USMNT June roster: Full of intrigue

Attacking Wing Starting with the wingers we have Pulisic on the left and Weah on the right. The other winger is Brenden Arronson. Arronson plays an attacking middle midfielder for his club mostly and he can spring the wingers. Berhalter likes to play Aaronso wide. Arriola and Morris are capable backups. Neither are as talented as our top 3 but they bring speed and a ruggardness to the wing position. 

  Center Forward: The big anticipation is Haji Wright who is 6-3 and is your typical hold up center forward. Wright plays in the physically Turkish league and he scores goals. Wright got hot at the right time. He is in camp and I want him to beat out all the incumbents. We already know what we have so if he does, its an upgrade. Ferreira is leading the MLS, I am skeptical of Ferreira- sure he can score but can he do all the other things to help his team. He can not hold up like your typical center forward and Bertalter won't make him. He is better with the heads up play and passes to sprint attacking wingers.

  Midfield: McKinnie is a monster, he is aggressive, physical if he has to be, skilled on the ball and he can get himself in the air for set pieces. His skill is not match. Musah saw top competition all year at Valencia and is better for it. When he sees open space in front he takes it to drive the ball forward. He and Pulisic are our best dribblers going forward. These 2 are my top starters. Adams is good but he can be replaced with out losing too much in Acosta. Both Adams and Acosta bring a physical bite that is needed in the Midfield. 

  Attacking Midfield: No we do not have a Maradona, Messi not Kante yet, but who does. We do have a De La torre is good with the ball and is firstly looking to pass inable to spring wingers in open pockets. He doesn’t beat ppl 1 v 1 like Musah. He is challenged by newcomer Djordje Mihailovic from Montreal FC. Lets see how this competition works out. Both are very similar in their style of play. When comparing MLS with the Dutch League, I have to say these are quite similar. MLS does not have a super power like Ajax, Eindhoven and Rotterdam power clubs but the rest of the league is quite equal. This will be Intriguing to see who comes out on top. Roldan is our utility MLS man, we can plug him in anywhere and we know what he will give us.                                                                                               The wild card is newcomer Bayern Munich's Milik Tillman. Watching highlight videos we think we are getting the best player on the planet. Tillman has a knack for the head up play that can spring an attack in a half second. Millman can do this in a number of ways, flipping the ball up over a defender, one time passing into open space or dribbling past a slower defender. His 6-2 size allows him to shield the ball once he gets it.  Tillman is young and had to be responsible on defense first. He can be used in the 4-3-3 as a winger up top or even central midfield to spring the swingers. His potential is enormous, so if Bethalter can trust Tillmans defensive responsibility we could have a player. 

  Defense: Defense is solid but we lost a lot in Miles Robinson. Robinson is extremely fast and can play a high trap game and because he covered so much ground behind him with his speed. Carmen Carter Vicketrs playes for Celtic and is used to high pleasure, physical game every game. No center forward has Robinsons speed so CCV will have to play a smart game. The effective Zimmerman will hold down the other central position. Fullbacks: 

The starters at full backs are Sergio Dest and Anthony Robinson, both are as good offensively as they are defensively. The backups are still to be determined. Yedlin seems to have the inside track to the right back up behind Sergio Dest. Reggie Cannon has been used almost strictly as a right back for his club. Cannon could challenge Yeldlin for the back up roll. The Left back up is most up for grabs spot on the roster. This camp we have George Bello from Armenia B in the German Bundesliga. His transfermarket value is 4.4 m, he only saw 34% of the time at his club position. Joe Scally is the newcomer and he saw 63% of the available minutes but he played right back for BoRussia. His MV is also double Bello’s listed at 8.8m. Scally could be used at left back just to see how he performes. 

 If Berhalter plays Scally out of position at left back, why not Cannon also. So the big battle is between Bello, Scally and Cannon to really show their defensive skills, their technical ability and how they link up with the midfield and forwards. I think Bello has the inside track since he has the Gold Cup experience, Cannon very well could make the team as both left and right back but I am hoping Scally beats them both. Why- well we know what we have in Bello and Cannon. If Scally beats them out- its an upgrade—no!?!

