Sunset SC Ep.18/The USMNT Roster: Defenders Galore and Midfield Depth Issues

Speaker 1: Welcome. Welcome. Welcome into another episode of the Sunset Soccer Club. I am Tyler Kern alongside Armand Kaffai. We are here doing something a little different than we what we were planning on because we were not blessed with the gift of foresight. Because if we were, we would have planned and told you last week that this is what we were going to do because it was on the calendar. We've we've talked about it for a while. The US men's national team roster dropped today.

Speaker 2: Well

Speaker 1: Today being March 26. Well, we'll get into that. We'll get into that. Today was the day it was scheduled to drop. And so we knew today, you know, we would have the US men's national team roster. Did we plan ahead for that? Not necessarily. Not at all. We could have. Instead, last week, we we talked about and told you that we were gonna be coming to you with another set of World Cup previews, another four groups, and said we're gonna push that back a week. And today, we are just gonna banter on the US men's national team and the roster that was officially announced today. Now it was leaked, I think, on Friday or sometime over Memorial Day weekend. Arman has thoughts about that. Let's get into that first, actually, before we get to the full roster. We'll read the full roster. There's a lot to talk about about this. First of all, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for watching. Thank you for being here. We are making more plans for what the World Cup is gonna look like and what the coverage for that's gonna look like and what we're gonna try to do as far as recording goes. We'll figure all of that out. But thank you for being here. Subscribe. Share the show with your friends. All of those sorts of things. Alright. Let's get into this. The roster got leaked, Arman, and we're kinda bummed about that.

Speaker 2: I don't like leaking when it comes to NFL draft. I don't like leaking when it's the NBA draft. I wanna be surprised for once. And I get The Guardian, those guys, they do a great job. Pablo Meyer, Jeff Reuter. I know Tom Bogaer and Paul Pnoyro also had some of the initial names as well. I mean, these guys do fantas that's their job. You know, TK? Like, I'm not gonna criticize someone for doing their job. I just wish maybe US soccer was, like, telling those guys, hey. Like, we'll throw you a bone later. Just, like, do not spoil our big event because I feel like the event maybe could've people were making fun of it. Oh, it's taking forever. Whatever. Okay. Yeah. Sure. I I'm with you. But, also, we knew the roster. So then the fact that we knew the roster, it was just kinda like it felt kind of redundant, and people were kinda faking up hype and all that stuff and all that jazz. And it's like it would've been pretty cool to see those guys, like, kind of, like be like, they knew what was gonna go on, but, like, for us, like, you know, oh, hey. Here's this big thing. Look at this. Oh, wow. Weston McKenney made it. Oh, instead, we got treated to, like, just, okay. Hey. Here's the roster. Here you go. Which, again, I respect them. That's their job. Like, I'm not criticizing them. I just wish it wasn't leaked like the way it was. And yeah. I mean, I I that's just my kind of thing. I don't like leaking in general. Like, I hated when Shams leaked that SGA won the MVP. Like, let's, like, let's be surprised for or surprised for once. I don't know, TK.

Speaker 1: Yeah. It's that weird thing where I think maybe I think in a you know, there was there was the the shams woge thing in the NBA for a long time of, like, trying to break stories first. And that's one of those things that like, there was always the constant debate about, like, do only reporters care who breaks something first, and doesn't the public consciousness, like, forget about it ten seconds after it gets broken? No. Look. Those guys were doing their job. They got the information before anybody else. And so we've had the roster now since Friday. It got officially announced today, today being Tuesday, May 26 as we record this. And so we're just gonna give some pretty raw reaction to the roster. And we don't have, like, a great format built out for this particular show because I think there's just a lot of different ways to take it, a lot of different banters we can have about this particular roster. And because we knew it ahead of time, we've actually had some time to digest it. It only just became official today kind of during the announcement event. So I'm just gonna go through the roster, and then we are gonna take it any which way the wind blows. So in goal, we have Chris Brady, Matt Freece, and Matt Turner. This is just gonna be an alphabetical order based on the way that US soccer has it listed on the website. Defenders, Max Arfston, sir junior Dest, Alex Freeman, Mark McKenzie, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Anthony Robinson, Miles Robinson, Joe Scally, and Austin Trustee. If that felt like a lot of defenders, it freaking is, and we're gonna come back to that. Midfield, Tyler Adams, Sebastian Burhalter, Weston McKenney, Gio Reyna, Christian Roldan, and Malik Tillman. In the midfield, forwards, Brendan Aronson, Valoran Balagan, Ricardo Pepe, Christian Pulisic, Tim Wea, Haji Wright, and Alejandro Zendejas. Now I know that that's gonna make you happy that Alejandro Zendejas is on the roster. I don't have a problem with it whatsoever, but, Arman, let's just I don't even know where to start. Maybe we start with just the fact that there's so many freaking defenders on this roster. I

Speaker 2: I'm really surprised by Amon defenders on the roster, and I'm a little I think the question that a lot of people when they first saw the roster were was going through their minds was, what is this midfield? The midfield only has four names on there that will you consider holding sixes or eights in the middle. Mhmm. And that's Tyler Adams, Sebastian Burhalter, Christian Roaldon, and Weston McKenney. But Weston McKenney played a really advanced role for Juve this year as almost a second forward for much of the year. So it's like

Speaker 1: And played there for for Pochettino on the most under the most recent friendlies.

