Who are these other older players getting minutes with their club? All of the MLS guys ggg finally moved on from who were horrible against anyone with a pulse?
ECNL teams have arrangements with MLS clubs to send their best players to the MLS academies. Over 90% of the USYNT players are from MLS academies. The MLS academies improve every year as the system continues to professionalize.
MLS academies are free. The rosters are racially, geographically and economically diverse. The coaches of the academies are desperately trying to advance through the ranks based on the success of their teams and the development of their players. The academies compete against each other to sign the most talented players that aren't already signed to an academy. Players who aren't good enough get cut every season.
MLS academies now basically operate like academies in other countries beginning at around the U-15 level. Some USL teams have also implemented this model. We need to continue to expand this model but the development system has dramatically improved over the past decade.
The entire starting 11 is basically guaranteed to start if healthy with the possible exception of Balo (who probably locked in his position with his COPA performance). That isn't healthy. We need way more competition for spots on this team.
I'll take the guy who just made the Serie A team of the season and who has the best goals to caps ratio in USMNT history despite playing on the wing for the worst manager in USMNT history.
GK is definitely a position we can improve. Can Schulte or Slonina get there by 2026? They should be called into camps immediately and given real opportunities.
LCB is a big problem. Ream will be too old in 2026 and I don't see any legitimate options in the pool.
We also need another winger to compete for playing time. Weah needs to be under pressure.
Unexpected players will emerge by 2026 and guys we currently think are locks to contribute will fall off. The only thing that matters now is firing greggg immediately. He's the worst coach in USMNT history and its not particularly close.
SK also worked us and Germany were shit in 2002 and just rode a fortunate draw to the final. Look at their results. Everything fell for us in 2002 and Friedel was insanely good. Saved 2 PKs.