By Sanjay Sujanthakumar
The first competitive games for the USMNT since the Catastrophe in Couva are almost a month away. But before we all overreact to the Gold Cup, we get to enjoy a highly anticipated tournament that may suggest the men’s program is on the cusp of a golden generation.
While players truly develop in their club environments, a deep U-20 World Cup run will substantiate the optimism about this squad, brewed by threads of GIFs and all-touch videos.
Here are three thoughts on the roster as well as the bigger picture.
TIM WEAH IN, NO JOSH SARGENT
When Tim Weah and Josh Sargent weren’t called up by Gregg Berhalter in March and sent to a U23 camp in Spain instead, we naturally wondered where both would represent their country this summer. Tab Ramos told the media Friday that he’s taking Weah to Poland.
“Tim really wanted to participate in the U-20 World Cup. I think when you have a player really looking forward to a competition, and he believes it’s important to him, that makes it easier. Tim wants to have this type of competition under his belt.”
Sargent already does. After starting for the U-20s at the 2017 World Cup, he’ll be stateside on the senior team. The same can be said for Tyler Adams, although that’s not news. Berhalter basically revealed in March that the RB Leipzig midfielder, who’s been sidelined for more than a month with an adductor injury, wasn’t stepping back down to the U-20s.
THE BEST XI
Between the sticks, it’s Brady Scott (FC Köln) battling David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake) for the starting spot. Scott was injured and missed over a month for Köln’s second team, returning to action last weekend. He was first choice at the Concacaf Championship in November, but the younger David Ochoa – the No. 1 for Real Monarchs in the USL Championship – could beat out the incumbent.
The back four is set to be Sergino Dest (Ajax) on the right, Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union) and Chris Richards (Bayern Munich) partnering in the center, and Chris Gloster (Hannover) on the left. Chris Durkin (DC United) will sit in front of them as the 6, and the 2018 U.S. Male Young Player of the Year and Concacaf Championship Golden Ball winner Alex Mendez (Freiburg) will be one of the attacking midfielders.
Who completes the triangle?
If he’s fit, probably Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas). Pomykal was held out of FCD’s 18 for the second straight week with a hamstring injury, but he’s expected to be ready for Poland and resume a breakout season. Pomykal has been incredibly influential for Luchi Gonzalez as a center mid, popping up all over the pitch to unsettle defenses by dribbling directly or picking passes, tidy on the ball and tenacious winning it back. He’s a two-way presence, but if he’s in the middle there’s no room for Richie Ledezma. Would Tab move Pomykal to the wing so Ledezma can start in an ultra attacking set up?
The other question is whether Weah lines up as the No. 9 or on the wing. And again, it’s not only about the individual’s best position, but the opportunity cost of playing him there. If Weah is the center forward, that maximizes minutes for electric wingers Konrad de la Fuente (Barcelona) and Uly Llanez (Wolfsburg).
To an extent, the opponent as well as injuries and suspensions will make these decisions for Tab, but the possibilities with a full strength squad are dangerous. This side is definitely built to press and possess the way Tab envisions.
CLUB FUTURES
The U-20 World Cup is also a showcase for European scouts and three Americans in particular can parlay impressive performances into a transfer at a pivotal moment in their career.
PSG are open to bids for Tim Weah and according to ESPN, “a good offer could persuade PSG to part with Weah permanently.” Weah’s loan spell at Celtic ultimately didn’t work out, deflated by the departure of Brendan Rodgers and a lack of chances under caretaker replacement Neil Lennon. Weah told the Scottish Sun that even if Lennon remains the boss, returning to Celtic is still an option despite an awkward end to his loan. But I’d bet the New York native is headed elsewhere, and there’s no shortage of suitors. Weah has been linked to Leicester City, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg, Rennes, and Fortuna Düsseldorf. He needs minutes, and the petro-state funded PSG, which in the past two years paid $400 million total for two forwards in the most expensive transfers ever, was never going to nurture him as a pro. After the U-20 World Cup, a new, relatively patient parent club is the ideal outcome. Another loan with an option to buy is the probable one.
Chris Durkin has already attracted European interest, and DC United reportedly rejected a bid (loan with an option to buy) from Bayer Leverkusen in the winter. Durkin’s minutes have depended on the both the congestion of the MLS schedule and the fitness of Russell Canouse and Junior Moreno, who remain the preferred holding midfield pairing for Ben Olsen. But in his first of four starts so far this campaign – in addition to 16 last season – Durkin immediately reminded Olsen he belongs on the field regardless. If Olsen can’t figure out a way to include him in the eleven, perhaps Durkin can play his way into an offer that satisfies DC United and MLS while in Poland.
I’m putting Pomykal in this category for different, positive reasons.
Several youngsters have burst onto the scene in MLS in 2019, but Pomykal is the fresh poster boy for the Homegrown product, and the playmaker isn’t a secret overseas. The major Spanish sports outlet, MARCA, compared Pomykal to Barcelona-bound Ajax star Frenkie de Jong, and while Pomykal isn’t worth over $80 million right now, his value could skyrocket on the world stage. Considering the FCD-Bayern Munich partnership and the transfer of U-20 teammate Chris Richards, it’s not premature to predict a move to Bavaria for Pomykal. However, Richards never made an appearance for FCD’s first team before Bayern made his loan permanent. When there are inevitably more offers for Pomykal – assuming Bayern covet the string-puller – it’ll be interesting to see how FCD handles the bidding, because if Bayern don’t have the inside track and it’s an open process, even if Bayern have the right to match the offer there would be other clubs poised to drive up the price. I expect Pomykal to finish the year in Dallas, but a transfer (and a loan back to Dallas) after the World Cup wouldn’t shock me.
