r/usmnt

Weston is having a career year with Juve and is showing just how impactful he can be for the USMNT if used the right way.

I think the right way to use him depends on who we play against. In the group stage, against bunkering teams I want him as a 6 so we can add another attacker in our front 3 while using his creative ability.

Against possession heavy opponents I’d want him as a 10 to get that offensive ability but also solidify our dual 6’s with a Johnny or Tessmann with wearing dropping deeper to help out.

While Christian is our best player (regardless of his recent form, he still is) and will get the most attention from the opposition, and Balogun is banging in goals for fun, I think Weston is the key to our success. Our secret weapon

I have 2 Cat 2 tickets to the USMNT opening game (yes, we did overpay but it is what it is). One thing I have been looking forward to ever since I bought a ticket in the lottery was the incredible World Cup atmosphere that you don’t get to see often in the US. I am now seeing reports from the Athletic that tens of thousands of seats remain unsold.

So it makes me wonder, is there an actual chance that the Paraguay game will have noticeable amount of empty seats, or do we think FIFA would understandably know the embarrassment they would be associated with so they would eventually give them away for next to nothing.

I personally have already accepted I did pay too much, but I am a huge USMNT fan so I’ve just come to be okay with it. But I would much rather have people get some seats for free and have a packed stadium than seeing thousands of vacant spots, but I genuinely don’t know how this gets handled.

Or even a would-be starter.

I think in order for the USMNT to be a world-class team, it needs a large pool of players who are elite and are not dual nationals. It needs to have elite academies.

But also US Soccer would need to broaden the appeal of the program. Politically divisive banners (and foreign flags) would need to go from MLS games in order to appeal to other groups of the American population. I think it would result in more talent available.

The Team of The Week series is back!

Weston continues to be Juventus MVP, Pulisic continues to struggle with Milan and Balogun is making US history with Monaco. 10 goals in 10 games with 8 straight in league play!

These are our possible R32 matchups based on statistical probabilities depending where we finish at in the group stage (used OPTA stats and 3rd place matchup probabilities):

If we're group winners:

Bosnia 20.2%

Qatar 18.4%

Canada 15.2%

Switzerland 12.6%

Algeria 4.3%

Senegal 4.2%

Jordan 3.9%

Austria 3.9%

Senegal 3.5%

Norway 2.8%

Iraq 2.8%

------

Second in the group:

Egypt 28.3%

Iran 26.6%

Belgium 25.9%

New Zealand 19.2%

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Third in the group:

Germany 38.5%

France 18%

Ecuador 17.9%

Norway 7.6%

Ivory Coast 6.7%

Senegal 3.5%

Portugal 3.4%

Colombia 1.7%

-----

That possible US vs Iran matchup 👀

Selling 1x ticket under face

Sofi stadium LA - M4

$1500 - section 540 row 1 seat

DM me for details

What do Desire Doue, Hugo Ekitike, Rayan Cherki, Michael Olise, and Warren Zaire-Emery have in common? They are all fantastic players in their earlier twenties who were NOT involved in France's 2022 World Cup final.

Now let's look at the 2022 US team and the 2026 US team - pretty much the same guys. Why is that France - a country with 60 million people - is year after year developing incredible players to not only replenish their roster but also strengthen it? Desire Doue is 20 years old. Cherki is 22. Olise is 24. Does the USMNT have anyone that age, that good?

I don't think so.

And I don't think anything is going to change anytime soon.

I see the US team probably - or maybe - advancing to the Round of 32. It's within the realm of possibility that they face a weaker side in the Round of 32 and advance. But I think the Round of 16 is, yet again, the end of the line. And 2030 might be worse. I am just not seeing world-class players coming along like they do in France, Spain, Argentina, England, etc. etc.

However -- I do see all kinds of young guys coming along in the NFL, the NBA, MLB, and the NHL. Newsflash: that's where the money is, folks.

Forget about the cost of playing soccer for young kids. That's got nothing to do with nothing.

