Andy dwyer?

1. anyone know this Shaft kid from Dallas that signed with RB Leipzig?

2. pretty cool that the FC Cincy / TB Rowdies game is on ESPNU tonight.

U17s just luckboxed India's group for the WC and then of course got reamed on the back end with Colombia and Ghana(againlol)

Line-up predictions for tomorrow's game?

Where's Pulisic?

With Dortmund, navigating the manager switch in training so that he doesn't lose his roster spot in the year before a WC. No guarantees in top flight Euro football, especially at a club with expectations like Dortmund.

Plus it's not like he gets a ton out of running around with the B-team in a Gold Cup.

wtf would Pulisic be playing with the MLS All-Star B-team?

I wasn't sure if USA #1 rolls out the B-team in that tourney.

the gold cup is so crap this thread doesn't even get a bump

Ok thread. This is a call out to the diehards in this thread -

I have been seperated and split from the usa soccer team for an entire year. I hvent read or watched a second since, we will say, june 1 2016. Can someone give me an entire recap of the past year? Id like to reimmurse myself.

Klinsman left
Our defense is bad
Bradley still sucks
But none of it matters because Pulisic is our best player ever

Well, bobes, the youngster Pulisic is the real deal at only 19 years of age. Other complimentary players from the youth system are emerging ( Acosta and Arriola).

Arena is back as coach. The rest of concacaf qualifying and friendlies will be interesting to watch to see if the boys can really, potentially pull an upset or two come Russia next summer.

I'm generally a skeptic, but I'm fired-up.

Do reimmerse

Eta: Bradley scored a very sick goal against Mexico in a recent qualifier.

Not #1 at penalties

Seriously, is anyone in the current pool qualified to be a regular penalty taker? (hopefully Pulisic)

The best I can think of so far are Dempsey and Altidore. Woof

Alright. Can anyone update me on the starters from say 2 years ago and how they are doing, whether they are done or in good standing or somewhere in between?

Im just happy klins is gone.

Is your sole method of reimmersion asking questions ITT?

Clark this used to be a forum replete with information and willing souls of people (like me) who were actually happy to help. If that's changed, so be it. But until I know for sure I'm going to just continue asking and hoping I receive.

Keep asking bud

This thread could use some life/talking points anyway

fyi pulisic supposedly sucks at penalties too, doesn't have good history with them

I'll take a crack at it:

In goal: Same ole', Same ole'. Howard is playing well in MLS, still seems to be the #1 with Guzan snapping at his heels.

CB: Brooks is still the best CB, started every match for Hertha when he was healthy this year and just xfered to Wolfsburg for 20+ mil. Highest ever for an American iirc until Pulisic GOAT gets snapped up by a CL winning type team.

Cameron still playing every week at Stoke more or less.

Gonzalez prob next in line and a shoe-in for the plane to Russia. Won Liga MX with Pachuca and by all accounts was one of their best players. I wouldn't know, I don't watch the LOLMexican league. I like Gonzalez though.

Left back now appears to be Villafana maybe? Not really sure. You probably remember him from the Timbers, he's in Mexico now. He's ahead of the ghost of Damarcus Beasley (seriously... still around), out of position Ream, and I'm not really sure who else. Pretty sure USMNT coaches just put all the players they've ever heard of into a hat and then pull 2-3 out every camp to try as left backs. Prob beats any other strategies.

Right back- Deandre Yedlin used to look like our 10 year right back heir apparent, but has been up and down. Playing for Newcastle this year, and just helped them get promoted so that's good, not honestly sure how well he did, I think was coming off the bench a lot?

Chandler continues to do well in Germany but not so well for the States.

Arena apparently sees FJ as a midfielder which is fair enough I suppose. Still solidly in the starting 11 and still grinding in Germany. One of the top guys in the pool for sure.

Bradley remains in Toronto and continues to divide opinion with the vast majority of USMNT fans having swung all the way back to hate again. Scored a cracker against Mexico in the Azteca though, and that's not nothing. For better or worse will be a key figure in Russia.

Dempsey is hanging on, just barely, in the National team picture after missing a ton of time with a weird heart ailment. Will be interesting to see how he does in the knockout phase of this Gold Cup. Have a feeling he'll still be on the plane but definitely doesn't have the legs anymore to be what he was. Either a joker sub, or maybe get spot starts for us.

Jozy is Jozy, another one who is as divisive as ever. Same old guy. Bobby Wood had a good season in Germany and is looking to be solidly in the mix. Dom Dwyer got his citizenship and is early in the process of trying to become pre-car-crash Charlie Davies for us, we'll see how it goes. After winning MLS Cup right out of the gate Jordan Morris has struggled in his second year of MLS. Still looks lively for us though. Super limited, but I like him. Seems to be Jozy and Bobby as the front runners up top, and we'll see who makes the bench.

Hmm, I'm sure I'm forgetting guys. Can't say I know a ton about what's going on with Alejandro Bedoya honestly, but he's in the mix. Some young guys are pushing through, like Acosta, but have been inconsistent at best thus far.

A super young kid named Josh Sargent lit it up for us in U17 qualification, then got surprise-selected to the U20 world cup and even more surprisingly lit it up there playing up a couple age groups. Big target forward. Still super young so who knows, but definitely a candidate to be Freddy Adu-ed... as is young Andrew Carleton, hot shot superstar of the U17s who already has an MLS appearance for Atlanta and is still a baby.

Biggest news in USMNT land is Pulisic by a million miles. Not only does he look streets better than anyone I can remember ever playing for us, but he looks that good in the knockout stages of the CL for an elite team. I could gush effusively for pages, but suffice to say he's looking like the best player we've ever produced by some margin... and sooner rather than later.

Others can chime in on the state of the union if they wish, any more specific questions, or guys I forgot, feel free!

Glad to have you back

I agree with most of that. Yedlin, however, still made 32 appearances despite some injuries. He was, by all accounts, improved and was a regular for the best team in the Championship. He's still trending up.

stAkman Goat

Great write up of the team. Thought I would add that Jermaine Jones hasn't been a part of the team recently (due to injuries and poor form). I think he just came back to the Galaxy but not sure how much if at all he'll affect the USMNT mix-up. He was a pretty big part of the last World Cup team but looks to have lost a lot in his last couple appearances. It seems like Kellyn Acosta, 21 year old from FC Dallas, was filling his spot in the last World Cup qualifiers but he has had some consistency issues in the Gold Cup.

Saw on espn that pulisic drew a penalty and had two assists in 3-1 friendly vs Milan, hopefully bodes well for the upcoming season.

Ya good stuff.