Sargent has finally found his scoring boots with Norwich with 4 goals in 7 games

Elsewhere, Wright has 5 goals in 4 games with Antalyaspor and Pefok has 5 goal involvements in his first 5 games with Union Berlin.

Edited September 2, 2022 by phresh

[TOcanadafan]

A lot of the fringe players rounding into form… Pefok really on fire.  I guess this happens when you have so much depth.  
But Greggeggegg Berhalter is their coach who seems to prefer washed up MLS vets.

[pod818]

They are rounding into form, but its still questionable who would be their #1 striker in Qatar. They also have big questions at goalie, Matt Turner is on the bench at Arsenal and Zach Steffen hasn't looked good at all at Middlesborough

[Obinna]

It's like wack-a-mole. Their forwards start sorting themselves out and their top-two keepers start having problems. Go figure.

If things keep going the way they are, I think they call Pefok, Sargent and Ferreira to Qatar. 3 forwards scoring lots of goals in the Bundesliga, Championship, and MLS respectively. That's probably a better situation than during most of the qualifiers.   

[phresh]

Also forgot to mention that Folarin Balogun has 4 goals and 1 assist in his first 5 games for Reims.

Edited September 2, 2022 by phresh

[pod818]

Looks like USMNT have their own dual nat chase with England. This guy looks good with 5 goals and 2 assists for Stade De Reims in Ligue 1, ahead of our own Jonathan David. Will be interesting to see if they can get him to commit.  At least its a distraction for them with Koleosho

 

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by pod818
...

[PiedPilko]

Off topic but... the U.S. have so many guys comparable to Koleosho who aren't in contention for a roster spot - that is, youngsters getting minutes here and there for big teams. If you look at who they're actually calling up, it tends to be more established guys at lower levels.

Say what you want about Berhalter's player selection, but aside from Scally, I think you'd be hard pressed to say they're snubbing any of their genuine prospects. I guess that's why I find it strange that people are penciling Koleosho into our World Cup lineup - we just don't know enough about him. What if he ends up being our equivelant of Otasowie?

[SoCalTransport]

1 hour ago, pod818 said:

Looks like USMNT have their own dual nat chase with England. This guy looks good with 5 goals and 2 assists for Stade De Reims in Ligue 1, ahead of our own Jonathan David. Will be interesting to see if they can get him to commit.  At least its a distraction for them with Koleosho

 

 

Awww, I wish our NT had the depth of the US NT 🥰

[Shway]

7 hours ago, PiedPilko said:

….we just don't know enough about him. What if he ends up being our equivelant of Otasowie?

And that’s fine. As long as he’s a member of our program, I don’t care how “he ends up”.

You can predict the future, but you can have players committed to the program. 

[InglewoodJack]

no koleosho, no real surprise there, but nice to see I guess.

[SoCalTransport]

2 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

no koleosho, no real surprise there, but nice to see I guess.

I think our starting eleven is better, but wow they have a lot of depth…I find it interesting that they’re playing Saudi Arabia though.

[narduch]

Just now, SoCalTransport said:

I think our starting eleven is better, but wow they have a lot of depth…I find it interesting that they’re playing Saudi Arabia though.

Just like we are playing Qatar, they are probably getting nicely paid for it

[InglewoodJack]

1 minute ago, SoCalTransport said:

I think our starting eleven is better, but wow they have a lot of depth…I find it interesting that they’re playing Saudi Arabia though.

I think it's so impressive that our top of the roster is better than the US' just figuring in the population difference and the fact that we're behind them in terms of soccer development, but I guess that 360 mil population base to choose from definitely helps you carry a long bench.

Also Saudi Arabia and the US are public allies, so it makes sense. Both Biden and Trump, and probably every leader before them has taken favourable photo ops with Saudi government officials. I mean hell, the king could've phoned up US Soccer and said "do this or it'll be 30 cents more per gallon by thanksgiving"

[VinceA]

I don't think our XI is better. We have a better attack but their midfield's ceiling is ridiculous and their defense is stronger. We do have a better coach though.

[Corazon]

Only 26 players?  It feels like its an unwritten rule that Canada always brings the least amount of players every International window.  Therefore; confirmed - Canada will only be bringing in 25 players 😆

[narduch]

1 minute ago, Corazon said:

Only 26 players?  It feels like its an unwritten rule that Canada always brings the least amount of players every International window.  Therefore; confirmed - Canada will only be bringing in 25 players 😆

We will call 26 players but 3 of them will never really be at the camp due to injury 

[PiedPilko]

Pepi over Pefok is strange

[narduch]

1 minute ago, PiedPilko said:

Pepi over Pefok is strange

Looks like he is injured 

[SoCalTransport]

10 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

I think it's so impressive that our top of the roster is better than the US' just figuring in the population difference and the fact that we're behind them in terms of soccer development, but I guess that 360 mil population base to choose from definitely helps you carry a long bench.

Also Saudi Arabia and the US are public allies, so it makes sense. Both Biden and Trump, and probably every leader before them has taken favourable photo ops with Saudi government officials. I mean hell, the king could've phoned up US Soccer and said "do this or it'll be 30 cents more per gallon by thanksgiving"

I know this is not a political forum, but the green energy movement in the western world, has to be putting a strain on these oil rich countries, I think @narduch said it right though, they are probably getting a huge pay check for that game.

[InglewoodJack]

1 minute ago, SoCalTransport said:

I know this is not a political forum, but the green energy movement in the western world, has to be putting a strain on these oil rich countries, I think @narduch said it right though, they are probably getting a huge pay check for that game.

I think it'll take decades, if ever, for oil producers like KSA to feel any of that burn- ultimately, oil is by far king, and KSA has shown that they aren't afraid to crack down on countries, including the US, who don't kiss the ring. Besides, the two countries engage in trade, KSA buys American weapons, etc. But I am sure that the states were the ones being paid and not the other way around, but beyond that, this isn't a Can v. Iran situation where Iran is considered a "hostile nation", US & KSA are buds, as unfortunate as that may be.

[Obinna]

14 minutes ago, narduch said:

Looks like he is injured 

He started his Bundesliga season at Union Berlin well. Shame for him and the Americans.

[DrunkOffPunch]

Don’t know what Pefok’s situation is but I would’ve taken him, Wright, and Vazquez over Pepi. Also would’ve taken EPB or Sands over Long. Would’ve liked to see Tolkien called in. Don’t think Yedlin, Long, and Morris deserve a WC spot.

[pod818]

They have big question marks in goalie. We have 3 solid GK’s playing at a high level. I would be worried for their GK situation alone