OT: USMNT update

I don’t think one of these has been posted in a while and the last few days have been pretty good for the USMNT, so I thought now was as good of a time as any.  Usually there are at least a handful of people interested.

One cool stat, as of 5 days ago, is that in the top 5 leagues of Europe, the United States is:

- 5th in minutes played u20 players (ahead of Italy, one of the countries that has a top 5 league)

- 6th in minutes played by u21 players

-8th in minutes played by u23 players

The future is incredibly bright for US soccer. Our u20 and u21 players have played more minutes this year in top 5 leagues than the u20 players from countries like Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands, and Italy (only for u20 players). To me this stat is absolutely amazing and bodes really, really well for the future of the USMNT.

Highlights form last weekend / this week:

Christian Pulisic got a well-deserved rest during the FA Cup semifinal last weekend, but he did come on as a sub and score this golazo (against Zack Steffen), that was unfortunately just barely offside:


Yesterday, he started and played 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 0-0 draw against Brighton. Pulisic came into this weekend on a great run of form, having scored 3 goals in his previous 2 EPL games. He also started for Chelsea in the Champions League last week and was named MOTM by UEFA. He drew 11 fouls in Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Porto (which was enough for Chelsea to advance to the semifinals), the most by anyone in any Champions League game since Messi in 2011 (against Real Madrid).

If he stays healthy, Pulisic will probably start for Chelsea in the Champions League final against Real Madrid. Pulisic’s good form has been nice to see but long term, I’m much more concerned about his health than his form in April of 2021. For that reason, I kind of wish Chelsea would manage his minutes a little bit more.

Daryl Dike scored a bicycle kick to beat Huddersfield 1-0 in the EFL (the 2nd division of England).


It’s “only” the EFL, but Dike’s first semester playing for Barnsley (on loan from Orlando City) has been an enormous success. As of a week or two ago, he was first or second in the league in goals per 90 minutes. Also, the EFL is a pretty good league and the top teams are closer to bottom half EPL quality than MLS quality. There is a lot of speculation that Dike will be bought by Barnsley if they win promotion to the EPL or bought by someone else in the EPL if Barnsley don’t go up. Most people probably have him #1 or #2 on the US’ forward depth chart.

He scored this rocket back in March:


Sergiño Dest became the first US international to win the Copa del Rey (the Spanish Cup). He started the match and took this photo with Messi and the trophy:

https://i.redd.it/ta7ydljl8tt61.jpg

Dest’s first season with Barcelona has been a huge success and he has scored 3 goals. He has appeared in 38 games (35 starts).

He scored this golazo for the US back in March against Jamaica.


Gio Reyna started for Dortmund and scored this golazo:


He also got the start for Dortmund in today’s 2-0 win over Union Berlin. Reyna has had a kind of quiet semester (which is fine for an 18-year-old). Earlier this semester, he was named the 5th best u20 player in the world by French publication L’Equipe.

Bryan Reynolds got his second career Serie A start for Roma (also his second in a row). Apparently Roma is going all-in on the Europa League and focusing less on Serie A at this point in the season, but either way it’s pretty awesome for the US’ 4th (at best) right back to be starting any games for Roma in Serie A.

Yunus Musah got his first start in a while for Valencia and had this beautiful run that was thwarted by a good save by the keeper.
 

Musah, Valencia Denied Go-Ahead Goal After Incredible Solo Run

Yunus Musah dribbles through the Real Betis midfield and backline only to be denied one-on-one by a Claudio Bravo save.

 www.beinsports.com

Musah started again for Valencia today in their 3-1 loss to Osasuna.

Earlier this year, Musah was named the 19th best player in the world (under age 20) according to French publication L’Equipe. One amazing statistic about Musah is that since 2008, Musah is one of the 50 players in the world with the most minutes played in top-4 league before the age of 19. Reyna and Pulisic are also on the list.

The biggest news about Musah this semester is that he committed his international future to the US over England, Italy, and Ghana. This is kind of like getting a 5-star recruit except way better since his eligibility doesn’t expire in a few years and he won’t be leaving early for the NFL or NBA.



Weston McKennie started for Juventus in Sunday’s 1-0 loss to Atalanta and in today’s 3-1 win over Parma. I recently read that McKennie has covered more ground per 90 minutes than anyone in the Champions League this season. He also became the first US international to win the Italian Super Cup earlier this semester and Juventus is one of two finalists in the Coppa Italia which will be played in May. He has scored 6 goals this year and has been Juventus’ best midfielder according to many.


Here’s his best goal from back in December in case anyone missed it (a must see if you somehow missed it):


Brenden Aaronson scored a goal today for Red Bull Salzberg in their 3-2 loss in the Austrian Bundesliga.


Jordan Siebatcheu and his team Young Boys won the Swiss league title this weekend.

