US World Cup Qualifying

[DarthGrumpy]

Bigger question in my mind is if Nagbe gets called back up in November after requesting to not be on the US roster for these 2 friendlies in order to spend time with family? I wasn't aware of that until the announce rs spoke to it late in the match, but curious if thee is more to the story.

I was thinking the same thing, especially with the Hex in a month. There has to be more to this.

 

[meyers7]

Agreed on all points above. Tough to take anything away from yesterday in totality. A couple solid individual performances, several terrible individual performances, and a mediocre to poor team performance.

Bigger question in my mind is if Nagbe gets called back up in November after requesting to not be on the US roster for these 2 friendlies in order to spend time with family? I wasn't aware of that until the announcers spoke to it late in the match, but curious if thee is more to the story.

I had heard it was a family "situation". I don't know if it was medical, a death or what though.

 

[Chuck]

Agreed on both comments. That is if by "jaked" you mean walked around and complained about not getting any calls all game.

I don't watch as much as you guys (and I'm going to butcher some spellings), but I noticed that Altidore also doesn't seem to respect his teammates. Not a lot of communication from him during stoppages. Just seemed to be on an island and always had a sour look on his face. Bradley has every right to do the same (veteran (that is/was better than Jozy), and his dad's feelings towards Klinsman), but he seems to want to be there.

I wasn't impressed with what I saw, but I know a few guys were missing. That US goal was brutal goalkeeping.

 

[SAMCRO]

I had heard it was a family "situation". I don't know if it was medical, a death or what though.

I was thinking the same thing, especially with the Hex in a month. There has to be more to this.

Ya, I was assuming there was more to it right up until the announcers were talking it up and they didn't mention a situation preventing him from being there... Hope everything is okay and he's suited up in Columbus.

 

[SAMCRO]

I don't watch as much as you guys (and I'm going to butcher some spellings), but I noticed that Altidore also doesn't seem to respect his teammates. Not a lot of communication from him during stoppages. Just seemed to be on an island and always had a sour look on his face. Bradley has every right to do the same (veteran (that is/was better than Jozy), and his dad's feelings towards Klinsman), but he seems to want to be there.

I wasn't impressed with what I saw, but I know a few guys were missing. That US goal was brutal goalkeeping.

Agreed on all points. It was a pretty unimpressive display overall. Jurgen did send a lot of the primary players back to their club teams early, so the likes of Pulisic, Johnson, Brooks, Cameron, Chandler, Wood, Morris, Horvath (and can't leave out Wondo) were all absent, and Howard and Guzan were giving time off for these 2 friendlies... so majority of the starters for Mexico were not dressed last night...
Still, Altidore appeared to regress to his old ways (he really missed having Wood up top with him with Pulisic creating behind them) and was frustrating to watch.

 

[Waquoit]

Agreed on both comments. That is if by "jaked" you mean walked around and complained about not getting any calls all game.

I got "jaked" from baseball and I take it to mean lacking hustle and not giving a . The guy barely ran. I say he sits next game. We play Wood and Puslic and go from there.

 

[Waquoit]

Hope everything is okay and he's suited up in Columbus.

I don't see how you get both. Because if everything was OK and he still begged off, I think he is off to Siberia.

 

[ZooCougar]

I see Jozy as more of a hold up player who looks lost unless there is a second striker lined up with him.

I don't know what is up with Bradley, but I can't ever recall him making so many backwards and horizontal passes. Now that Jurgen is using him as a #6 or a box to box guy which is where is supposedly more comfortable, one would think that we would see him making those deep penetrating passes that we've been lacking escpecially considering that we were playing NZ who has NTs that line up for League 2 caliber clubs. He simply should be able to pull the strings better. Of course it might have to do with guys not making runs.

This team will be better off when he starts playing the way he is supposed to, or when he no longer is bolted in as a permanent starter.

The USMNT always seems to look like crap in 4-3-3. You need three CMs that are on the same page. Perry Kitchen looked to be the odd man out and a front 3 of Green, Altidore and Yedlin just seemed odd to me.

Agreed on all points above. Tough to take anything away from yesterday in totality. A couple solid individual performances, several terrible individual performances, and a mediocre to poor team performance.

Bigger question in my mind is if Nagbe gets called back up in November after requesting to not be on the US roster for these 2 friendlies in order to spend time with family? I wasn't aware of that until the announcers spoke to it late in the match, but curious if thee is more to the story.

