USA National Team Watch

[Atlantic]

Could be wrong but from what I have kind of gathered from the USMNT circles is that Pefok does not have a great relationship with the USMNT coaching staff and there have been some issues with effort or something to that effect with the USMNT. 

[Bdog]

Crazy how their goalie situation is now. They can go with a backup who doesn't play, an MLS keeper who I've never seen catch a shot, or a Championship starter who has barely played in his previous seasons.

[Floortom]

8 hours ago, Free kick said:

No Pefok,  No Jordan Morris.  But Sargent gets the call.  I thought Sargent was a bit of bust.  

Pefok is playing for a second place team in the Bundesliga (Union Berlin).  He is not included in the squad.  But Sargent (Championship - Norwich) is included.

 

Edit.: just realized Morris is on the squad

Sargent is one of the leading scorers in the championship with 8 goals in 18 matches. Pefok hasn’t scored in a few months and seems to have lost his starting spot so this isn’t much of a surprise IMO.

[InglewoodJack]

Not a huge surprise, but with how MLS heavy they went, and with some of the guys they left off due to form, I would've loved to see them call in Mihailovic.

[Bertuzzi44]

6 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

Not a huge surprise, but with how MLS heavy they went, and with some of the guys they left off due to form, I would've loved to see them call in Mihailovic.

They have a lot of very good MLS players, although I suspect most of their best XI will be European based:

Turner, Dest, Robinson, McKennie, Adams, Aaronson, Pulisic, Sargent, Weah, Reyna all play in Europe.

On paper, this is a very strong squad. Although I just can't figure out how they will do. They could get to the round of 16 and maybe even win a game there, or crash out in the group stage. They are kind of a wild card team for me. Hard to figure out.

Edited November 10, 2022 by Bertuzzi44

[jhoops__]

I find the US talent a bit overrated and they don’t have a real goal scoring threat…3 and out.

[Kadenge]

3 hours ago, Bertuzzi44 said:

They have a lot of very good MLS players, although I suspect most of their best XI will be European based:

Turner, Dest, Robinson, McKennie, Adams, Aaronson, Pulisic, Sargent, Weah, Reyna all play in Europe.

On paper, this is a very strong squad. Although I just can't figure out how they will do. They could get to the round of 16 and maybe even win a game there, or crash out in the group stage. They are kind of a wild card team for me. Hard to figure out.

Which team shows up in Qatar? The one in WCQ or the one on paper? The US have not been good playing away even in Concacaf.

[Lansdude]

The thing with USMNT for me is that while their talent level is on average higher and they can draw on a lot more players in top tier leagues, I don't see a lot of game breaking talent in any of the players. I've seen most of them put in very solid performances but nothing "world class". They are very much high level, dependable supporting cast players on good teams. I've seen a ton of Pulisic, for example, and have never seen him live up to the hype. I've seen great performances from McKennie and Dest, but never as standouts where they looked like the best player on either team. Maybe that's just bias but the high club pedigree of USMNT belies what the team's ceiling is imo.

[ensco]

^Musah has it. If anyone on the US breaks out, I bet it's him.

[MM3/MM2/MM]

In previous world cups, I've cheered for the CONCACAF teams to advance, now that Canada is in, I want the others to go 0-3, in particular the USA.

 

[DrunkOffPunch]

2 hours ago, jhoops__ said:

I find the US talent a bit overrated and they don’t have a real goal scoring threat…3 and out.

Sargent is 1 goal off top scorer in the Championship and Wright is second in Turkey.

[jhoops__]

Neither of those guys have done it internationally.   

[narduch]

I'm a bit surprised the US don't have a friendly lined up 

Edited November 11, 2022 by narduch

[RS]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

I'm a bit surprised the US don't have a friendly lined up 

Their schedule doesn't really allow for it (with ample rest ahead of their first match).

I suppose they could have organized an early one for their MLSers like Canada did, but they have been training in the States and reportedly played closed door matches against MLS teams out of the playoffs.

[DrunkOffPunch]

12 hours ago, jhoops__ said:

Neither of those guys have done it internationally.   

