USMNT - 2026 Cycle - "Early Days"

[tennbengal]

[wlu_lax6]

The USMNT C team down 1-0 to Slovenia in San Antonio. These guys are not making noise to get a spot on teams during this busy summer.

[The Sybian]

The USMNT C team down 1-0 to Slovenia in San Antonio. These guys are not making noise to get a spot on teams during this busy summer.

I tried to watch. Got about 20 minutes in and just got really bored. I recorded, might go back, but I just can't get into it. Only heard of about 5 guys, and none of them seemed like I'd have to learn their names.

[Nonlinear FC]

Diego Luna is a good player. Beyond that, glad I forgot about that game.

[The Sybian]

Diego Luna is a good player. Beyond that, glad I forgot about that game.

I ended up watching the game of FF, pausing if it looked like something happened. US had a lot of nice ball movement and strung together a lot of quick passes, but ultimately it didn't lead to much. Seemed like a lot of blocked shots. The last 15-20 minutes, US had some great opportunities. John Tolkein missed the net on two he probably should have put away. I was impressed with Esmir Bajraktarevic. 18 yo kid who looks 15. Luna is one of the few players I knew, after watching him in a youth world cup.

[rass]

New Jersey World Cup Final!

[mister d]

Jersey in this motherfucker!!! Let’s go!!!

[Giff]

I have a friend on Twitter who is so fucking pissed off about this and I’m loving every second. Fuck Jerry Jones.

[degenerasian]

Going back and forth between Vancouver and Seattle is doable

June 13 - Vancouver
June 15 - Seattle
June 18 - Vancouver (Canada game!)
June 19 - Seattle (USA game!)
June 21 Vancouver
June 24 Vancouver (Canada game!) AND Seattle
June 26 Vancouver AND Seattle
July 1 Seattle (Round of 32)
July 2 Vancouver (Round of 32)
July 6 Seattle (Round of 16)
July 7 Vancouver (Round of 16)

[HaulCitgo]

3 knockouts and 8 games in atl. Sign. Me. Up.

[Rex]

[mister d]

NJ needs to start counter-claiming MSG and the Empire State Building.

[Rex]

Name a famous person from New York

Michael Jordan (1) - FIFA

[sancarlos]

Jersey in this motherfucker!!! Let’s go!!!

In case you missed it, the Defector has a humorous discussion of the New York New Jersey World Cup final.

[DaveInSeattle]

Going back and forth between Vancouver and Seattle is doable

June 13 - Vancouver
June 15 - Seattle
June 18 - Vancouver (Canada game!)
June 19 - Seattle (USA game!)
June 21 Vancouver
June 24 Vancouver (Canada game!) AND Seattle
June 26 Vancouver AND Seattle
July 1 Seattle (Round of 32)
July 2 Vancouver (Round of 32)
July 6 Seattle (Round of 16)
July 7 Vancouver (Round of 16)

Road Trip!

[Nonlinear FC]

Very interesting discussion with the CBS Golazo folks and Jermaine Jones. I like these because, agree or disagree with the interviewee, they talk some real real .

[tennbengal]

[billy]

You just love to see it. Puli, Wes, Sargent, Malik, Dest, Richards, Johnny, and Jedi are all playing at really really high levels right now, and guys like Pepi, Haji, Balogun, Musah, Weah, Pefok, Vazquez, Zendejas, Paredes aren't too far behind. It's crazy that if we were without Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna, we'd probably be just fine. And there's a plausible future a year or two out where neither of those guys are starting in our best 11. What a world of difference from just a few years ago.

[HaulCitgo]

Gio not playing at all

[mister d]

Had a bit of a rough Thursday and completely missed this roster coming out. I think I just assumed Aaronson would be in regardless of form because he has such a clear niche role on the team.

[Nonlinear FC]

The other guy making a serious case at the nine/striker slot is Haji Wright. Assisted on the tying and then scored the winner in Coventry's epic FA Cup win to push them into the finals at Wembley.

I wish he wasn't thrown into the mix last cycle, as he kind of hurt his stock. He looks ready, IMO. The go ahead goal was a masterclass and under the circumstances (dying seconds of the game), the solidity of that shot was incredible.

[HaulCitgo]

Missed that. Crowd scenes pretty great in the corner

[The Sybian]

Had a bit of a rough Thursday and completely missed this roster coming out. I think I just assumed Aaronson would be in regardless of form because he has such a clear niche role on the team.

He’s in now, de La Torre out with an injury. And Haji Wright in for Sargent. Sounds like Sargent is just a minor ankle thing, hoping he can stay healthy as he is on a goal scoring tear.

[Nonlinear FC]

Not for nothing, but Aaronson scored what turned into the game winner for Union Berlin. And while it was only the extended highlights, the announcer said multiple times he was the best player on the field. So... he's got that going for him... which is nice.

[mister d]

The other guy making a serious case at the nine/striker slot is Haji Wright. Assisted on the tying and then scored the winner in Coventry's epic FA Cup win to push them into the finals at Wembley.

I wish he wasn't thrown into the mix last cycle, as he kind of hurt his stock. He looks ready, IMO. The go ahead goal was a masterclass and under the circumstances (dying seconds of the game), the solidity of that shot was incredible.