Conclusion and intrigue:

 So this June roster is extremely interesting at 3 different positions being challenged. Haji Wright trying to show team USA a typical 6-3 center forward can be more valuable than a false 9 in Ferriera. Attacking midfield with de La Torre being challenged by Djordje Mihailovic from Montreal FC and the left back battle between:  Bello v Scally v Cannon for the back up left back position. Let not forget about wonderkid Tillman, can he understand and show enough defensive responsibility to be trusted and win a spot in the midfield. His instinct and skill offensively are full of potential its the defence Belhalter is concerned with. The more I write the more intriguing this gets. I can’t wait for the Next game in Cincinnati’s TQL stadium against Morocco June 1st.

Central American Cup 2017 - Panama

Central American Cup 2017

13–22 January 2017

            This is the 14^th edition of this Cup which is bi-annual like the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The top 4 nations qualify for the Gold Cup. The 5^th place team enters a playoff-series against the 5^th place Caribbean nation for the last Gold Cup spot. This tournament runs Jan 13^th through the 22^nd. Panama will be your host.

Costa Rica dominance

            Costa Rica has dominated this event. The Tico’s have been in every Championship game, except one. They have won 8 of the 12 Titles they played in. Costa Rica has won the last 2 tournaments and again they are the the favorite to win again. They are the reigning Champions and they have a lot of passionate fans.  

Hosting controversy

            This will be Panama’s 3^rd time hosting the event. The problem is that neither Nicaragua nor Belize has host yet. Panama is a great pick to host however they just hosted in 2011 and 2003. I believe Panamas new influence, both economically and the prowess of the soccer success allowed them to leapfrog both Belize and Nicaragua. They all want the tournament to be well attended and Panama is the best option at this time.

More Competitive

            In previous tournaments Belize and Nicaragua were just not competitive. They would lose by multiple goals. Now they can play all nations tight. Both Belize and Nicaragua have been to the semi-finals game and each was invited to the Gold Cup. Honduras can give Costa Rica a good game. Panama has improved so much they can be Costa Ricas’ equal if they are at home. This tournament they will be the host and have all home games. This is Panama’s best chance to win the Central American Cup.

New Format with Guatemala not allowed to play

            There use to be 2 groups. One group of 3 nations and one group of 4. This was always unfair since some nations would play more group games. This years tournament Guatemala is not allowed to play. This is punishment by FIFA. The nations will all play each other once.

            To me the big game is Panama v Costa Rica. I believe the winner of this game will win the tournament.

Bold Predictions

Rommell Stadium in Panama will host the Central American Cup 2017

1. Panama
2. Costa Rica
3. Honduras
4. El Salvador
5. Nicaragua
6. Belize

Canada should play in the Central American Cup to qualify for Gold Cup

Canada should play in the Central American Cup!

Central American Cup
Group A	Group B
Costa Rica	Panama
El Salvador	Honduras
Canada	Guatemala
Belize	Nicaragua

            The Central American Cup is lacking since it only has 7 nations playing in the tournament.  7 nations create an odd group of only 3 nations. The group needs a 4^th team to complete the group. I believe they should invite Canada to participate. This would finally complete the odd group of 3. This will not give the advantage anymore to the winner of the 3 team group. This group always plays one less game than the other group. Adding Canada will also give the tournament more exposure to Canada market and have CA nations play against fast, athletic and physical team.

 Canada should offer their guaranteed Gold Cup slot as bait. Presently the CA Cup places the 4 top teams in the Gold Cup. The 5^th place team plays the 5^th Caribbean Cup team for the last Gold Cup spot. If Canada offered their spot, CA Cup would place the 5 top teams from the tournament directly into the Gold Cup. The 6^th place nation can now play the 5ht place Caribbean nation

The tournament could have the top 2 teams in each group earn 4 slots for the Gold Cup. They would play in a knockout round for the Central American Championship just as it is now, so nothing would change here. The bottom 4 teams would now get to also play in a 4 team knockout round for something. The Champion of this runner up knockout bracket would get the last automatic Gold Cup spot offered to Canada. Group A 3^rd place plays Group B’s 4^th place and Group B’s 3^rd place plays Group A’s 4^th place finisher. The loser of this consolation round would play the 5^th place Caribbean nations for the last spot for the Gold Cup.

