Good grief. MLS lovefest will never end. We just saw that MLS is basically 2 hairs better than Sunday League in England.
USA Soccer thread spring/summer 2023
- Thread starter Fk_Pitt
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Heard the U21 Euros final between England and Spain was really really bad. Fights, showboating in front of benches, coaches thrown out, referees losing control…
Gotta love international soccer for its extracurricular stuff. The soccer may not be as good most of the time but the entertainment value is definitely there.
Gotta love international soccer for its extracurricular stuff. The soccer may not be as good most of the time but the entertainment value is definitely there.
Well, he needs to PLAY. You'd think he'd get time in the lower level Serie A but if he isnt playing there, its better to start for the Colorado Rapids than to sit the bench in Italy.
Canada is becoming more diverse. Its only 69% European descent. There are enough non-whites that play basketball and soccer to produce competitive teams.
I have said the Gold Cup is a legitimate tournament. Its a continental tournament like the other continents have. Similar to a conference basketball tournament. The Nations League are friendlies for a fake trophy.
It’s just so bizarre. I wish I was a fly on the wall. Every time there was a manager change, Pulisic had to start over again and prove himself to the new manager. I don’t know if he’s aloof at Cobham, I don’t know if he doesn’t practice well, I don’t know he he doesn’t follow through with game day assignments, I don’t know if it’s anti American bias or pro English bias or whatever.
He needs a manager who believes in him and puts him in as an unquestionable starter and let him play every game whether he has a good game or not. If he gets a run of games over a long period of time and doesn’t produce, then so be it. But I don’t think that will happen. He will produce. Unless he gets hurt of course. Lol.
Dude....most of these guys were way down the depth chart of my USA soccer knowledge.
So continental tournaments that are like the tournaments that other continents have are legitimate, but the Nations League, a continental tournament that other continents have versions of, are friendlies for a fake trophy.
Well at least you are consistent. And by that I don't mean consistent in your opinions. I mean you are consistently loony.
They are. It’s like watching a preseason football game to see which players may have a chance to crack the big boy squad. Except the difference is that these teams and especially the players want to win in the worst way. There’s something about playing for your national team in soccer. I don’t know why is so much more in this sport, but it’s really special.
At the end of the day, maybe 4-6 of these guys will be on the World Cup team in 2026. You’d figure Turner will continue to be our #1 keeper, although Slonina who is 18 and on the bench right now could end up as the #1 in 3 years.
Ferreira will keep figuring in.
There’s something I really like about Vazquez. His movements and instincts off the ball look to be beyond his years. If he goes to Europe and continues to develop, he could be a great 1-2 punch with Balogun at the position.
I could see Mihailovic developing into a reserve role in the midfield.
That LB Jones is so young, who knows where he will be in 3 years. He’s intriguing.
Cowell is fun to watch but right now he’s all pace and not much else. I was about to compare him to Jim McGeough in the old Pens days, but Cowell actually has skill along with the pace…but he doesn’t have an end product at this point. That needs to develop. But he’s a good spark as a sub coming on to play against tired legs. But he’s also only 19. The other guys here will get this reference. He’s Timo Werner Jr. He makes runs off the ball that have to be respected so he draws players with him that open up space for others behind. And when he does get opportunities to score goals, he doesn’t take them well.
Robinson and Neal as center backs will have their chances for 2026. I’m not seeing much with Reynolds as a RB.
If I had to guess at the odds of a Jim McGeough reference on the PantherLair today....
The UEFA Nations League acts as qualifiers for The Euros in one installment seeding preferences for World Cup qualification in the other installment as well as backdoor WC qualification. And, as you know, its difficult to make the Euros or WC out of UEFA so these are important matches.
They do serve as qualifiers for the Gold Cup so if you want to say it matters for Trinidad, St. Kitts, Guatemala, El Salvador, etc, ok. Making the Gold Cup matters to those teams. For the US and Mexico, they can sleepwalk through it and make the Gold Cup so much "competition" as it is friendlies with a trophy at the end.
South America doesnt have one. I don't think Africa or Asia does but I'll let you check that.
I think what I read about Nations League is it gives the lower level national teams in the federation real game time. They don't have the funding to schedule friendlies on a consistent basis so it's in the interest of trying to improve. They only time they play is Gold Cup qualifiers and WC qualifiers. I like it, I root for the smaller teams, well of course against the US.
So as usual he's wrong, it's not just some made up tourney that serves no purpose.
I'm not so sure Ferreira will figure it out. He really has Zardes syndrome in my opinion. He was invisible against Canada, a terrible Canada team, just as he was terrible and invisible against the Dutch. Nothing against Jamaica. Now I didn't watch a peep of the Jamaica game so he may have had chances.
I think as well Vazquez has a future. He's a big body much in the way Mitro is, except he's not the physical bully specimen Mitro is. He is very good in the air and that is crucial. His header the other night wasn't perfectly placed but it had so much pace on it, not many are stopping it. I like his promise going forward. Same for Mihailovic, going to the Eredivisie I think will help his development.
