USA is not beating Netherlands or Senegal. Might have a chance against Ecuador. No excuses against Qatar
Agreed, right perspective. This is an experience building year with these kids getting a good challenge from qualifying and the tournament. So much youth that needs a run through this to prepare for 2026 when the US could conceivably be a top 8 team if the youth pipeline fills up some more to challenge the current generation in spots. Add in home country advantage and who knows what could happen. Staying grounded for now but none of these teams seems daunting so I think this is the best situation possible for continued growth. Plus Berhalter gets his real shot, can he make this squad greater than the sum of its parts? If not we know he's getting replaced with a real world class level coach.
Easy to be negative as you always are, but there is a reason why they play the games. No way the chance to advance is zero or even near it. Maybe they are 30% to get by Netherlands, close to 50% Senegal, little above 50% for Ecuador and Qatar. If Qatar makes it they will be a tougher team than anyone is thinking with home advantage.
It’s not negativity. It’s reality. Netherlands are still one of the best teams in the world. Senegal is the best team in Africa and playing at a much higher level that USA. USA does not have anything for either of those teams.
It's just inconsistent. We have "no excuses" to get out of the group, but we don't really have a chance against the teams we'd face in the knockout round. These are all very comparable teams in rankings and on paper.
It's all bound up in the usual schtick around the current USMNT - We have an amazing, talented roster (because we have a whole bunch of guys in Europe now), MLS and our coach suck, we expect to get through group (because it's a high, but not unrealistic bar to put on GGG), but won't stand a chance beyond that (because our crap coach holds back our talent).
Soccer math is not a thing. Also did you watch Egypt vs Senegal?
Netherlands and Senegal are significantly better than Iran, Scotland, Ukraine and Wales. I don’t think this is rocket science. FIFA rankings are also notoriously terrible.
Exactly. I don't get the complaints about the coach either. He's not there to develop the young stars, that's on their club teams. He created a flexible system to handle Mexico and the types of teams seen in Concacaf. That and getting exposure for more young talents to get transfered to Europe is his task Who knows what he comes up with at the WC, it's a whole different situation. If he fails then he's done but it's not as if a more proven foreign coach was going to take the squad 2 or 3 rounds further. If he succeeds in a vastly different situation then maybe we do have a foundational coach going forward.
Largely stems back to his hiring and nepotism (or "nepotism," depending on your persuasion in this regard) and him being an MLS guy. Tactically, the jury's out for me, but I think he has actually done a great job of bringing in a large number of different players, cycling out a lot of the pieces that didn't really work anymore while bring in a lot of young guys, and also doing a job with the dual nationals. We've seen him make some mistakes, also make some adjustments, and the big test will obviously be in November. I also think there are some misperceptions of what we're going to see as coach of the USMNT. I don't see us NOT hiring an American going forward, and unless the next guy's name is Jesse Marsch, it's probably going to be an MLS guy with no European coaching experience from the annals of US Soccer.
Sad but true. I could see the case to get a real star coach for 2026 with where the team will be and having the pressure to deliver then. But I do note how many USMNT guys got showcased for transfer and I understood that was a big part of the focus in recent years. I don't know if Dike or Pepi are out of MLS yet if not for this. I can also see why Acosta is pissed he could not get to Europe either. If this cycle gets Ferreira a European deal then it's mostly mission accomplished. Only 2-3 older MLS guys should be around and let's hope they keep it that way.
Overrated compared to what exactly? Powerhouse compared to whom? All I’m saying that they are the best team in Africa and they are outright better than USA. I stand by both of those things.
It's probably worth exploring, I've seen similar with Weah or Pulisic as well. It's more like what we see with Ferreira as a striker than with a Pepi or Pefok.