This is good for all Central American nations in the fact they all, now get to play at least 4 competitive games for every nation. The other 4 nation will play 5 competitive games. This is the big allure to add an 8^th nation to this tournament. The last Central American Cups the group of 3 losers (Nicaragua) only got 2 competitive games.  Belize was the loser of the other group only got 3 competitive games.  2 and 3 games are just not enough to develop your national team. 4 and 5 games are  much better that 2 or 3 games, especially when you bring your team to another country. Adding Canada will increase the competition and allow the badly needed games.  All nations would get 4 competitive games and the other 4 would get 5.

Good for Canada

            First of all Canada badly needs competitive national team games. They just do not get enough. Playing in another tournament to warm up for the Gold Cup is a great idea. Playing against teams that are about your equal is even better. The Central American Cup is a perfect tournament that Canada should play in. These teams are great with the soccer ball at their feet. They do not panic with the ball and are skillful dribblers. Canada is usually bigger, faster and more athletic however they need this type of competition to sharpen their skills. This tournament would provide 4 to 5 very competitive games that mean something. Friendlies against Iceland, Moldova and Bulgaria are just not the same.  

            As for the Gold Cup, Canada shouldn’t just get an automatic bid; they should have to qualify for it. Entering the CA Cup would solve this issue. Canada did not advance out of the group stage in the 2011, 2013 or 2015 Gold Cups. This left Canada with only 3 competitive games for those 3 years, for their national team. The 2009 Gold Cup was only one better they advanced but lost in the opening game of the knockout round, thus playing in only 4 competitive games in 2009. This give the Canadian faithful an empty feeling after only watching your national team play only 3 games. Playing in the Central American Cup as a guest would provide the Canadian faithful with a nice competitive tournament before the Gold Cup. They will be guarantee to play 4 games (3 group games- and at least 1 knockout). Since Canada doesn’t make the World Cup, a tournament like this would do great to raise the interest of the sport in Canada.

            I think Canada should offer their guaranteed slot to the Central American Cup to entice the nations (tournament) to invite them.  As for those of you who say this is crazy, why miss out on the Gold Cup….I say if Canada cannot get at least 5^th place in the Central American Cup then they don’t deserve to go anyway. Here is my example. Canada is in a group with Costa Rica, El Salvador and Belize. Canada loses to Costa Rica, ties El Salvador and beats Belize. This gave Canada 3 competitive games. Canada loses out to El Salvador on a tie breaker because El Salvador scored more goals. Canada benefited from playing 3 competitive games away from home. Canada is put into the runner- up bracket with Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Canada beats the 4^th place finisher Nicaragua and then beats Guatemala for the last Gold Cup guaranteed spot. Now lets say that Canada loses the 5^th play spot, this could even be more beneficial to Canada. Canada would then have to play 2 more play-off games against the 5^th place Caribbean nation. Lets say Canada has to face Trinidad and Tobago. I believe either way this is more beneficial to Canada win or lose. This process would give Canada 5 Central American Cup games and 2 play off game. That is  7 competitive games the year of the Gold Cup. Competitive games lite these are the best way to prepare any nation to develop their players. If they qualify through this process they will be much more prepared for the Gold Cup. For those who say why risk it…I say if Canada can’t beat the 5^th place Central American or the 5^th place Caribbean nation…then you suck anyway and don’t deserve to go to the Gold Cup

