USMNT...I believe that we will qualify!

[BuckeyeRed27]

Concacaf just released the 2022 qualifying method so good as time as any to start this thread.

So basically the top 6 teams by FIFA rankings go right to the Hex, no group stage. The top 3 automatically go to the World Cup.

The other 29 teams play in a completely separate group stage/knock out tournament. The winner of that will play the fourth place team from the Hex in a home and home. And the winner of that gets to play in the international home and home for the last World Cup spot.

[Hoosier Red]

Concacaf just released the 2022 qualifying method so good as time as any to start this thread.

So basically the top 6 teams by FIFA rankings go right to the Hex, no group stage. The top 3 automatically go to the World Cup.

The other 29 teams play in a completely separate group stage/knock out tournament. The winner of that will play the fourth place team from the Hex in a home and home. And the winner of that gets to play in the international home and home for the last World Cup spot.

So US has no qualifying until 2021? Wow.

[BuckeyeRed27]

So US has no qualifying until 2021? Wow.

No the first games in the Hex will be August/September of 2020.

[Hoosier Red]

Oh I see. So it will be pretty spread out then? The 10 games in 12 months was always a little brutal given how they'd be bunched up. Or will they just be finishing earlier now?

[BuckeyeRed27]

Oh I see. So it will be pretty spread out then? The 10 games in 12 months was always a little brutal given how they'd be bunched up. Or will they just be finishing earlier now?

It’s still pretty packed. They are done by September of 2021. Actually the first 6 games take place in September, October, November of 2020. Break to March 21 and then break to September 21. But given the actual WC was moved to the winter it’s a long break. Hopefully can make the Confed Cup to get some quality games in.

Edit: apparently the Confed Cup doesn’t exist anymore, so never mind

[M2]

Two factors helping the U.S. are:

1. Costa Rica's golden generation is getting long in the tooth (though Celso Borges forever owns Michael Bradley).

2. A lot of the young U.S. players are over in Europe, getting to face stiffer competition and fighting for their jobs.

[Caveat Emperor]

Two factors helping the U.S. are:

1. Costa Rica's golden generation is getting long in the tooth (though Celso Borges forever owns Michael Bradley).

2. A lot of the young U.S. players are over in Europe, getting to face stiffer competition and fighting for their jobs.

I think the US is going to qualify the next go-round -- but the more concerning / depressing thing is that the entire program appears to be treading water right now. We're still not producing the level of talent necessary to do better than "Qualify, possibly make the knockouts."

[RedTeamGo!]

I think the US is going to qualify the next go-round -- but the more concerning / depressing thing is that the entire program appears to be treading water right now. We're still not producing the level of talent necessary to do better than "Qualify, possibly make the knockouts."

Pulisic, Steffen, Weah, and Sargent strongly disagree. Pulisic is a world class talent. The US has never had a player of his skill.

[bucksfan2]

Pulisic, Steffen, Weah, and Sargent strongly disagree. Pulisic is a world class talent. The US has never had a player of his skill.

So I watched more of the Gold Cup than I should of, and came away with a few things.

-Pulisic is world class in every sense of the term. Just a fantastic talent.
-Sargent, for some reason, wasn't included on the team. Instead the team got the talents of Zardes.
-Steffen may be the next of the world class American GK.
-The old guard of this current team needs to be cycled out. The likes of Bradley, Gonzales, and Altidore no longer are playing at that level. Bradley is sloppy and no where near the player he once was. The other guys may have a role, but its taking time away from a young player.
-Can someone explain the allure of Jordan Morris to me?

[RedTeamGo!]

So I watched more of the Gold Cup than I should of, and came away with a few things.

-Pulisic is world class in every sense of the term. Just a fantastic talent.
-Sargent, for some reason, wasn't included on the team. Instead the team got the talents of Zardes.
-Steffen may be the next of the world class American GK.
-The old guard of this current team needs to be cycled out. The likes of Bradley, Gonzales, and Altidore no longer are playing at that level. Bradley is sloppy and no where near the player he once was. The other guys may have a role, but its taking time away from a young player.
-Can someone explain the allure of Jordan Morris to me?

I think the Gold Cup was the last hoorah for the old guys.

I think Sargent was left off because Berhalter wanted his full attention on his first full season in the Bundesliga’s first division.

Jordan Morris isn’t bad, not great. I think he is good for CONCACAF qualifying. He has a decent last touch and can run for years. Just my opinion.

I actually really liked what I saw from Boyd, the dude from New Zealand.

[M2]

Pulisic, Steffen, Weah, and Sargent strongly disagree. Pulisic is a world class talent. The US has never had a player of his skill.

