OT: We may win the World Cup in 2026
- Thread starter brad1218
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Brooks has appeared in 30 of Wolfsburg's 33 matches this year, and has gone the full 90 in the last six. His current form can't be all that bad, else he wouldn't be playing.
I don't know the Wolfsburg situation but just because he plays doesn't mean he should. Whenever he has played for USMNT recently he has stunk it up.
Figure Chris Richards probably gets tried with Zimmerman. Miles is a big loss & probably won't be match ready for Qatar. Wouldn't be surprised to see Vines/Palmer-Brown/Long/Ream get a shot ahead of Brooks. Berhalter seems to want to move past Brooks. Not sure if I disagree with him.
Word is Brooks is too slow for what Gregg wants to do with a high line
CCV could go from not making the WC roster to a starter depending on how he plays when he gets called in this window
CCV could go from not making the WC roster to a starter depending on how he plays when he gets called in this window
Saw a WaPo article dated May 4 (prior to Robinson's injury) in which Berhalter stated he planned to call Carter-Vickers into this month's camp. So he's more than just an injury replacement.
Another player who Berhalter said will be called up is one whom I had never heard of. A 24 year old striker named Haji Wright. He is scoring goals for his club team in Turkey. If he keeps doing it, he could be on the plane to Qatar.
So... After using 38 different players in qualifiers, two guys who never were on a qualifying roster could be in the lineup in November.
One other note. Berhalter made it clear that these next four matches are everyone's final chance to impress him (in person at least). The September window is not a tryout camp. He will have chosen his roster by then.
Another player who Berhalter said will be called up is one whom I had never heard of. A 24 year old striker named Haji Wright. He is scoring goals for his club team in Turkey. If he keeps doing it, he could be on the plane to Qatar.
So... After using 38 different players in qualifiers, two guys who never were on a qualifying roster could be in the lineup in November.
One other note. Berhalter made it clear that these next four matches are everyone's final chance to impress him (in person at least). The September window is not a tryout camp. He will have chosen his roster by then.
Since the World Cup is in the winter I believe the teams only have a few days before games in the international window. There is no two week training camp leading up to the tournament so he needs to pick players with chemistry now because that will be spotlighted this world cup more than any other.
I think it's only a week or so for the premier league players
Malik Tillman chooses USA over Germany. Bayern Munich attacker/striker
Out injured: Dest, Reyna, Richards, Pefok, and Sargent.
Newbies: Scally, Mihailovic, Tillman, and Wright.
Still MIA: Brooks
Newbies: Scally, Mihailovic, Tillman, and Wright.
Still MIA: Brooks
Add Robinson, central defender, to injury list.
that’s 3-4 starters.
what’s up with Pepe?
I’m not a fan of Brooks’ contributions, and see him as more of a liability than an asset. So I’m not particularly troubled by him being MIA. Reyna and Robinson (whom you didn’t mention, but NK is correct) are the biggest losses, IMO.
I didn't mention Miles Robinson because he is no longer in the WC picture. The other guys are.
To the prior question, according to MLSsoccer.com, Pepi was not selected because Berhalter wanted to give him a break. Pepi had moved from MLS to Europe over the winter, and as a result has been playing pretty much continuously for over a year. The same is true of Busio and Sands who were also not selected, although I am not sure they would have been.
Ukraine at Scotland has just started on ESPN2. Winner then plays Wales to see who ends up in our group at the World Cup.
Good outing. Good pressure. Weah and Aronson both playing great. Musah showed well.
Need to figure out striker & central defender to pair with Zimmerman.
Need to figure out striker & central defender to pair with Zimmerman.
I don’t remember a time when we’ve had this combination of speed and skill. Really impressive for us - not sure what it will mean at the WC but it’s certainly making me optimistic that we’ll have a good showing.
Agreed. We really looked good against Morocco, too. Some sweet goals, especially the one where Pulisic brought down a long pass over his head at full sprint, perfectly, then executed a great ball fake and fed a wide open Aronson for an easy goal. Superb. Weah's goal was a rocket, but should've been easily saved by the keeper and Pulisic drew a foul for Wright's PK, which was nice. And Turner played really well in goal. Beating the #24 FIFA team soundly is a very good sign.
Wales up 1-0 at the half over Ukraine despite Ukraine being the better side. Winner makes the World Cup and is the US’s first opponent.
Love the setup today from an offensive perspective. If Ferreira wants to show he belongs he can't ask for more than this. Should get some chances up top.
A question from a soccer challenged fan. What's the outlook for the US in the group with England, Iran and Wales?
Favorite vs. Wales?
Underdog vs. England?
Toss up vs. Iran?
Favorite vs. Wales?
Underdog vs. England?
Toss up vs. Iran?
Two golden opportunities and couldn't convert either and scoring is what a 9 has to do, so not a great outing (although he does other things well). Wright didn't do anything, but we weren't playing well the last 25 minutes, either, as Uruguay could've had a couple of goals then. I liked that we played a pretty good first 55-60 minutes against a top team (apart from the first 10 minutes).
Definitely underdog against England. The other two will likely be toss ups or close to it
Somewhere between a very small favorite and a very small dog against Wales. I’ve basically got it as a coin flip right now.
Solid dog against England
Solid favorite against Iran (though probably slightly more of an underdog against England than we'll be as a favorite over Iran).
of course, leave it to FIFA to move away from the perfect format we have right now in 2026.
They already ruined in 2022 with putting in Winter and 2026 totally gone adding all the new teams and changing format. At least it's in USA 2026 I guess.
I’m thinking Weah, Musa, Aronson, Weston McKinney, Pulisic and Tyler Adams all need to be on the field. Add in Reyna if he is healthy.
these are the guys we want for a fast paced pressing creative team.
by default that leads me to a false 9 because I really can’t take any of them off the field. Right now I’d probably play Aronson at the 9 and not disrupt Weah from the right side where he’s really shown us what he can do.
I think the search for a central defender to complement Zimmerman or Long is still on. I see Zimmerman & Long as the same type player that needs major wheels as a partner. The Robinson injury really hurts…
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