Antonee Robinson (Fulham), John Brooks (Wolfsberg), Tyler Adams (Red Bull Leipzig), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim) and Tim Weah (Lille – currently the first-place team in France) all started for their respective teams over the weekend. Josh Sargent and Matthew Hoppe came off the bench for Werder Bremen and Schalke. Zack Steffen started the FA Cup semifinal for Manchester City but was caught badly out of position on the goal that he conceded in a 1-0 loss. Guardiola has already said that Steffen will start the final of the Carabao Cup this weekend. Julian Green scored a goal in the 2 Bundesliga. Michael Bradley had his best 90 minutes in ages in Toronto’s shocking win over León last week in the CONCACAF Champions League and could be part of the Gold Cup roster this summer.

Also, one piece of bad news, after Schalke was relegated by losing this weekend, their players were attacked by fans upon their return to the city. Presumably this includes Hoppe, although no players were mentioned by name in the article I read.

https://www.kicker.de/schalke-verurteilt-die-uebergriffe-polizei-nennt-details-802812/artikel

Caden Clark, I usually don’t mention a lot of MLS guys in these updates, but I’m very excited about the 17-year-old NYRB midfielder’s future. Last year, he looked great in his USL highlights before moving up to MLS towards the end up the season. He ended up playing 7 games in MLS in 2020 and scored 3 goals (including 2 absolute golazos). This weekend, he scored this golazo in NYRB’s 2021 opener:


Here are his goals from last year (all are worth a watch but especially the second video):




Unless he turns out to be Steven Gerrard, no one could keep this up (he’s scoring a goal every 92 minutes and the sheer quality of his finishing has been astounding), but I’m very excited about this guy as a prospect. He already has a deal to play for Red Bull Salzburg (with Jesse Marsch and Brenden Aaronson) after this season.

Justin Che made his second straight start (as a defender) for Bayern’s second team. This is pretty promising considering that he’s 17 and it’s his first semester with the club, whereas Chris Richards didn’t break through with Bayern 2 until he was 19.



I thought people might enjoy taking a rough look at the US’ depth chart (I’m mostly guessing this on how I’m guessing Berhalter sees things, unless otherwise noted) just to get a feel for how these guys fit into the big picture.

I might include a note or two about some of these guys if it’s not something I already mentioned above.



First XI

F – Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen) his second semester has been better than his first semester this season.

LW – Christian Pulisic (Chelsea)

RW – Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund)

CM – Weston McKennie (Juventus)

CM – Yunus Musah (Valencia)

DM – Tyler Adams (Red Bull Leipzig) – Having the best season of his career according to observers.

LB – Antonee Robinson – Doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Based on club performance, he’s probably the best LB the US has ever had and he played great in his last game for the US. People should focus a little more on what he brings to the table and a little less on his perceived shortcomings, IMO.

CB – John Brooks (Wolfsburg)

CB – Aaron Long (NYRB) – It would’ve been awesome if the loan to Liverpool would’ve happened. Richards might be gaining on him but I think Long will start the Nation’s League games in June.

RB – Sergiño Dest (Barcelona)

K – Zack Steffen (Manchester City) – Has only played cup games this season… I wish he’d get loaned somewhere where he’d get starter minutes. The mistake last weekend raises question about his form given that he’s barely played.

Second XI

F – Daryl Dike (Barnsley) – Talked about above. I thought he looked really good for the US against Northern Ireland in March.

LW – Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzberg) – His first semester in Austria has been a huge success. Plenty of starts and goals. He looked great for the US in our March friendlies.

RW – Tim Weah (Lille) – This has been a great semester for Weah. Turns out that Lille was just taking it slow with him last semester given his injury history. This semester he’s seen a lot of playing time and opportunities to start in the Europa League and in Ligue 1 (where Lille currently sits 1 point ahead of PSG with 5 games left). Awesome to have a guy like this coming off the bench.

CM – Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy) – Can’t stop scoring goals when he plays for the US. He had an assist in the Galaxy’s opener last weekend.

CM – Luca de la Torre – The 22-year-old has had a great semester for Heracles in Holland. I had only read about him and seen highlights of him before he played for the US in the last two friendlies but I thought he looked great.

DM – Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids) – Got another chance for the US in March and looked great against Jamaica (not so much against N. Ireland). All in all, that was better than anyone could’ve expected in his offseason and he improved his stock, IMO. Recently said he’s dying to move to Europe because that’s his best chance at gaining the sharpness necessary to have a notable national team career given this generation’s talent.

LB – Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids) – If it were the World Cup, I would actually take 3 right backs and only Antonee Robinson at LB since Dest can play either side. So Vines is probably really 3rd on the LB depth chart behind those two guys. Honestly, I wonder if Ream would still get picked at LB for us if we had an important game and Robinson and Dest were both out.

CB – Matt Miazga (Anderlecht)

CB – Chris Richards (Hoffenheim) – His first semester as a starter in the Bundesliga has been a huge success. But, Hoffenheim play a back 3 so playing for the US will be a bit of an adjustment.

RB – DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray) – Yedlin finally got back in the squad and had some good performances for Newcastle a couple of month ago. He has had a great semester for Galatasaray since that transfer, even scoring a goal a couple of weeks ago. He’s out injured now but only for 3 weeks, supposedly. Berhalter probably has Reggie Cannon #2 on his RB depth chart but Yedlin is better in every way, IMO.

