At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the USMNT had two game plans: a ball-dominant possession-orientated game plan and an against-the-ball defensive game plan. This was easiest to see in the games versus Wales and Iran. As I pointed out…
Last Tuesday, I watched the USMNT look toothless and confused versus a terrible version of the Saudi Arabia national team (all domestic, some from the Saudi 2 nd division!). Then the next night, I turned on the US…
The USMNT has qualified for the 2022 World Cup. But was the entire qualification campaign a giant exercise in world gaslighting? Here is the definition:
“Gaslighting is a form of manipulation that often occurs in abusive relationships. It…
Following the first six games of the Ocho, a media narrative has tried to gain traction that excuses the inconsistent performances on the age of the players. There is no doubt most of the players are young. But are…
USSF called in 26 players for the first World Cup Qualifiers since the disaster in Couva. The roster includes almost all the top players (Tim Weah and Yunus Musah had to withdraw with an injury). However, there are some…
It wasn’t long ago when everyone was wondering where all the USA goal keepers went. For decades we had a parade of great keepers from Keller to Friedel to Howard. Even guys behind them like Hahnemann were great keepers…
The USMNT plays six world cup qualifiers in the September and October FIFA windows. It is widely reported that we play:
September
At El Salvador
Canada
At Honduras
October
Jamaica
@Panama …
Gregg Berhalter submitted 40 names for Concacaf as a provisional roster for the upcoming Nations League finals. I believe that an analysis of this list can tell you quite a bit about the current USMNT depth chart in Berhalter’s…
It is September 2, 2021, the USMNT is about to take the field in El Salvador to start The Ocho, or more formally, CONCACAF World Cup Qualification. They will be stepping on the field after playing club games that…
The failure of the mostly MLS based U23 team to qualify for the Olympics, much has been said about the quality of USMNT U23 players in Europe versus MLS YNT. No doubt, players like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler…
The 2021 Olympic Qualifying roster has just been dropped and it could be the strongest team the USA has ever sent to the qualifying tournament. However, it is not the strongest roster it could have sent. In fact, it…
The Past
Following the disaster in Couva, USMNT fans and pundits struggled with how it could happen. There was a sense that the team on the field was too MLS heavy. However, it had only 6 MLS players starting.…