Interesting. He struck me as a guy who was (1) riding his friendship with Pulisic and (2) the type who shouldn't ever reach real consideration for a strong national team. Not like a bad player, just nothing close to dynamic enough for international competition relative to his position group.

[The Sybian]

The other guy making a serious case at the nine/striker slot is Haji Wright. Assisted on the tying and then scored the winner in Coventry's epic FA Cup win to push them into the finals at Wembley.

I wish he wasn't thrown into the mix last cycle, as he kind of hurt his stock. He looks ready, IMO. The go ahead goal was a masterclass and under the circumstances (dying seconds of the game), the solidity of that shot was incredible.

Interesting. He struck me as a guy who was (1) riding his friendship with Pulisic and (2) the type who shouldn't ever reach real consideration for a strong national team. Not like a bad player, just nothing close to dynamic enough for international competition relative to his position group.

I think he was a star with this group at the youth levels and didn't quite make it yet as an adult. I thought he was in better form than Pepi when the World Cup came around and he probably earned a shot, but didn't play well, and since most people hadn't heard of him, wrote off a bad performance as he sucks.

[Nonlinear FC]

I mean, I don't think you can put the fact that he was part of the national youth team pool that included CP as him riding coat tails or whatever. He was, by many accounts, a true stud back then. Looking at his size, I suspect he got by on athleticism, and is just in the last few years putting it together.

He scored 15 goals playing in Turkey. He's well on his way to 20 goals in the Championship. Still not sure he's able to produce at the very top, but he's got the same basic recent resume as Sargent. I'm not in a position to really compare the 2, but he's certainly got an opportunity in this camp to make a case.

[mister d]

Not coattails completely but maybe as a tiebreaker? Also possible I'm totally wrong and still bitter on behalf of Pepi.

[Nonlinear FC]

I think that there's a very high likelihood that the fact that the core of the youth movement on the MNT knew him and liked him played a role in him getting on the roster.

[The Sybian]

I think that there's a very high likelihood that the fact that the core of the youth movement on the MNT knew him and liked him played a role in him getting on the roster.

And I think it should. It's damned hard to build chemistry in a national team, as they usually practice for only a few days together in most camps. Bring in a guy who grew up on youth teams with the core players, and that can be a huge benefit.

[HaulCitgo]

Or not. I like his game and he stands on his own... Especially in a pressure play style but let's pick the best guys and give them opportunities to build chemistry at the senior level instead of trying to rely on teenage familarity

[wlu_lax6]

Not the start we want tonight.
on the positive side the new kits look good on TV in the wide shot view. Not so much on the close ups.

[mister d]

Berhalter contract terms
Berhalter buyout
Next USMNT head coach
Berhalter hot seat?
Jesse Marsch

[wlu_lax6]

Very empty in Dallas

[mister d]

Real double-edged sword there.

[Nonlinear FC]

1) Anyone who watched that game and still doesn't understand the value and importance of Gio... We're just not ever going to agree on player evaluations. The guy is just different in the attacking 3rd. I'm not real happy with his antics on D, but frankly, at this point... I'll put up with that to have him pulling the strings on the other end. He totally changed the game. Totally.

2) We talked about Haji. Not much more needs to be said. Dude is on fire right now.

3) The US is EXTREMELY LUCKY and Berhalter must've been shitting his pants up until an OWN GOAL put us through to OT. I remain really skeptical about how long it takes him to figure shit out. To be fair and to give credit, the half time subs were spot on. I just think he could've done that sooner. I also think that with Dest out, they should've started with a 352 and not go 4 in the back. Scally was NOT GOOD and I'm not just talking about conceding the goal.

4) Tyler Adams is class. He was the #2 top sub (if not 1b) in terms of impact and changed the game by calming things down and spraying pinpoint passes and directing guys like McKennie.

5) Pulisic tonight... Meola praised him and me and my buddy were like, What? He's trying to do too much. Period. He's acting like he's carrying a bunch of MLS pluggers. Get the ball of your foot, dude.

6) The middle 2 defenders need to figure shit out. Mexico will dice them if they play like that again on Sunday. Turner continues to be a giraffe on skates. He makes the saves when called upon, but he's always going to be an adventure with the ball on his feet.

I have a lot of other little nuggets, but the main thing is that you don't break down a Low Block by slowing down and trying to beat guys one on one like Pulisic, Weah and to some extent Musah did tonight. It's about movement and one touch passes breaking them down.

The other guy I want to highlight is Tillman. He had a pretty good game, and was unlucky a few times to not get a touch right in the final 3rd.

[Nonlinear FC]

Just to clarify or hone in... When you know Jamaica is going to play a low block, going 442 with the amount of talent sitting on the bench was hard-headed.

[mister d]

Wright looked how I thought of him above for the first 15:00 with some terrible touches (and one complete non-touch) but then after that he didn’t so I’m good there.

The talk at the end about Pepi doing a lot of work to open space is one of those things that I don’t see and would have walked away thinking he did nothing.

If you haven’t seen Berhalter’s postgame quotes are … pretty something for a guy who got bailed out to an almost unbelievable degree.

[wlu_lax6]

Does Jamaica play that compact beat 11 of us style if they don't score in the first minute?

[The Sybian]

Does Jamaica play that compact beat 11 of us style if they don't score in the first minute?

With their three best attacking players out, probably.