Starts this Friday with USA vs. Colombia. Let's use this for discussion. How far do we think USA can make it? What lineup would you like to see? I think Pulisic ends up becoming our new star but I am trying to temper my expectations with him.
OT: Copa America 2016
- Thread starter Zak57
- Start date
I heard somewhere that SI has some solid coverage of this...
I don't follow the National Teams that closely outside World Cups (and qualifiers once you get to the last rounds)...what is the story on Pulisic? I know he is a young kid playing in Germany. I fear that we are so desperate for a young, global star in this country that we hype these guys up pretty early. Is he a legit player overseas or 'just a guy' on a respectable club that we are desperate to anoint as the savior of US Soccer? Seems we do better with 'meat and potato' guys that are athletic and hard workers....but hopefully we can add a bit of flair in there now and then.
No one will be a savior but he is legit. Youngest foreigner to score in the Bundesliga. Youngest player to ever score 2 goals in the Bundesliga. Youngest player to score for USA.
became a go-to substitute at Borussia Dortmund (BVB) - runners up in the Bundesliga. started a few Bundesliga matches while BVB was still in contention (albeit pretty far behind BM) for the title. Really comfortable on the ball, quick, confident, a little bit of a ball hog, but all the great attackers are. he and Fabian are probably our two most talented players. he'll be a significant contributor going forward at BVB and may even show up with a regular role in champion's league play. I've been trying to hold back on jumping on the hype train, but this kid has got the goods. Has the respect of world class players like Reus, Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, so I think, with a little seasoning, he can be a great USMNT player.
Whatever happened with the kid with dual-citizenship that is/was at Arsenal? I think he got a little run at the last World Cup (or the qualifiers). Want to say he was dual US/Ethiopian citizenship? Or maybe German (since all our duals seem German now), but looked Ethipoian.
Gedion Zelalem, on loan with Rangers in Scotland but hasn't been able to get any playing time.
How much will Olympic rosters affect this tourbey?
Won't Olympic teams take the 2 best players on each team?
Won't Olympic teams take the 2 best players on each team?
USA Soccer isn't in the Olympics. I don't know what countries are in both but it won't matter since the Olympics start afterwards anyway.
That is not true. He struggled a little in the middle of the season but came on VERY strong to end the season. In their final game ,the Scotland Cup, he started and was pulled in the 62nd minute and their fans were furious saying he was their man of the match at that point. Very solid finish for him. Arsenal wants to give him a chance this year in the summer.
The most notable exception to this is Neymar. He'll be representing Brazil at home in the Olympics (they have never won gold) rather than the full National team at Copa America.
Yeah, Olympic soccer teams are a hybrid U23 team with 3 overage players allowed, so in theory, most of the best players will be in the Copa vs the Olympics. Looking forward to the tourney. I'd think the USA would be happy to get to the semi's.
Giuseppe Rossi and his agent regrets that he did not play for the United States..... this is news. I wonder how many Jersey kids regretted not playing for Rutgers?
http://www.espnfc.com/italy/story/2...grets-choosing-italy-over-united-states-agent
http://www.espnfc.com/italy/story/2...grets-choosing-italy-over-united-states-agent
Read the Guardian version. Seems more like the agent has more regrets, not necessarily Joe Red. It was his dream to play for Italy and he did. He's done well for himself, but injuries haven't been kind to him. Now he probably won't get a pre-retirement gig in the MLS like other Euro-stars.
I don't get all of the hype over the "tough group" the US supposedly drew. Costa Rica had a great run in the last WC, but they are still a CONCACAF team that should never beat the US on home soil. Paraguay is a lesser Conmebol team that, again, would normally pose little threat in an away game like most of South America's lesser teams.
5 Points would put us through which would be great for us.
I think it all hinges on Friday, not unlike the Ghana Game in the World Cup. We need to get points against Columbia.
I am very encouraged by the play in the midfield and the 4-3-3 formation has been looking very good. I am still weary about the play at the back, bt we shall see.
They looked really good on Saturday and might be the first time in a while while they completely ran a team out of the building.
Costa Rica is better than you're giving them credit for. Here are some of the clubs that their Copa America roster has on it - Real Madrid, Arsenal, Espanyol, West Brom, Everton, Deportivo, Sporting Lisbon in addition to MLS and other countries. On the whole that list of teams is more impressive than the American roster, so I certainly wouldn't say that they should never beat the US on home soil.
As far as Paraguay they've certainly fallen off a bit, but they've still got enough talent to put together a dangerous squad.
I'm not saying Costa Rica isn't a decent team, but at this stage it is unacceptable for the US to lose any home games against Concacaf opposition.
they should make it through the 1st round, the next round is anyone's guess depending on who they draw, you obviously want to avoid Brazil at all costs out of Group B, if you get the other team out of Group B, you have to like the odds of getting past Peru, Ecuador or Haiti. So, ideally the US needs to find a way to win their group (A) to avoid Brazil (don't see Brazil dropping any points in B).
Short memory as we lost to Jamaica and Panama on home turf in last summer's Gold Cup.
We do have a difficult group, which seems to be the case in all international tournaments. We really need to win as the runner up in our group plays the Group B winner in the quarterfinals which, if form holds, wil be Brazil.
I bought tickets for the 6/11 game against Paraguay. Looking forward to it.
Love the USMNT soccer threads!!
Zelalem is the kid (as point out below), but you're probably also thinking of Julian Green...he's the kid who made the last WC roster and scored in the WC. I saw him play in the Puerto Rico game and he had some flashes, but seems far short of the sky high expectations of when we got him to commit to the USMNT. I know he's very young, so I am not giving up on him yet.
As I look towards the next WC, I am pretty excited about the youth movement for the national team. Pulisic looks legit. And Nagbe seems more confident each time out. Then you have Wood and Zardes who've been coming on for 6 months now. Throw them in (and a few others like Brooks, Yedlin, etc) with the mix of vets we have...and hope that Zelalem or Green crack the lineup, and then the next WC is looking more promising.
I admit that I tend to drink the Kool-Aid, so take that with a grain of salt, but I really like the talent we're seeing. If Klinssy would just stick with the more traditional lineup choices (e.g. Cameron at centerback, Johnson at midfield, etc) I think this team can be dangerous.
Wrt to the Copa...we're in a bit of a transition phase...so I will be very happy to see us play well and get out of the group. Then it's gravy.
Can't wait for the games!
Zardes is overrated. Tons of pace, lousy touch, and poor positioning...not to mention that his defensive contributions as a midfielder are...lacking. I would rather see an attacking midfield 3 of pulisic, nagbe, and bedoya with bradley playing in the holding role. if we need more structure in front of the back 4, pull one of Wood or Deuce and put in one of our destroyers. we need guys who can create those passing triangles and take advantage of space and mismatches, not a guy who will run up and down the sideline.
You beat the Ticos in a snow storm 1 to 0 in Denver and got taken to the woodshed in San Jose. Costa Rica with barely 5 million in total population has more than a decent team.
This is moot.. Because the olympics arent until August.. This tourney will be over before July. Neymar is the only exception not dealing with injury.
Disagree. We've outplayed Colombia thus far imo, just disappointing to go into halftime down 2-0. So so disappointing.
Ehh maybe. I'm seeing quite a few missed passes and or lost balls. Left the guy wide open for the first goal.
