HOF
Posted 11 January 2021 - 12:23 PM
https://www.si.com/s...ns-abroad-usmnt
Matthew Hoppe becomes the first American to score a hat trick in Bundesliga. He's 19.
It seems like the US suddenly has a surge of players playing in Europe and playing well. Is the US close to being an international threat for the next decade or so? Steve, I'd love to see an article when you get a chance summarizing some of the US players playing well in Europe and their chances to have an impact on the USMNT.
HOF
Posted 11 January 2021 - 12:45 PM
Steve may have more details but here's a simple explanation. European leagues > MLS. If they are young and playing in Europe then there is a good chance of them contributing to the National Team.
HOF
Posted 11 January 2021 - 02:02 PM
Steve may have more details but here's a simple explanation. European leagues > MLS. If they are young and playing in Europe then there is a good chance of them contributing to the National Team.
I mean...yeah, I knew that. No offense 
I just feel like every week I'm reading about how the first American to do this in Europe, or the first day so many Americans played in such and such a tournament, etc. Hard to keep up. Like this Hoppe kid, I'd never heard of him. Now I don't follow all that closely so that could just be me being ignorant. I just feel like we're hearing all kinds of stories about young American players contributing over there.
Advanced Member
Posted 11 January 2021 - 02:41 PM
https://www.si.com/s...ns-abroad-usmnt
Matthew Hoppe becomes the first American to score a hat trick in Bundesliga. He's 19.
It seems like the US suddenly has a surge of players playing in Europe and playing well. Is the US close to being an international threat for the next decade or so? Steve, I'd love to see an article when you get a chance summarizing some of the US players playing well in Europe and their chances to have an impact on the USMNT.
We're absolutely a step above our program in the past in terms of skill level and pedigree. At the same time, it's normal for other football-centric nations to have youngsters starting and having success around Europe, so this doesn't mean we're automatically a threat on the world stage, but it does bode well for our chances relative to the past.
Soccer Analyst
Posted 11 January 2021 - 05:06 PM
There is a USMNT camp ongoing right now that is based around domestic players. Usually what they do in January as MLS is in its offseason (training camp for MLS is usually in February) as European based players are all quite busy. Plus this camp is not an official FIFA window so clubs don't have to release players for it. So it provides a very good chance for the stall to pull together a group and get a look at guys that may still have a spot come qualifying (guys like Morris, Altidore, and Zardes) or some new young guys that having gone overseas yet and haven't seen much if any action with the Nats (Matt Turner in goal is one we need to keep an eye on.).
If you have been following my stuff the last several months there have been some stuff about our players abroad including this piece on key guys to watch over the winter.
https://baltimorespo...526&action=edit
With the European leagues basically at their mid point perhaps its time to provide a look see at those guys and how they have faired this far plus some new faces that are emerging over there! Good suggestion by Glenn_Davis. I'll get to work on that. Look for something later this week or first of next week.
HOF
Posted 12 January 2021 - 08:28 AM
We're absolutely a step above our program in the past in terms of skill level and pedigree. At the same time, it's normal for other football-centric nations to have youngsters starting and having success around Europe, so this doesn't mean we're automatically a threat on the world stage, but it does bode well for our chances relative to the past.
Right - I'm sure that for every American doing well there are probably 20 Germans and Italians and Spaniards and Englishmen. But I do remember when any American at all doing something over there was noteworthy, right now it seems to be happening on a routine basis.
Soccer Analyst
Posted 12 January 2021 - 09:01 AM
Right - I'm sure that for every American doing well there are probably 20 Germans and Italians and Spaniards and Englishmen. But I do remember when any American at all doing something over there was noteworthy, right now it seems to be happening on a routine basis.
This is correct. However, its also key to remember that when talking a national team its how good are your best 23 players. Certainly when you have 100s of quality players to look at the chances are vastly improved that the best of those will be very good. However, that doesn't mean that you can't put together a squad of 23 players that is competitive with them even if you only have 60 players to look at in your pool.
