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Banks makes his choice, CCC(L) woes, Óscar goes | Thursday round-up

Kicker is reporting Banks is focused on representing Germany; what are the odds of upgrading Pareja?

Matthew Doyle

Matthew Doyle

— 3 min read
Banks makes his choice, CCC(L) woes, Óscar goes | Thursday round-up
Courtesy of the kid's gram

Disappointment is the free space. That was true 10 years ago, that was true 20 years ago, and that was true this week as MLS teams entered the teeth of the Concacaf Champions Cup.

  • Philly playing well against Club América but lacking the quality to make their (relative) second-half dominance matter? Check.
  • LAFC playing a heavy-legged and disappointing home draw against an Alajuelense team they should've buried, setting up a must-win trip to Costa Rica? Check.
  • San Diego getting a dose of Concacaf officiating in an all-timer* vs. Toluca? Check.
  • FC Cincinnati is going to get a lesson from Tigres tonight? I'm gonna go ahead and check that box right now.

(*)I went to bed after the first red card. Thank god I set my DVR.

This is why, two weeks back, I wrote that I would never take the 6-1 trips to Honduras for granted. Got to enjoy those moments when they happen because this game is always right around the corner waiting to kick you where it hurts.

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The curtain rang down on Óscar Pareja's 6+ year run with Orlando City on Wednesday afternoon. I'd written, on Sunday, about how close to the sack he seemed, and then we talked about it on Monday's Soccerwise. TheManeLand.com has a good, deep dive on his tenure and what it means next for new CSO Ricardo Moreira.

My take now that the deed is done remains the same: I understand why the folks in charge in Orlando felt like they had to make the move – one win from 13 is a disaster. But I still think it's about 85% likely whoever comes next has less success than Pareja managed. Six playoff appearances and a trophy is very, very good work.

There's likely to be a half-dozen open jobs by mid-season. I wonder if Pareja will be in line for one. I would be pretty surprised if he wasn't.

Some other reads:

My Wednesday column was on the current USMNT depth chart, and which players I expect to see in this coming camp for friendlies against Belgium and Portugal.

  • I forgot to mention Sean Zawadzki on the original list. Sorry Sean! Not betting on him being there, but Poch does keep calling him (and he keeps missing camps because of injuries), so I can't say I'd be shocked if he sneaks in.
  • I take it as a given that Diego Luna's going to be in the final roster. I don't know how he wouldn't be, given how important his xDAWG and rise have been to the cultural reset Poch has wanted. Other folks definitely do not see it as a given that Luna will be there.
  • It remains very disappointing that Gaga Slonina chose a career path that's ruled him out of contention for this World Cup.
  • Seems like Noahkai Banks has done the same, as Kicker is reporting the dual national is focused on representing Germany. This is a pretty huge bummer, as Banks had been in the US program since the U-17s and Germany had never paid him much notice. And honestly... I do think he'd help this US team.

    That said, he's got a clear shot at a starting job for the US team in a World Cup on US soil. If he wasn't going to commit now, it was probably never, wasn't it?

One other note: In addition to Monday's Soccerwise, we recorded an episode on Wednesday for release on Thursday (sometime after this hits your inbox, otherwise I'd link it). This episode – these Wednesday/Thursday episodes going forward over the next few months – will be USMNT and, to a lesser extent, CanMNT-focused.

World Cup's coming quick. Time to get stuck in is now.

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