When I was a kid we would play this stupid game where you go back and forth making a situation sound positive or negative. Something like:
I hear you sharted in English yesterday and had to go change into your gym shorts?
That’s true, but it got me out of class for half an hour.
On the downside, that girl you have a crush on was sitting right behind you.
But on the plus side, if she says yes now I know she really likes me.
If you think this is an odd way to lead into a preview article about the USMNT’s match against Wales…you’re right and you must be new here. 😂
On the Brightside…
The talent on this roster is young and exciting. Even after the entirely predictable departure of Christian Pulisic, the remaining players are very interesting. Just for comparison, this was the “B” team that played Panama in the third Gold Cup group stage match:
And here’s a possible “B” team lineup that could play the second game on Tuesday:
No offense to any of the guys that played in the Gold Cup, but I’d almost be more excited to see that second lineup than the first choice. Almost.
But On the Downside…
There will be very little cohesion to this group so the performance may be a little rough. Here are the number of caps each player on the roster has under Berhalter.
- Steffen: 11
- Horvath: 1
- Odunze: 0
- Ream: 14
- Brooks: 2
- Miazga: 7
- Richards: 0
- Cannon: 9
- Dest: 3
- Robinson: 1
- Adams: 1
- Soccer: 0
- Ledezma: 0
- McKennie: 12
- Musah: 0
- Lletget: 9
- Otasowie: 0
- Reyna: 0
- Konrad: 0
- Gioacchini: 0
- Llanez: 1
- Soto: 0
- Weah: 0
That’s not a lot of experience playing together in Berhalter’s system. If the team comes out and looks like they don’t know exactly what they are doing, lets not get too upset (I will totally be ranting on Twitter if that happens, but you need to ignore me until like three hours after the game ends tbf).
Wales has played five matches already in 2020. They are ranked 21st in the World Football Elo ratings while the USMNT is down at 37. This game may not go as well as we all hope it will.
However, the Level of Talent is Definitely Higher
I’m not going to make one of those graphics that shows what team every player on the roster is playing on, but the caliber of team these guys are coming from is certainly improved. In the past, if a dude was on a roster in Europe he was in the starting lineup. When Carlos Bocanegra was starting at Fulham he was written in pen on the lineup card. Now, we’ve got a player on the edge of Bayern Munich’s first team that might not start (I think he should btw).
This helps in a variety of ways, but one of the main effects is that the level of play won’t be a jump to as many of them. When you heard players interviewed about what it’s like playing for the USMNT, you used to always hear about how the international level is faster, better, etc. When you are playing with Barcelona or Juventus the level of play is actually going to be easier. The more players we have that don’t have to “adjust up,” the better off the team is going to be.
But a Bunch of these Guys will be Replaced by MLS Players Next Time
This is almost entirely a European-based roster. Lletget was brought in because the Galaxy are one of the four MLS teams that somehow didn’t make the playoffs. Johnny Soccer was brought in from Brazil. That’s it.
When an international window comes around again and the full pool is available – the roster is going to include 6-8 MLS-based players. That’s going to aggravate some people, but that’s just the way it is. I don’t think many of them will be starters anymore but, Morris, Lletget, Long, Altidore, etc. are going to keep getting called in and most of them probably still should.
But We Get to Watch the Freakin’ USMNT Again!
Yes we do.🤓 In the weeks after the October window got cancelled and many of the other teams in the world (including El Tri) played games I was feeling fairly apathetic towards the USMNT. It had been a really long time since they’d played a game, Daryl had just passed, and given the COVID situation the prospect of November games didn’t look great. It was the lowest point since Couva for my own personal fandom.
Now that the games are here though and look like they are really going to be played…I’m bouncing back. An exciting game against Wales (win or loss) and then a beatdown of Panama would go a long way toward getting this thing moving in the right direction again. Can’t wait to give Musah a +17 or something tomorrow night.
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