Agreed on all points. It was a pretty unimpressive display overall. Jurgen did send a lot of the primary players back to their club teams early, so the likes of Pulisic, Johnson, Brooks, Cameron, Chandler, Wood, Morris, Horvath (and can't leave out Wondo) were all absent, and Howard and Guzan were giving time off for these 2 friendlies... so majority of the starters for Mexico were not dressed last night...
Still, Altidore appeared to regress to his old ways (he really missed having Wood up top with him with Pulisic creating behind them) and was frustrating to watch.

 

[ZooCougar]

Ya, I was assuming there was more to it right up until the announcers were talking it up and they didn't mention a situation preventing him from being there... Hope everything is okay and he's suited up in Columbus.

Last season Nagbe was in super form. It's why he started getting consideration after finally getting citizenship. This season he really hasn't been in form much like most of the Portland Timbers who could make MLS history if they miss the playoffs.

 

[SubbaBub]

The offense will be built around the guys up front moving around. Jozy doesn't fit that and Dempsey, health aside doesn't fit that. Clint at least has ball skills and a nose for goal. We have better players than Jozy now, I'd rather see who works best with Wood.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I don't see how you get both. Because if everything was OK and he still begged off, I think he is off to Siberia.

That rule only applies to Donovan in JK's book.

 

[SAMCRO]

Bigger question in my mind is if Nagbe gets called back up in November after requesting to not be on the US roster for these 2 friendlies in order to spend time with family? I wasn't aware of that until the announcers spoke to it late in the match, but curious if thee is more to the story.

Nagbe not called in for WC qualifiers.

US ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; WCQ Caps/Goals):

GOALKEEPERS (4): Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough; 11/0), Ethan Horvath (Molde; 0/0), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids; 32/0), William Yarbrough (Club Leon; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (9): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 8/1), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United; 2/0), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin; 0/0), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; 0/0), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt; 1/0), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca; 10/0), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moenchengladbach; 13/1), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana; 5/1), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United; 4/0)

MIDFIELDERS (9):Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 6/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC; 29/5), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland; 0/0), Julian Green (Bayern Munich; 0/0), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids; 14/0), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls; 17/2), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund; 3/2), Caleb Stanko (FC Vaduz; 1/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City; 14/3)

FORWARDS (4):Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC; 31/16), Aron Johannsson (Werder Bremen; 3/1), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 3/0), Bobby Wood (Hamburg; 6/2)

 

[ZooCougar]

Nagbe not called in for WC qualifiers.

US ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; WCQ Caps/Goals):

GOALKEEPERS (4): Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough; 11/0), Ethan Horvath (Molde; 0/0), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids; 32/0), William Yarbrough (Club Leon; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (9): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 8/1), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United; 2/0), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin; 0/0), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; 0/0), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt; 1/0), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca; 10/0), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moenchengladbach; 13/1), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana; 5/1), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United; 4/0)

MIDFIELDERS (9):Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 6/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC; 29/5), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland; 0/0), Julian Green (Bayern Munich; 0/0), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids; 14/0), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls; 17/2), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund; 3/2), Caleb Stanko (FC Vaduz; 1/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City; 14/3)

FORWARDS (4):Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC; 31/16), Aron Johannsson (Werder Bremen; 3/1), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 3/0), Bobby Wood (Hamburg; 6/2)

Nagbe definitely PO'd Jurgen. Look for the paid MLS media to skewer him for this omission.

Frankly, the guy had a good season last year. This year he wasn't that great. I saw him in person in late July and he looked really bad, even with Diego Valeri feeding him balls. So I really don't see this as any kind of an omission that would hurt anything.

I was listening to Counterattack the other day and Brian Dunseth actually made a good point for a change. Jurgen calls in guys that play for good teams. Portland won MLS Cup last season, but didn't even make the playoffs this year.

Every MLS on this list plays for a team that at least made the playoffs. The most stunning call up is Graham Zusi, who was terrible for Kansas City this year. In fact he only looked good against Guatemala the Copa warmups and some of his sub appearances in the Copa America. I think he is like Jurgen's comfort blanket.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Nagbe not called in for WC qualifiers.

US ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; WCQ Caps/Goals):

GOALKEEPERS (4): Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough; 11/0), Ethan Horvath (Molde; 0/0), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids; 32/0), William Yarbrough (Club Leon; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (9): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 8/1), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United; 2/0), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin; 0/0), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; 0/0), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt; 1/0), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca; 10/0), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moenchengladbach; 13/1), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana; 5/1), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United; 4/0)

MIDFIELDERS (9):Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 6/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC; 29/5), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland; 0/0), Julian Green (Bayern Munich; 0/0), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids; 14/0), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls; 17/2), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund; 3/2), Caleb Stanko (FC Vaduz; 1/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City; 14/3)

FORWARDS (4):Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC; 31/16), Aron Johannsson (Werder Bremen; 3/1), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 3/0), Bobby Wood (Hamburg; 6/2)

No Wondo, that's a plus. Timmy is back though. Glad to see finally get the call. Who is Caleb Stanko?