We're going to need to see what Weah and Sargent become. There is a version of the future where the US has an extremely dynamic attack by the time the World Cup rolls around. McKennie and Adams are also part of that youth movement. It's a matter of if enough kids go overseas and thrive. That's how you break the cycle that saw them bounced for 2018.

[BuckeyeRed27]

Damn, I didn't realize Bradley was only 31 years old. It seems like forever ago he made a splash on the WC stage, and then has been a shell of himself for two WC cycles now. Its a same because I thought he was a rising MF star whose game really took a nose dive in his prime. It feels like the national team needs to move away from him and hand the mantle over to a younger player. They really need a player who can play a true MF and allow Pulisic to be Pulisic. Having him constantly drop too far back really limits what he can do.




I remember watching a MLS game and people were like "here comes Jordan Morris" and then the USMNT got excited about him. Granted I have only seen him play a few times, but he has done nothing to flash, nothing to say "wow."

I wonder if the MLS is both a blessing and a curse for the USMNT. Its a blessing in that it creates buzz in the US for soccer, it creates a playing field for a bunch of players to come up through. But it is also a place where you can make a decent pay day instead of really pushing yourself against better competition. You can succeed in the MLS, or you could push yourself overseas. Often the worst thing for a rising soccer star is to spend his early and mid 20's in the MLS.

This debate happens all the time, but there isn’t a right answer, it just depends on the player.

Guys like Pulisic, Yedlin and Brooks are super talented and playing a lot so it’s good. Hopefully Adams, McKinnie, Weah are talented enough to make it work and help their development.

Is a guy like Matt Miazga getting better in Europe? Maybe but I wouldn’t say that’s a for sure. There’s lots of guys like that too, that maybe aren’t helping themselves in Europe.

Then you have guys like Paul Arriola and Aaron Long who look to be good contributors and certainly helped themselves with MLS playing time.

[M2]

This debate happens all the time, but there isn’t a right answer, it just depends on the player.

Guys like Pulisic, Yedlin and Brooks are super talented and playing a lot so it’s good. Hopefully Adams, McKinnie, Weah are talented enough to make it work and help their development.

Is a guy like Matt Miazga getting better in Europe? Maybe but I wouldn’t say that’s a for sure. There’s lots of guys like that too, that maybe aren’t helping themselves in Europe.

Then you have guys like Paul Arriola and Aaron Long who look to be good contributors and certainly helped themselves with MLS playing time.

I'd say Europe has put Miazga into a position to be one of the starting CDs on this team. He's ahead of all the MLS guys his age. Nantes turned into a dead end for him, and Reading is a dubious move (the Championship plays a dire brand of football). IMO, he'd have been better off staying in the Netherlands. He may have a Tim Ream ceiling, which I don't consider nearly good enough, but he's at least seen and participated in the game when it's played at a higher pace.

On a separate note, why can't our nation produce left backs? We got nothing there.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I'd say Europe has put Miazga into a position to be one of the starting CDs on this team. He's ahead of all the MLS guys his age. Nantes turned into a dead end for him, and Reading is a dubious move (the Championship plays a dire brand of football). IMO, he'd have been better off staying in the Netherlands. He may have a Tim Ream ceiling, which I don't consider nearly good enough, but he's at least seen and participated in the game when it's played at a higher pace.

On a separate note, why can't our nation produce left backs? We got nothing there.

I like Miazga, my point wasn’t to slam him, but he was already in contention to be a starting CB when he played for NYRB. If he was actually playing and practicing with Chelsea than great, but he isn’t. The Championship is a marginal step up from MLS if at all and he didn’t play in France.

Then you have guys like Bobby Wood, Joe Gyau, and Lyden Gooch, who have had some injury issues, but I would argue aren’t really being served by being overseas when they would all likely be playing in MLS.

[M2]

I like Miazga, my point wasn’t to slam him, but he was already in contention to be a starting CB when he played for NYRB. If he was actually playing and practicing with Chelsea than great, but he isn’t. The Championship is a marginal step up from MLS if at all and he didn’t play in France.

Then you have guys like Bobby Wood, Joe Gyau, and Lyden Gooch, who have had some injury issues, but I would argue aren’t really being served by being overseas when they would all likely be playing in MLS.

His two years on loan to Vitesse helped push him into his nominal starting slot. His ability on the ball and general compete level are better for it. If he stays in MLS he's Chad Marshall.

There's guys who do benefit from having a secure spot in MLS, but the USMNT needs better than those guys. If you can't thrive outside MLS, that's an argument against having you on the national team. Miazga did well in Holland and not so well in France. Hopefully Reading turns into a ticket to first division football (either there or elsewhere). He can always go back to MLS. Striving for more and getting it is what the NT needs.