I saw a small video clip from Reggie Cannon the other day. He nicely called MLS a junk league and echoed what guys like Puli have in the past. Every weekend you're battling for your job, your place in the starting 11. Every season you're battling to stay up. MLS will never ever replicate that type of pressure. You don't make the playoffs, ho hum. You get relegated, your club suffers immensely. It's almost like a highly paid weekend hobby. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure these guys train hard, but there really isn't any consequences to subpar training or play. Any US player with any sniff of legit national team aspirations needs to challenge themselves and go to the Europe. Even if it's the Championship, or Belgium, Netherlands, Austria. It's just a different ballgame there.
I thought Jones was a youngster to, wikipedia shows him at 26 and having been with NE Revolution his entire senior career. He was pretty solid against Canada and that ball to Vazquez was delicious.
Cowell is really intriguing. His look is wild, hockey all the way lol like you mentioned. Mullet-mania!
I think Neal was hot garbage the other night. He is young though, so he could turn out to get good, but he really had problems against Canada. There really isn't much depth on the back line past the top guys.
Gareth Bale recently got some heat for saying the same thing about MLS and I forget the exact quotes but it might have been said as a reflection of American sports as a whole. He said the mentality is different and he painted it as a country club atmosphere with no pressures. If you lose so what no big deal…and pro/rel was at the center of the topic.
As far as Vazquez, Eric wynalda rose eyebrows when he said that Vazquez is better than Brian McBride. He then qualified it by saying “he’s better at the same point in their careers”. That’s a pretty profound statement and if that’s the case, and Vazquez improves with experience as he should…then he’s going to be a real good one. He said that he already understands the game better than Pepi and won’t struggle the way Pepi did overseas. If Wynalda is right, and the guy is a pretty good authority since he played with McBride, then we just might have a couple good #9’s for the World Cup in 2026. Pepi could get snubbed in 2026 too.
Other than a brief stint in the German Second Division, McBride played in the US until he was in his late 20s. Definitely a late bloomer.
Vasquez turns 25 in October and I'm hoping he could get transferred to Europe in the winter window. He wasn't protected in the Expansion draft and didn't play for the national team until this year. Looks like a late bloomer too. If he's on the McBride path, he could be a special player.
The CONCACAF Nations League acts as qualifiers for the Copa America, which is the most important tournament the US will potentially play outside of the World Cup.
Odd that the confederation used the Nations League to determine that and not the Gold Cup. Or, well, at least it's probably odd to you. It's not really odd to the rest of us.
Wow, you are really reaching here in defense of your coveted Nations League.
- There have/will be 2 combined CONMEBOL/CONCACAF in Copa America history. 2016 to celebrate 100 years and 2024 because Ecuador turned down their "turn" to host and the opportunity was there to have it in the US for teams to get familiar for the 2026 World Cup. Beyond that, USA and Mexico are guaranteed to qualify. The Nations League is so vital that USA, Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica skip league play altogether and have already advanced to the quarterfinals where they will face (probably) either Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, TT, Haiti, Jamaica, or Honduras. It will be a 2 leg playoff in November and if they lose, they can still qualify by beating the loser of another quarterfinal. What's even more ridiculous is that "League A" has 2 groups of 6 teams who only play 2 games total. No double round-robin, not even a single round robin. For example, if Panama beats Guatemala and Martinique, they will finish 2-0 and could win their group (perhaps on goal different if there's another 2-0 team).
Wasn’t there a local Pens blog that would always take pics of jerseys worn by fans at home games and then post them online? I think a Jim McGeough throwback would be epic.
Dude was faster than Pavel Bure. Or maybe my memory is a bit too romantic. But he could fly, and then couldn’t stop himself before uncontrollably slamming into the boards behind the net.
They were arguing over who is better Connor McDavid or Austen Matthews.
Yeah a good comparision would be the former Steelers Dwight Stone. Fast, really fast straight ahead speed. And nothing else.
The person who is reaching here is you. Which tournament is the federation using to determine the teams for the most important tournament these teams will play until the next World Cup? Which tournament did the nations actually playing in both tournaments this summer send their better teams to?
The federation and the countries have told you which is the most important. The fact that you want to be a contrarian doesn't make you right, it makes you look like a fool.
Again.
I'm live here in San Diego. Nice breeze. Not too hot. Maybe 82. Subs coming out of the tunnel now. This would be an absolutely perfect Pitt football stadium. Perfect
I understand BJ going for it with that lineup. But now that they haven’t got the lead they coveted, they don’t have Cowell or Vazquez coming in against tired legs. Less than an ideal situation for the American boys now.
I thought it 40K but so what, add 5K and get to 40. That's all Pitt needs. Play WVU and ND at Acrisure if you must.
Dude in line told me his friend from college matched with Busio on Tinder last night.
That’s the second class finish by Ferreira in this tourney. Gotta give him his props.
But I gotta say, this isn’t even a B team. This is a C+ team at best with what we have on the field right now.
Great finish but you are right, he needs to do more of that against better competition
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