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Summer USMNT Window Review

 I've wanted to wait for things to wrap up to give a little bit of a general 30,000 foot overview of the summer window. I didn't feel like blogging after the Panama game would've been fair to the players or the program so I wanted to let things simmer a few days, but I also want to talk about the program as a whole going forward:

We won Nations League in convincing fashion with (most of) our best players. This is important on a few levels. Gio Reyna got some play at the number 10 position and Yunus Musah played as a stand alone number six and they both performed exceedingly well in those roles. Balogun made his USMNT debut and scored a lovely goal in the Finals. We didn't even have much of our center back core with Ream and Carter-Vickers out for Nations League. If Nations League showed us anything it is that we are head and shoulders above the rest of CONCACAF right now and need to use friendlies and Copa America to really test our A team ahead of 2026. 

I also think how we look at Domestic League rosters need to change going forward. I think a very small group of carry over veterans makes sense. I would like to see the bedrock of the domestic camp team be: Miles Robinson (for now), Walker Zimmerman, DeJuan Jones, Kellyn Acosta, James Sands, Jesus Ferreira, Cade Cowell and Alex Zendejas. I would like to see the other 13 outfield positions be used for younger players like Tolkin, Diego Luna, Jack McGlynn, Obed Vargas, Jalen Neal, Brendan Craig, and other young players with something to prove. 

There is no reason to carry Aaron Long and Matt Miazga with Cristian Roldan and Jordan Morris on these rosters going forward. I appreciate their leadership and all of the caps they have earned for the National Team, but if we stop building for the future we run the risk of another 2018. I know we have a TON of young talent playing in Europe right now, but our domestic camps need to be a showcase for our younger players. 

I personally don't know a single fan who would've had a problem if we rolled out Brendan Craig, Joshua Wynder, Diego Luna, Jack McGlynn, Quin Sullivan, Obed Vargas, Tanner Tessman, Daniel Edleman, and Noel Buck and lost to Panama in the semi-finals. This is one of the greatest arguments against giving a coach a second cycle as the National Team head coach. They will fall back to "their" guys who haven't performed and not take a chance on youth. 

I'm starting to look forward to the European season beginning during the Leagues Cup tournament. Pulisic (AC Milan), Weah (Juventas), Pepi (PSV), Brendan Aaronson (Union Berlin) have all found new homes. We still have plenty of guys looking for new homes: Steffen (Man City), Horvath (Nottingham Forest), Richards (Crystal Palace), Trusty (Arsenal), Reynolds (Westerlo), Cannon (Boavista), Musah (Valencia), Adams (Leeds), and McKennie (Juventas) just to name a few. 

As things currently stand, here is my USMNT depth chart: 

GK: Matt Turner (Arsenal) Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest) Zak Steffen (Manchester City)

RB: Sergino Dest (Barcelona), Joe Scally (Gladbach), Bryan Reynolds (Westerlo), Reggie Cannon (Boavista)

RCB: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Miles Robinson (Atlanta), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville), Jalon Neal (LA Galaxy)

LCB: Tim Ream (Fulham), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Auston Trusty (Arsenal)

LB: Jedi Robinson (Fulham), Dest/Scally, DeJuan Jones (NE Revs), John Tolkin (NYRB)

CM: Yunus Musah (Valencia), Tyler Adams (Leeds), Tanner Tessman (Venezia), James Sands (NYCFC), Obed Vargas (Seattle)

AM: Weston McKennie (Juventas), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Djordje Mihailovic (AZ), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia)

AM: Gio Reyna (Dortmund), Brendan Aaronson (Union Berlin), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Gianluca Busio (Venezia)

ST: Flo Balogun (Arsenal), Ricardo Pepi (PSV), Josh Sargent (Norwich), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), Daryl Dike (West Brom), Haji Wright (Antalayspor), Jordan Pefok (Union Berlin), Brandon Vasquez (FC Cincy)

RW: Tim Weah (Juventas), Reyna/Brendan, Paxten Aaronson (Frankfurt) 

LW: Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Taylor Booth (Utrecht), Alex Zendejas (Club America)

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