Honestly though, they've got a pretty good squad. I was surprised to see a few guys on their team - thinking they were Danish or something I guess.

Berg is the only guy from their starting 11 that wasn't on a P5 squad last year… and he was on Bodo so he's got that UCL experience from this year.

You're right that they'll be underdogs… but those guys work really hard. I wouldn't rule them out.

oh no said:

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zgolfz85 said:

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Put free or sponsor academies in the inner city regions of NYC, Chicago and LA...

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nothing is free. who is paying for that?

MLS academies and their MLS Next+ teams are doing it, but the pool is already so small because that's it. ...and if they start at U12 or whatever, they're scouting the players that have already invested a lot in pay to play club soccer to get to that point.

USSF probably never should have punted youth development to the MLS academies but they had to because they themselves are bankrupt.

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we are paying for it with the NIL fund that you and I start (and that we only selflessly take 1% of the donations from)

zgolfz85 said:

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oh no said:

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zgolfz85 said:

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Put free or sponsor academies in the inner city regions of NYC, Chicago and LA...

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nothing is free. who is paying for that?

MLS academies and their MLS Next+ teams are doing it, but the pool is already so small because that's it. ...and if they start at U12 or whatever, they're scouting the players that have already invested a lot in pay to play club soccer to get to that point.

USSF probably never should have punted youth development to the MLS academies but they had to because they themselves are bankrupt.

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we are paying for it with the NIL fund that you and I start (and that we only selflessly take 1% of the donations from)

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U11 is where pay to play used to start, aka club soccer, is that different now?

Try U8 here in MN, sure there is some U7 someplace where the money spends

I think they are the '88 Bulls. One star carries them, the rest of the team is not complete crap like the '86 Bulls, but make no mistake, they are still a one man show and a well-rounded team will in all likelihood send them home. England will most likely play the role of the Pistons

Any dual nationals we can recruit for next cycle? Especially at CB?

Pahdz said:

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Try U8 here in MN, sure there is some U7 someplace where the money spends

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I just looked. "Youth Academy" here in Houston starts at U7.

$2,000/year for 6 year olds.

Would also help if some more dumbass parents realize their son has **** hand eye coordination and won't amount to anything playing baseball.

Yup, Noakai Banks is a 19 year old centerback starting in the Bundesliga.

He's represented the US at youth levels but seems to currently on the fence maybe leaning in favor of Germany. There were rumors he might get called up for this US World Cup roster, he's been in camp with the team in the past year but it sounds like he chose to take himself out of the running for this cycle.

if anyone knows of any 12-17 yr olds with surefire professional talent that my wife and I can adopt, let me know

THE_CHOSEN_ONE said:

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Enrico Pallazzo said:

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I think they are the '88 Bulls. One star carries them, the rest of the team is not complete crap like the '86 Bulls, but make no mistake, they are still a one man show and a well-rounded team will in all likelihood send them home. England will most likely play the role of the Pistons

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Haaland is phenomenal, but they also have a world class player in Odegaard feeding him the ball.

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Pippen was on that 88 team (and not 86), but make no mistake, neither would have been crap without the big dog.

halfway kidding here, but it needs to be done....why not us

who wants to help start up a podcast with maybe monthly episodes mostly focused on USMNT youth? it would highlight the up and comers from u15, 17, 20 and the national team. it would get the name out for a lot of these guys, help draw more donations to USSF, etc., be able to interview youth players coming up, etc.

I'm fairly certain it doesn't exist, but needs to.

Landon and Tim are so on point with everything. My only gripe is they don't seem to be doing anything about it. It's going to take someone with money and clout to change how we do things. Tim is talking about paying for his daughter and saying "we better win"…. While also talking about it being the fundamental problem with our development.

That's a little annoying to me. Both are super vocal about the issue…. And seemingly doing nothing about it. Unless they are doing a ton behind the scenes and not talking about it.

OK, didn't get to watch any of this today, why is Egypt so pissed off about the refereeing?