THE OMISSIONS
“This particular roster, for me, was really difficult because I think there is no question that three or four guys who also deserve to go and who are not going,” Tab said, mentioning Jonathan Amon (Nordsjaelland) and Frankie Amaya (FC Cincinnati) specifically.
James Sands (NYCFC) and Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy) both went 90 facing each other on Saturday, and Brendon Aaronson (Philadelphia Union) came off the bench, dampening the injury narrative about why they might not have made the cut.
Despite their fine form domestically, Aaronson and Sands couldn’t slip into this group at the last second like FCD’s Edwin Cerrillo. Among the attacking mids, Aaronson was always behind Mendez, Ledezma and Pomykal.
But I think the most surprising omissions were the versatile Sands and Araujo. As a defensive midfielder or center back in a back three, Sands has been a regular for Dome Torrent, logging more first team minutes than every defender on the roster as well as defensive midfielder Brandon Servania. Although Servania hasn’t broken in for FCD’s first team yet, he started at the Concacaf Championship in November. Tab trusts him, and suggested he could also fill in at right back, where there is no backup to Sergino Dest. That was projected to be Araujo. The 17-year old was with the U-20s for the Concacaf Championship, he’s recently cracked the Galaxy lineup, and last but not least – the opposite of least, honestly – he’s eligible for El Tri too.
According to the LA Times, “Gerardo Torrado, the Mexican federation’s sporting director, said he would love to have the teenage defender” who Barcelona would’ve signed following a trial if he had a European passport. And before he was Galaxy GM, Dennis te Kloese was the director of Mexico’s national teams who orchestrated the defection of US youth international Jonathan Gonzalez, which in his words at the time “will not be the last.” In April Araujo told MLSsoccer.com, “Whoever gives me more opportunities, and whoever’s going to provide more for me, that’s who I’ll go with, but as of right now, United States has given me more, so that’s why I’m with them.” Unless a defender is injured prior to the tournament, the U-20 door seems shut for Araujo, but the main one could open in a couple of weeks. According to Doug McIntyre, “Berhalter will look at several young players who aren’t necessarily in contention for the regional championship” in camp ahead of the Gold Cup, and to ensure Araujo stays on the red, white, and blue road until he’s cap-tied, it’s essential he gets this attention.
KEEPING IT IN PERSPECTIVE
The Development Academy was established in 2007 and by this point, although imperfect, the system has fully incubated generations of talent that can launch the American men’s program to a new level. There are six or seven prospects on this U-20 roster with world-class potential. That’s not hyperbole. Quarterfinal appearances at the previous U-17 World Cup and back to back U-20 World Cups clearly reflect this progress producing players and the professionalization of the pathway.
Yet let’s not get carried away.
That was the message from members of the 1994 World Cup USMNT in a panel discussion recorded on the Planet Fútbol podcast when asked about this exciting era. Tab Ramos said, “I’m bullish about the players we have coming forward but at the same time we have to be careful in not branding them something, because at the end of the day, we’re just talking about potential here.”
NYCFC sporting director Claudio Reyna cautioned, “We need to also be honest about where we’re at, and the rest of the world isn’t slowing down. They’re continuing to invest more and more in sports science, in coaching, in player development… As much as we’re getting better, we also have to be honest.” Reyna spent almost his entire club career in Europe, and he’s well aware of the global standard. His son, Giovanni, is a U-17 national team star on the books at Borussia Dortmund. Sound familiar?
Christian Pulisic’s emotional farewell to the BVB faithful on Saturday was nostalgic, but it was also a watershed moment for American men’s soccer, in its own way. His Dortmund debut and the ensuing buzz in the American soccer community was unforgettable. Pulisic is the face of the promising future, when we dream of winning the World Cup. To see a 20 year old American basking in the adulation of one of the greatest fan bases in the sport, well- it’s a sign of American progress.
But the United States isn’t there yet and won’t be, win or lose in the coming months. They need more Pulisic’s.
Jurgen Klinsmann won the World Cup as a player and reached the semifinals as a coach. He gets the big picture, was brutally honest when he told the New York Times ahead of the 2014 World Cup, “We cannot win this World Cup, because we are not at that level yet… Realistically, it is not possible.” In an interview with Sports Illustrated prior to the 2018 World Cup, Klinsmann said for the USMNT to reach the semifinals in four years, “You need a spine of seven to eight other players on the level of [midfielder Christian] Pulisic playing at high-caliber clubs in Europe.”
He’s right. And watching Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Josh Sargent, and the gems in this U-20 side, we may learn that we’re closer than we thought.
Sanjay Sujanthakumar is a coach and journalist based in California. He is writing specially for The Yanks Are Coming. Follow him on Twitter @the_Real_Kumar.