Personal example - My son's premier team in Idaho was extremely competitive within Idaho from U13 through U18. Three times making the state final. In our area we were looking at about 40 kids that tried out for the premier team. Across the State in Boise they had two very big clubs. They had upwards of several hundred try out for their two teams. By pure numbers those teams should have been able to just out number our much smaller program. But, and maybe something was in the water that year, but that group of kids born in 1986 was very special. And they could play with anybody.
The current group of teenagers and early 20s guys have the makings of something special. More to come as I put together my next article. Gonna be end of the week or first of next week as I want to see how the matches go this weekend, especially want to watch the Schalke match Saturday. Haven't watched Matthew Hoppe live yet. Need to get my eyes on this kid.
Soccer Analyst
Posted 16 January 2021 - 01:41 PM
Ok here's a look at how some of our key guys are doing overseas this season.
https://baltimorespo...doing-overseas/
HOF
Posted 16 January 2021 - 07:15 PM
Soccer Analyst
Posted 17 January 2021 - 07:17 AM
Great stuff, thanks Steve! Unfortunately Robinson picked up a pretty bad red card for Fulham today.
Yeah that was a bad foul. But the good news was that he was playing pretty well until that point. I think this was just one of those tackles and not something he's prone to do much.
Soccer Analyst
Posted 01 February 2021 - 12:44 PM
Recap of last night:
Caveat that it was T&T and they are not good right now. Ok but moving past that.
1. It was gin clear that the team understood what Berhalter wanted them to do and how they could penetrate T&T. They wanted to attack the flanks over the top and I can't recall ever seeing a team allow so much space out there. Our wings and outside backs had acres of empty grass around them.
2. This marked the first time in our history where we scored 5 or more goals in 3 straight games.
3. Other than a few guys (Yuiell, Arriola, Long, Lleget) that probably get spot starts now and then there wasn't a starter on the field last night. This team finally has some legit depth to it.
Now my player stock up and down ratings:
Up - Vines, Lewis, Ferriera, Turner, Robinson, Acosta, Arriola
Down - Roldan (can we please stop even calling him in), Dike, Mueller, Perea
MOTM - Has to be Jesus Ferriera. Just 2 goals and 3 assists. Holy cow.
Summer can't get here soon enough.
Soccer Analyst
Posted 22 February 2021 - 02:31 PM
Jordan Morris tore his left ACL. He previously tore his right ACL and his father did the surgery to repair it. Expect he will do this surgery. SUCKS big time for Jordan and the team. He is certainly done for this calendar year. Now we really need Tim Weah to stay healthy and playing well. So bummed for Jordan.
Owner
Posted 02 March 2021 - 02:06 PM
ESPN: Christian Pulisic at Chelsea: Are USMNT star's lack of minutes cause for concern? What's the future hold?
https://www.espn.com...the-future-hold
Soccer Analyst
Posted 15 March 2021 - 10:32 AM
Advanced Member
Posted 15 March 2021 - 01:17 PM
WOOT! Welcome aboard Yunus Musah!!!!
At the next World Cup we'll be fielding the most talented US team in history.
Soccer Analyst
Posted 15 March 2021 - 01:37 PM
At the next World Cup we'll be fielding the most talented US team in history.
No doubt so the question becomes will they put all that talent together and how far can they go? Of course, the group pairings, injuries, form, will all play a role in that on paper today I think we should be on a track to advance past the group stage and hopefully win our first knockout round match.
Soccer Analyst
Posted 25 March 2021 - 08:28 AM
USMNT is back in action today vs Jamaica then Sunday vs Northern Ireland. I will have a post match review and what it means for the rest of this year up early next week.
Here's the pre match short version. This is the last FIFA window we will have before matches that matter.
HOF
Posted 25 March 2021 - 09:50 AM
Is there a starting lineup yet for today?
BSL Analyst
Posted 25 March 2021 - 08:23 PM
This was pretty lovely from Dest https://twitter.com/...146842711818250
she/her
Soccer Analyst
Posted 28 March 2021 - 08:19 AM
Double header today!
At noon eastern the senior team face Northern Ireland then at 6 eastern the U23 face off against Honduras in a critical Olympic qualifier. Critical because its a must win semifinal. There are two spots to the Olympics so both semi final winners are in. The actual final is Wednesday but its more for bragging rights. Today is THE match.
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