What's going on is a fight for talent, pure and simple. The most talented kids in the US are NOT playing soccer. I don't care what numbers are thrown out there, or how many youth leagues there are, I am telling you: the MOST talented kids in the US are NOT playing soccer now, and they won't be in the future.

Christian Pulisic is supposed to be the greatest US soccer player everrrrr - and he makes what, a lousy five million a year with AC Milan? A 33-year-old left-handed reliever in the MLB can make a lousy five million. Probably more.

And let's be honest - Pulisic would have had ZERO chance of making it to the NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL. Make that less than zero.

So let's take a kid who happens to be a fantastic, world-class athlete. Let's say he's just starting the sixth grade. You think people don't know about him already, like the local AAU coaches? Plus, the kid has a family, friends, neighbors, a community. Everyone he knows plays football, let's say. American football that is. And the kid projects to be a speedy wide receiver. At this point a whole structure is in place to funnel the kid to some private high school, a DI scholarship, and the NFL - if he's good enough. Ja'Marr Chase, fyi, is on a 161 million 4-year deal, or 60 million a year. Compare that with Pulisic's paltry five million.

But perhaps the kid likes to play soccer, so he tells his folks and youth football coach, nah, I'm not interested in the NFL, or a DI scholarship. What I want to do is get into one of those European soccer academies, in the Netherlands or maybe Belgium, and live there all by myself, where I don't speak the language and don't know anybody. But this is the pathway for world class players. And if I don't make it or get injured, well, I can always come back home, and, I don't know, work in a gas station or something.

Does anyone seriously think this would fly with the kid's parents? The youth football coach? His friends? The youth football coach would come over and say to the parents, look, your boy can get into a private high school - and I can help, because I have all kinds of contacts. There are camps he needs to attend - other kids his age are going, kids from Texas, Florida, California - and if he does well the word gets out. Then we'll be talking about a DI scholarship and NIL money. Why jeopardize any of this? For...soccer????? In the Netherlands? Where the heck is that?

Now, I don't know much about Desire Doue or Michael Olise, but I'm pretty sure they didn't have to buck the entire system that's set up in France in order to play soccer. I'm also pretty sure their family, friends, and community are absolutely thrilled that they're so good and are going to play for the French National Team in this year's World Cup.

Maybe I got this all wrong. Maybe we have dozens of world class soccer players waiting in the wings ready to replace Pulisic, McKennie, Tyler Adams and all the rest of the 2022 guys. I never heard of Cooper Flagg four years ago, or that kid Conner Griffen of the Pittsburgh Pirates who just signed a $140 million deal, but certainly people in basketball and baseball circles knew all about these two. So if there are major developments going on in US Soccer and big-time players about to enter the picture, by all means please let me know.

Last thought: let's say I have a magic wand, and presto, Doue, Cherki, Olise, and Zaire-Emery (Ekitike, unfortunately, just tore his Achilles) are now eligible for the USMNT. Think Pochettino could find a place for them?

I’m sure I missed a few threads on the Dempsey documentary but I felt like sharing this here.

Dempsey is absolutely the GOAT of USMNT. I wish the current roster had half the fight and attitude he did.

Watching the last episode now and I guess I had blocked out the 2018 qualifiers but damn if Arena didn’t do Dempsey wrong. I had forgotten he missed games due to the heart issue but came back on fire. I love how you can see how much more Dempsey liked JK as a manager than he did Arena and it is hard to blame him.

On a side note, Donovan is kind of a little snotty prick.

That’s all

So, I was reviewing the list of states that the MNT has yet to play a match in, and one of those states is Louisiana. I started thinking about the possibility of a friendly between the U.S. and France in Louisiana and how neat it might be given the state's French roots and it having been sold to the United States when it was still a French colony.

Ceasars Superdome in New Orelans could be a suitable venue.

What are everyone's thoughts? I would really like to see the team eventually visit the states that they've not played in, and I happen to think this would be a cool way to start that.