 

[businesslawyer]

So do we know yet whether Klejstan broke his nose yesterday, in which case I can't see him starting, or just had it bloodied? I have never seen so much blood come out of a nose over such a prolonged period of time.

I am fairly certain he was going to start in front of Bradley and behind the front line. If this injury takes him out of that position, I'm not sure we really have anyone who can fill that role. It forces us more to Jones or Bedoya playing alongside Bradley, which I don't like as a formation nearly as much.

Caleb Stanko plays in the top Swiss league. He was called up for one of the last two camps, so presumably he has simply outplayed guys like Morales and Danny Williams and KItchen who also got looks.

 

[ZooCougar]

No Wondo, that's a plus. Timmy is back though. Glad to see finally get the call. Who is Caleb Stanko?

So do we know yet whether Klejstan broke his nose yesterday, in which case I can't see him starting, or just had it bloodied? I have never seen so much blood come out of a nose over such a prolonged period of time.

I am fairly certain he was going to start in front of Bradley and behind the front line. If this injury takes him out of that position, I'm not sure we really have anyone who can fill that role. It forces us more to Jones or Bedoya playing alongside Bradley, which I don't like as a formation nearly as much.

Caleb Stanko plays in the top Swiss league. He was called up for one of the last two camps, so presumably he has simply outplayed guys like Morales and Danny Williams and KItchen who also got looks.

Morris is hurt. Look for Wondo to be added any minute now.

If we go with a 4-3-3 then I can easily see Bradley, Jones and Sacha as the three midfielders.

Goalkeeper
Yedlin, Omar, Brooks, Johnson
Jones, Bradley, Sascha
Pulisic, Altidore or Wood, Bedoya

( I could also see Jurgen doing something loopy like starting Wood on the wing)

If it's a 4-4-2 empty bucket:

Goalkeeper
Yedlin, Omar, Brooks, Johnson
Pulisic, Sacha, Bradley Bedoya
Wood, Altidore

Or a narrow 4-4-2 diamond with 3-4 center mids

Goalkeeper
Yedlin, Omar, Brooks, Johnson
Pulisic, Sacha, Bradley, Jones
Wood, Altidore

 

[businesslawyer]

I would be shocked if both Jozy and Wood don't start. Regardless of whether we play 2 or 3 up front.

 

[LIuconn]

JK didn't give Nagbe a real chance, then Nagbe turned down a call-up for last month's games and put himself deep in the dog house.

Heard about Morris' injury and if it's true, a real shame. Would have liked to see him for the final 30 min Friday.

 

[SubbaBub]

Here's who I want to see:

Howard
Yedlin (Besler, but doesnt matter on this roster) Brooks Chandler
Bradley Jones
Bedoya Pulisic Johnson
Wood

Gooch, Green, Zusi, and Altidore would be on the sub list.

 

[ZooCougar]

I'd sub in Zusi to protect a lead. Green if we need a goal.

Besler typically only plays on the left since he is left footed.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

What time is the game in Friday? I'm stuck in Vegas for work until my 6 AM flight back home to the East Coast the next day. Going to need to find a good sports bar.

 

[SubbaBub]

What time is the game in Friday? I'm stuck in Vegas for work until my 6 AM flight back home to the East Coast the next day. Going to need to find a good sports bar.

They are all over, plus the sports books. My suggestion is to find out where the Outlaws chapter hosts their game watch. If confined to the strip MGM has a good sports bar without the huge cover you'd find at Emeril's. They had the Classico on last time I was there, so they hAve at least heard of soccer. But really any bar should have it.

Game is 7ET, so 5MT.

 

[LIuconn]

I'm deathly afraid of Omar or Birnbaum. Cameron has his faults but these two are awful. We'l need to score 2+ to have a chance

 

[ZooCougar]

I'm deathly afraid of Omar or Birnbaum. Cameron has his faults but these two are awful. We'l need to score 2+ to have a chance

Omar had a good year in Liga MX. I don't get Birnbaum, but that just shows you how poor the American defenders are in MLS. I've seen him forget how to run sometimes.

 

[ZooCougar]

Morris out. Alan Gordon in.