They had a goal removed bc VAR went back after the fact and called a foul that was basically on the very opposit end of the field.

Donovan has talked about how this is something he wants to truly make an effort to change on multiple occasions, not sure specifically what he's been doing but he's been very vocal about it.

Not sure if you caught near the end, but he mentioned that they're going to do a series on youth soccer in the near future which could be pretty fascinating.

LB12MEEN said:

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They had a goal removed bc VAR went back after the fact and called a foul that was basically on the very opposit end of the field.

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They also thought they should have had a penalty kick shortly before the Argentine run that resulted in the winning goal.

The more people with his stature who continue to call it out the better.

YokelRidesAgain said:

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LB12MEEN said:

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They had a goal removed bc VAR went back after the fact and called a foul that was basically on the very opposit end of the field.

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They also thought they should have had a penalty kick shortly before the Argentine run that resulted in the winning goal.

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They also didn't get the memo that FIFA will ensure Argentina makes the semis so Messi can play the maximum amount of games no matter what.

Bunk Moreland said:

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YokelRidesAgain said:

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LB12MEEN said:

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They had a goal removed bc VAR went back after the fact and called a foul that was basically on the very opposit end of the field.

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They also thought they should have had a penalty kick shortly before the Argentine run that resulted in the winning goal.

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They also didn't get the memo that FIFA will ensure Argentina makes the semis so Messi can play the maximum amount of games no matter what.

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Pretty sure the Egyptian manager didn't get it. He called everyone he could a cheat after the match and made the universal "you are cheating us" signal during the match.

LB12MEEN said:

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They had a goal removed bc VAR went back after the fact and called a foul that was basically on the very opposit end of the field.

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Ah, thanks.

fig96 said:

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Donovan has talked about how this is something he wants to truly make an effort to change on multiple occasions, not sure specifically what he's been doing but he's been very vocal about it.

Not sure if you caught near the end, but he mentioned that they're going to do a series on youth soccer in the near future which could be pretty fascinating.

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Yea I did catch that. I'm looking forward to listening. My hope is that everyone wakes up and fundamental change starts happening. We could be a powerhouse.

annie88 said:

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OK, didn't get to watch any of this today, why is Egypt so pissed off about the refereeing?

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Because they lost.

I think this could turn out to be some chicken **** commentary on Pulisic.
The way that play occurred, you can seriously hurt yourself.

It doesnt make for good podcasting to say "lets see if they release that he was seriously injured before commentating" though, so you jump right to the money making headline clips.

He tried to go for a few minutes, to the point where Stu holden was saying "he has to go down to stop play if he is hurt".
Players ask to be subbed all the time if they are hurt, but they do it smartly.
Who knows if having an 11th player actually running around pressing would have prevented the 3rd goal, but it could have.

The larger point I would agree with, Pulisic is a good to great player, but hes never sustained a high level of play for very long. And he has not consistently delivered that elite play in big games.
and to beat Belgium and the remaining teams, we at the very least needed him to sustain his play to the level he showed off in the 1st half against paraguay.

I was pissed that Luna was left off. He is a spark player which we could have used the other night.

PatAg said:

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I think this could turn out to be some chicken **** commentary on Pulisic.
The way that play occurred, you can seriously hurt yourself.

It doesnt make for good podcasting to say "lets see if they release that he was seriously injured before commentating" though, so you jump right to the money making headline clips.

He tried to go for a few minutes, to the point where Stu holden was saying "he has to go down to stop play if he is hurt".
Players ask to be subbed all the time if they are hurt, but they do it smartly.

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ESPN has reported it was a combined right ankle and knee sprain. Donovan said Pulisic said as much in a post game interview. Donovan said he played through a torn hamstring just to stay on the pitch during a WC game and expected the same mentality from Pulisic. Howard said that the whole USMNT team had a don't quit mentality and pressured fellow teammates to stay in the game with anything short of a serious injury during his time. I tend to agree.