USMNT stock risers & tactical learnings from September window
Plus some new faces I'd expect to see in October
I wrote a few words on the recently completed international window, including stock risers & fallers, tactical (more formational, tbh) takeaways, and the implications thereof going forward. It was on MLSsoccer.com this week.
• USMNT: Whose stock rose or dropped after September window?
I wish I had something deeper to add to this after a few days of sitting on it and thinking about it1, but I really don’t. It just comes down to this:
The three big winners were the three big winners, with Folarin Balogun becoming the de-facto starting 9 overnight, Matt Freese solidifying his grip on the No. 1 kit, and Max Arfsten clearly playing his way into “core group” territory. For each of those guys that’s a step up from their previous cohort.
The 3-4-2-1 looked like a revelation, but you have to take that with a grain of salt given the small sample size and the low stakes. It is, as Poch said, a useful club to have in the bag, and I’m sure we’ll see more of it soon – maybe even from the start. And if things continue to go as well as they did against South Korea2 and Japan, it might become the default. But we don’t know for sure because… sample size and low stakes!
The other performances were more eye-of-the-beholder thing, save perhaps for Josh Sargent, who probably needs a miracle3 to become a factor for next summer.
For example I thought Cristian Roldan was an improvement on what we’ve seen from Johnny Cardoso, Luca de la Torre and Sebastian Berhalter in a similar role, but also I thought Roldan looked much less sure of himself for the US than he does for the Sounders. Where does that leave him in Poch’s eyes? What about Alex Zendejas, who really didn’t do much… except score an absolute banger. Jack McGlynn, meanwhile, came on and did a ton, but his physical limitations remain glaring to me.
In all, though, I was really happy with the camp, with part of that happiness being sparked by the frustrating first 45 minutes against South Korea. Seeing Poch show the ability to learn and adjust on the fly actually did more for me confidence than a decently-played 2-2 draw would’ve.
Does that mean I’m completely confident in the pressing structure, and that the good things we saw this camp will carry over to the next? Absolutely not. But I’m not un-confident about those things, either. So I’m counting that as a win.
Four guys I absolutely, positively, 100% want to see in the next camp4:
– Miles Robinson. We need some level of aerial dominance along that backline, and need guys who are comfortable in that back three. I don’t think any of the other guys Poch has looked at have particularly distinguished themselves (though Tristan Blackmon was not the net negative that much of the commentariat would have you believe), and Robinson fits too many of the criteria Poch should now be looking for to ignore.
– Weston McKennie. Like I wrote in the column itself, I’m going to assume rationality on the part of Poch in assessing McKennie’s standing within the pool. Which is to say that he’s a starter, period.
That said, it’s a little concerning that 1) Wes has now only been in two of five camps under Poch, and 2) he’s played all of two minutes for Juventus to start the season, and is very clearly not going to win a starting CM spot over Manuel Locatelli or Khéphren Thuram.
– James Sands. Very much off the radar, as he hasn’t played for the USMNT since the 2023 Gold Cup. But he’s starting every game at d-mid for a St. Pauli side that’s started the year in fine form, and unlike the other back-up d-mid options, he’s very comfortable playing on the backline in a back three5.
I know Poch said he’s done experimenting, but the success of the 3-4-2-1 this camp should force some level of re-think about the CB depth chart as well as the type of positional flexibility he’ll want from players 15-23 (or 26) on the roster.
– Gio Reyna. A Twitter user put together this compilation from his performance in Borussia Mönchengladbach’s friendly this past weekend:
It’s just a friendly, and there’s still no highlights of him sprinting – haven’t seen highlights of that in about two years. It’s a concern.
But he played most of the game and his abilities on the ball are just undeniable. Even with all the baggage (which he’s starting to address, at least partially) he’s a must-call if he’s healthy.
World historically huge “if” there, by the way. But this program is due for some luck, and if I had my choice of where to spend that karma, it’d be on a healthy Gio (and a healthily distant Claudio & Danielle) for the next year.
So here’s my hope for October6:
Trying to distract myself from **gestures broadly at everything happening in the world** ↩
Second-half only, obviously. ↩
Or, as mentioned in the column, a move to a better league and an un-ignorable hot streak. Issue is he had that move to a better team in a better league – Wolfsburg, for a lot of money – lined up before it was shot down for what I’ve heard were family reasons. ↩
I took this idea from Kickback Committee, which you should all listen to! ↩
Specifically in the middle of the backline, which would in theory allow Chris Richards to play his more natural RCB role, as he does for Crystal Palace. ↩
Yes, Jedi as a LCB in a three is something I’d like to see. Remember, for a significant part of Berhalter’s tenure that was basically his spot, as he would hold and let Dest push up, forming the 3-2-2-3 that most teams possessed in via the first part of the decade.
That meta has changed a little bit – there are a lot more 2-3-2-3s now, or even 2-3-3-2s, but either way we’re talking about a structure with which Jedi is familiar. And frankly, I think his ball-carrying off the backline in that formation is a lot more valuable to the attack than his endline-to-endline overlapping (which, to be clear, he’d still get the chance to do from time to time no matter the formation; it’s a dynamic game, after all). ↩