Are you using that same logic on Canadian players with few international caps? I’m guessing not.

[jhoops__]

49 minutes ago, DrunkOffPunch said:

Are you using that same logic on Canadian players with few international caps? I’m guessing not.

We were talking about the US team but for some of our guys sure, yeah…

[VinceA]

Watching the US 26 stories. They did little profiles on all the players and they're all really great. Some of the stories are wild, like Horvath's parents becoming janitors for Molde so he could play for their academy.

 

I wish Canada Soccer would have done something similar and do a little video piece for every guy.

 

Also I love how everyone in their video talks about their upbringing and their journeys and their families but Joe Scally's video is literally just him talking about how much he likes fish.

Edited November 12, 2022 by VinceA

[Lansdude]

Red card for Tyler Adams today btw in a loss to Spurs 

[RJB]

On 11/10/2022 at 1:32 PM, Bertuzzi44 said:

They could get to the round of 16 and maybe even win a game there, or crash out in the group stage.

You could literally be talking about every team in this tournament. 

[BearcatSA]

2 hours ago, VinceA said:

Watching the US 26 stories. They did little profiles on all the players and they're all really great. Some of the stories are wild, like Horvath's parents becoming janitors for Molde so he could play for their academy.

 

I wish Canada Soccer would have done something similar and do a little video piece for every guy.

 

Also I love how everyone in their video talks about their upbringing and their journeys and their families but Joe Scally's video is literally just him talking about how much he likes fish.

On the other hand, those Fox commercials featuring Jon Hamm as Santa are lame.  

[Bertuzzi44]

1 hour ago, RJB said:

You could literally be talking about every team in this tournament. 

You think every team at the World Cup could realistically make the round of 16 and quarterfinals?

[rkomar]

On 11/10/2022 at 8:40 PM, MM3/MM2/MM said:

In previous world cups, I've cheered for the CONCACAF teams to advance, now that Canada is in, I want the others to go 0-3, in particular the USA.

 

Outside of this tournament, we don't see a lot of games outside of CONCACAF.  That means that how our four teams do at the World Cup has a big influence on how many FIFA ranking points are available within the federation afterwards.  If all four teams crash and burn and move those ranking points out of the conference, it will make it really hard for us to progress to higher tiers in future draws, no matter how well we do in the federation tournaments.  So, I'm rooting for all four CONCACAF teams in this World Cup with the hope that we all at least maintain our rankings.

[RJB]

2 hours ago, Bertuzzi44 said:

You think every team at the World Cup could realistically make the round of 16 and quarterfinals?

Yes to the round of 16.  In past tournaments there are examples to prove that no team is beyond that possibility. It might not be likely, but certainly a realistic enough possibility in my opinion. 

[Canadian Chuck]

Their weakness by far is CBs. Walker Zimmerman and Aaron Long has to be one of the worst pairings of any nation at the World Cup. Fans hoped it would be John Brooks and Chris Richards, but Berhalter does not like Brooks, and Richards got hurt. Benfica's starting CBs made the WC rosters for Argentina and Portugal so Brooks has not been able to play much there after a good run of being a Bundesliga starter.

Every other position looks at least serviceable. FB has Dest and Robinson with Joe Scally deputizing both sides, central midfield has Adams/McKennie/Musah, attack has Reyna/Pulisic/Weah/Aaronson. Sargent and Wright are not the best striker options, but one is the joint-leading scorer in the Championship and the other is second place in the Turkish Super Lig ahead of Weghorst and Batshuayi. Turner is good although likely rusty.

But they will be undone by their central defense. Aaron Long couldn't handle FC Cincinnati in the MLS playoffs, how will he be able to handle World Cup competition. Best finish to hope for is making the round of 16, second in the group behind England.

[Canadian Chuck]

On 11/9/2022 at 10:56 PM, Atlantic said:

Could be wrong but from what I have kind of gathered from the USMNT circles is that Pefok does not have a great relationship with the USMNT coaching staff and there have been some issues with effort or something to that effect with the USMNT. 

No doubt his dream was to play for France after playing for their youth teams. He even rejected a USMNT invite or two before finally giving in a few years later.