K – Matt Turner (New England Revolution)





The rest of the depth chart (it sounds like the US will leave it’s best squad home for the Gold Cup so a lot of these guys could be involved):

Forward:

3. Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew) – His form is as good as ever but there’s more competition at forward now. Definitely still in the mix to start, IMO.

4. Jordan Siebatcheu (Young Boys) – Good season winning the Swiss League and scoring goals in the Europa Legue.

5. Mattew Hoppe (Schalke)

Other guys to keep an eye on: Jozy Altidore (Toronto), Jesus Ferreira (Dallas), Ricardo Pepi (Dallas), Sebastian Soto (Norwich), Nico Gioacchini (Caen)

LW/RW:

5. Tyler Boyd (Sivasspor) – Finally getting playing time in Turkey and has had a resurgence. 6 goals in 18 games this semester. Still a really good option for the US even though some guys have passed him.

6/7. Paul Arriola (DC United), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders) – Both guys were part of the US’ best 23 and possible starters. Both guys made an exciting loan move to Swansea City this semester to finally test themselves in Europe. Both guys suffered serious injuries. Two really quality players. I’m really rooting for both guys but both will have a lot of work to do to work their way back up the depth chart once healthy.

Other guys to keep an eye on: Konrad de la Fuente (Barcelona), Uly Llanez (Herenveen), Chris Mueller (Orlando City), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids), Sebastian Saucedo (Pumas), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders). Tough luck for Llanez missing the CONCACAF u23 due to injury. I’d be shocked if Konrad breaks through at Barcelona, so a move elsewhere is probably in the cards at some point. I’m not as high on his potential as some are. I though Saucedo looked pretty good in the CONCACAF u23 and he scored recently for Pumas. Mueller looked good for the US in December.

CM:

5. Michael Bradley (Toronto) – Looks like Chris Armas is going to use Bradley more as an 8 than a 6 this season and he looked good in that role against León. Wouldn’t mind seeing him in the Gold Cup or even providing depth during some qualifiers. Most US fans probably hate this idea but if you don’t ask more of him defensively than he’s capable of giving, his leadership, passing, tactical intelligence, and composure could still be useful in certain situations (maybe coming off the bench against a team that is sitting back).

6. Julian Green (Greuther Furth) – Sounds like he’s had a great season in Germany’s second division. Had to look up how to spell his team’s name.

Other guys to keep an eye on: Richie Ledezma (PSV), Duane Holmes (Huddersfield), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas), Caden Clark (NYRB). Ledezma was breaking through at PSV when he got hurt. He seemed on track for the US second XI.

DM:

3. Jackson Yueill (San Jose) – Scored a very nice goal in the CONCACAF u23 but other than that, I didn’t think he looked better than the rest of the guys on the team (from what I’ve read, most US fans disagree with this take). Used correctly, I still think he’s a useful 6 for the US when he’s surrounded by better players and not asked to receive the ball under pressure and orchestrate the whole attack. Pretty sure Berhalter rates him either 3rd or 2nd on the DM depth chart.

Other guys to keep an eye on: Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Owen Otasowie (Wolverhampton), Gianluca Busio (Kansas City), Andres Perea (Orlando City). Cardoso and Perea underwhelmed in the CONCACAF u23 tournament (especially Cardoso) but I still like both guys’ potential. Otasowie’s PT for Wolves has completely dried up this semester, unfortunately.



LB:

3. Tim Ream (Fulham) – Not a ton of depth at LB for the US. But I think Berhalter likes his experience and leadership. I met his parents and they were nice. I don’t remember him playing for Fulham in the EPL this season and I don’t think you want him playing LB for the US in an important game.

Other guys to keep an eye on: Tim Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), George Bello (Atlanta). Chandler has played 13 games for Eintracht Frankfurt this semester and even scored a goal… doesn’t seem like he’s in the picture but maybe if it were an emergency.

CB – Not going to bother putting these guys in any order. Lots of decent players that could probably do fine if needed and none are very old.

Erik Palmer-Brown (Austria Wien), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Bournemouth), Miles Robinson (Atlanta), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville), Mark McKenzie (Genk).

RB:

3. Reggie Cannon (Boavista) – Yedlin brings a lot more to the table, IMO, but Cannon is a very solid (and young) RB and I think Berhalter probably sees him as our 2nd or 3rd outside back. He’s been a pretty much automatic starter for Boavista, who is currently 1 point above the relegation zone in Portugal.

4. Bryan Reynolds (Roma) – He hasn’t exactly gotten rave reviews for his first two starts in Serie A but he looked pretty good for the US against Northern Ireland. It’s crazy that the US has a 19-year-old that just started Roma’s last two Serie A games and he’s pretty overshadowed by the rest of our young talent.

Other guys to keep an eye on: Aaron Herrera (RSL), Julian Araujo (Galaxy). Both guys face a pretty tough RB depth chart but Herrera looked great against Trinidad in January and both had some decent moments for the u23s in March.

K:

Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge), guys from MLS… haven’t thought a lot about this position but Horvath needs some PT if he’s going to work his way back up the depth chart.