Upcoming 2017 USA Soccer Events

Upcoming 2017 USA Soccer Events

2017 Upcoming  Events
Month	Event	Host
Jan 17th-28th	Central American Cup	Panama
Feb 17th- Mar 5th	CONCACAF U-20 Championship	Costa Rica
Mar 24th ; 28th	(WCQ) USMNT v. Honduras; USMNT @ Panama	USA then Panama
April 21st – May 7th	CONCACAF U-17 Championship	Panama
May 20th – June 11	FIFA U-20 World Cup	South Korea
June 7th & June 11th	(WCQ) USMNT v T&T; USMNT v Mexico	USA then Mexico
Mid-Year
July 9th -30th	CONCACAF Gold Cup	USA
Sept 1st & Sept 5th	(WCQ) USMNT v. Costa Rica; USMNT @ Honduras	USA  - Honduras
Oct 6th , Oct 10th	(WCQ) USMNT v. Panama; USMNT @ Trinidad & Tobago	USA – T&T

January 17^th-28^th

            The 2017 Central American Cup in also in January but does not have an American team. However the 4 top teams will qualify for the 2017 Gold Cup. Costa Rica has dominated this tournament playing in the Championship game 12 out of the 13 years of its existence. The Tico’s have won 8 of the 12 title games they are your current Champion. Costa Rica is again the nation to beat here. I would like to see this tournament add Canada to make 8 nations and go back to the knock out games. The controversy is that neither Nicaragua nor Belize has hosted this regional tournament and both are trying to grow the sport. Guatemala is restricted from playing

February 17^th March 5^th

            CONCACAFU-20 Championship will also be played in February but in the warm tropical air of Costa Rica. Mexico has won 3 of the last 4 Championships and again is the favorite to win. There will be 12 teams in 2 groups. The top team from each group will play for the Championship. This format gives every participant 5 group games and the top 6 nations an extra play-off game. The USA has a plethora of U-20 players scattered in both North America and Europe. Just like the World Juniors of hockey we are hoping a few potential soccer stars emerge from this tournament as well.  I expect the USA to claim one of the top 4 qualifying slots in this tournament. 4 teams will qualify for the 2017 U-20 World Cup in South Korea, later this same year.

March             FIFA World Cup Qualification

USMNT v Honduras &  USMNT @ Panama

            These  will be Bruce Arena’s first big test as USMNT coach. Likely he has wonder kid Christina Pulisic in the mid field and rugged Altidore and a hungry Wood at forward. Everyone else is replaceable, the problem is with who. I personally like General Bradley in the middle.

April 21^st May 7^th 2017

            The CONCACAF U-17 Championship will be held in Panama this year. It is always fun to keep a tab on a team that represents the USA in another country. This young team will battle Mexico, El Salvador and Jamaica in the group stage, by far the most difficult group. The games will be played in Panama City and LA Chorrera, Panama. The soccer is poor with 16 year olds but the tournament is fun.  Mexico is your favorite, the USA has 3 championships. The last USA Championship was in 2011. The last time the tournament was held in Panama was 2013 and the USA lost in the quarterfinals 1-3 to Honduras. The top 4 qualify for the World Cup.

June 8^th & 11^th                                    FIFA World Cup Qualification

The USA should beat Jack Warners team…then we have Mexico in Mexico.

 USMNT v Trinidad & Tobago                                                                                                              USMNT @ Mexico

July 7^th-26^th

            The CONCACAF Gold Cup 2017 is probably the biggest USA international competition of the year. It will be held in July 9^th-30^th in the middle of summer. The USA gets to host this event because it is CONCACAF big money maker. Mexico fans outnumber the USA’s but we have a very strong supporters group. The venues are always great to debate. The USA are now playing in 3 huge NFL stadiums Tennessee, Tampa and Cleveland, in their group stage. Mexico has dominated this region in soccer winning 10 Championships compared to 5 for the USA, 3 for Costa Rica and 2 for Canada. The USA will have a new coach in Bruce Arena who just replaced Klinsmann. It will be interesting how he views this tournament in the middle of WCQ.

September 1^st and 5^th                        FIFA World Cup Qualification

USMNT v. Costa Rica  &  Sept 5^th @ Honduras

Oct 6^th – 28^th                           U-17 World Cup India 24 teams

October 6^th and 10^th              FIFA World Cup Qualification

            USMNT v Panama  & USMNT @ Trinidad and Tobago