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OT: We may win the World Cup in 2026

RUevolution36 said:
It's also a huge issue for us that an ancient Tim Ream is better than anyone else we have produced in the past 5 years, especially considering how much improvement in talent we have seen everywhere else on the pitch.
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I agree completely. I fail to understand how the USMNT cannot produce/find a better group of defenders.

The Robinsons are pretty good (although Jedi had about as bad a game as I've ever seen him play last game). But after them, it starts to go downhill (from a purely defensive standpoint). Ream is getting better with age because he has to as he slows down. But to compete at the highest levels against the best teams, we need to be able to reliably field 4 very tall, very fast, very skilled, very consistent defenders.

Finding that pure scorer forward is just statistically challenging. But I would not have thought it so difficult, with all the people who play competitive youth soccer in the US, to locate 4 really great defenders. Yet over the years, we never really have done so, at least not that I can recall.

And if anybody says Alexi Lalas, I'm gonna 🤮 😃.
 
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mildone said:
I agree completely. I fail to understand how the USMNT cannot produce/find a better group of defenders.

The Robinsons are pretty good (although Jedi had about as bad a game as I've ever seen him play last game). But after them, it starts to go downhill (from a purely defensive standpoint). Ream is getting better with age because he has to as he slows down. But to compete at the highest levels against the best teams, we need to be able to reliably field 4 very tall, very fast, very skilled, very consistent defenders.

Finding that pure scorer forward is just statistically challenging. But I would not have thought it so difficult, with all the people who play competitive youth soccer in the US, to locate 4 really great defenders. Yet over the years, we never really have done so, at least not that I can recall.

And if anybody says Alexi Lalas, I'm gonna 🤮 😃.
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Richards is improving a lot. I have high hopes for him. Carter-Vickers has been left out in the cold despite now getting decent game time at Celtic. Trusty is getting good minutes at sheffield, but their defense is shambolic...so not sure that's great.
 
RUevolution36 said:
Richards is improving a lot. I have high hopes for him. Carter-Vickers has been left out in the cold despite now getting decent game time at Celtic. Trusty is getting good minutes at sheffield, but their defense is shambolic...so not sure that's great.
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I actually see Richards more as a 6 like Adams as he has played for his club over the last month or so. As much as I like Adams- he's small and gets injured a ton. Richards protecting the central defenders makes a lot of sense to me.
 
RuSnp said:
I actually see Richards more as a 6 like Adams as he has played for his club over the last month or so. As much as I like Adams- he's small and gets injured a ton. Richards protecting the central defenders makes a lot of sense to me.
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We have a bigger need at CB. As long as Adams is available, Richards is needed at CB and not as a 2nd choice 6.
 
RUevolution36 said:
We have a bigger need at CB. As long as Adams is available, Richards is needed at CB and not as a 2nd choice 6.
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Also, even though he might not cover quite as much ground and seems a little more offensive minded, I feel like Johnny is giving us some cover now in those spots that we need to replace Adams.
 
RUevolution36 said:
It helps that he plays in the Prem and competing against top talent in the world almost every week. This is why guys like miles Robinson are doing themselves a professional disservice by staying in mls. I understand that there are other factors in these decisions, but from a strictly footballing perspective, it's horrible. Ream has surprised even Fulham fans with his longevity. He and Antonee Robinson have formed a really good combo down that left side for them.
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I use the argument all of the time when I am discussing hockey and football, and am mostly correct, that “ players don’t suddenly improve in their 30’s they just regress at different speeds”.

It’s a good thing they not many hockey and football fans follow the USMNT or Premier League, or I would get the Ream example thrown back in my face all of the time.

He has actually improved the mental part of his game so much that he is much better than he was 10 years ago. He seldom makes a wrong move.
 
WhichReligionIsRight said:
Ha ha

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I know you can't help yourself, but please stop bringing up irrelevant stuff from 6 days ago.

9866_mooning.gif
 
Dest to miss Copa America with a torn ACL. That sucks. It's stuff like this that would sink us in 2026. We don't have the depth to not be at full strength.

www.espn.com

USMNT's Dest to miss Copa América with torn ACL

United States defender Sergiño Dest has confirmed he has torn his ACL and is facing a lengthy period out of action, ruling him out of the Copa América in the summer.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
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Yeah was surprised they rolled over to Roma in the Europa League.

Don’t know if they are trying to manage his minutes as he’s been on and off the bench to start.

Will need a striker with Girud leaving for MLS.
 
Going to Dallas for USA/Bolivia Copa. Haven't seen a USA win in person in a while as last game I was at was the loss in WC qualifying 2 cycles ago. That really sucked.
 
WhichReligionIsRight said:
On this day, (edited) 22 years ago.

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I remember that.

I can't recall which Mexico game it was, but sometime in the past handful of years with the current rendition of the team under GB, the team put together about as thorough a dismantling of the Mexican team I've seen in a very long time, if not ever.

That was fun to watch because we not only won the game, but we did it playing a more beautiful style of soccer than Mexico. It was a joyous thing.

People who dislike soccer cite 0-0 draws or otherwise low scoring games. But when a team plays at a really high level in a game, or better yet when both teams do, the game can often be truly beautiful, even artistic, to watch.

When that happens, I can rewatch the same 0-0 draw a dozen times and not get bored. It's like watching 22 Michael Jordan's at the same time. It's why soccer is my second favorite sport (first favorite popular sport).
 
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Feels like we play Mexico too often. Between the various regional competitions and friendlies…regardless, will be a good primer for Ponch on the realities of Concacaf. I think it will open his eyes a bit for what’s he up against.

Will be interesting to see how he prepares the team without having to qualify out of the Hex…which gets you bloody…
 
We rarely play in Mexico though. I know the games in the US are hard because the crowd is often mostly Mex fans, but traveling to Mexico is a good test, IMO.

Plus, I never tire of beating their asses.
 
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mildone said:
I remember that.

I can't recall which Mexico game it was, but sometime in the past handful of years with the current rendition of the team under GB, the team put together about as thorough a dismantling of the Mexican team I've seen in a very long time, if not ever.

That was fun to watch because we not only won the game, but we did it playing a more beautiful style of soccer than Mexico. It was a joyous thing.

People who dislike soccer cite 0-0 draws or otherwise low scoring games. But when a team plays at a really high level in a game, or better yet when both teams do, the game can often be truly beautiful, even artistic, to watch.

When that happens, I can rewatch the same 0-0 draw a dozen times and not get bored. It's like watching 22 Michael Jordan's at the same time. It's why soccer is my second favorite sport (first favorite popular sport).
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No. It is boring. Nobody is posting Christian Pulisic MISSING shots in 0-0 ties. It also would not be as big a deal if 0-0 ties were not so common.
 
voltz99 said:
No. It is boring. Nobody is posting Christian Pulisic MISSING shots in 0-0 ties. It also would not be as big a deal if 0-0 ties were not so common.
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You’re not understanding my point. I’m saying there are great, exciting games that end in a scoreless tie. I’m not saying that all scoreless games are great. Also, there are games with tons of scoring that suck because the level of play is shit.

Non-soccer people never understand this. Soccer people totally get it.
 
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RuSnp said:
Coach Poch debut tonight. Hopefully helps wash away the Wisconsin stink.
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Espnfc showing busio at left mid and Antonee Robinson as a central defender which - if true - is fascinating.

Of course games like this are all about learning what you have and trying things out.
 
Mixed bag, so far, but I like how we're aggressively getting the ball back at times. Watching this as I can't watch college football after a bad RU loss.
 
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