Speaker 2: Exactly. So it's like, the depth there is a little interesting. I'm a little intrigued by that. We can go a little bit more in detail with that. The amount of defenders there, I it's a lot, man. It's it's a lot, and I feel like Pochettino is really emphasizing how versatile some of these players are. Like Alex Friedman, I know he's mentioned versatility. I think Joe Scalio was also mentioned in there. Serginio Dest. Like, there's a lot of potential versatility, but I I don't know if you really need 10 of these defenders when you're like again, like, you're yep. When you're looking at World Cup roster, DK, and you know this, you have to maximize, like, each each role because each thing is important. Right? Like, that's why I got Kellen Acosta. For those who don't know, Kellen Acosta is a US national center mid who can also play outside back as well too. That's why he's so valuable. He can be a box to box eight. He could be a six. He could be a right back. Maybe he could play left back, but he can play all around, and that's something you wanna maximize.

Speaker 1: That versatility is part of why he made is why he made the last World Cup roster. It wasn't because he was on the verge of, like, unseating Tyler Adams at playing the six. It's just that he could play the six. It wasn't that he was gonna start over Eunice Musa or or Weston McKinney at the eight. It was just that he could deputize as an eight. He could also play it right back if he all of a sudden had an injury to, Sergio Dez. So that versatility made him incredibly valuable. In this case, to me anyways, the versatility that Patch is mentioning, like, Joe Scally. Okay. Yeah. He plays right wing back most often for Mauricio for, gosh, Mauricio. Mauricio munching Mauricio munching glad back. But he also will play, like, a right sided center back in a back three sometimes. Okay. That's that's kind of versatility, but that's you know, Sergino Diaz will sometimes play left back. Okay. Yeah. That's that's also kind of versatility, but still a defender. I it it still doesn't answer the question to me. So, you know, we talked on the last episode about how it's a numbers game. Right? If you take away somebody from one position group, if you bring in somebody, then somebody else has to go out. Right? And it is interesting that, like, a Miles Robinson is in here alongside, I think, six other guys that we anticipate playing center back for this team. Right? If we just list the center backs, who do we have? We have Alex Freeman, we anticipate playing, like, a right sided center back. Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Miles Robinson, and Austin Trustee. Six.

Speaker 2: And Joe Scally, like we mentioned, can has mainly played in that kind of right center back, left center back, whatever you wanna call it, in that back three. Like, that's the main position he's played at Pochettino. You're almost walking in with what, seven center backs?

Speaker 1: That means that, like, that depth has to be taken from somewhere else so that you can bring all of these guys. And I think, again, this might all work out splendidly. That's that's totally fine. I don't think that that's, we can we can we can talk about that. We can debate that. It's just that that takes away from depth elsewhere, and it leaves you scratching your head when you have an injury prone Tyler Adams who feels like an irreplaceable part of this team. I don't know that you really brought a like for like or somebody who also plays that role in a similar fashion, which I think would have been Aiden Morris. I just leaves me with so many questions. Why so many center backs, and why so few true central midfielders? It it leaves me incredibly puzzled.

Speaker 2: Which and the really interesting thing is you can make an argument that Tanner Testman could also play center back if you call them up on the roster. There was a I think he played actually center back, like, for a couple of games for Leon. Now was he amazing there? No. But, again, that's he can still be versatile in that position. So it's like, did you really need to bring on another center back or another one of these kind of interesting pieces when you could've just brought Tara Testament who can also be versatile in that role as well too? I don't know. And that's where, TK, I'm a little gotta be honest with you. I saw the roster, and I was like, I'm a little concerned about it. Like, I'm happy some guys made the roster. You talked about Alejandro Zandeos. We've talked about on this show how I think he's a valuable piece of the team. Put Chino talk about how he brings good vibes to training and stuff like that. Again, a good piece of the puzzle. We're talking about guys like Ricardo Pepe making the roster, Haji Wright, etcetera. But then you kinda look at I just the amount of defenders baffles me because okay. Tim Hueyah can also play is also been playing right wing back.

Speaker 1: Mhmm.

Speaker 2: So that's a guy who's also what? A four that can also be a defender in that system. Like, it's just like, it to me, like, there is a bit of redundancy where you could have just taken one of these defenders, plugged in a midfield, and then no one complains. Everyone's like, oh, that's a cool roster. Awesome job. Now you have depth all around. Like but right now, we're looking at, like I just I I don't know how to describe it in words. Like, it feels like it's a gung ho offensive, like, minded lineup because, like, if you look at it okay. McKinney's your eight now. McKinney more likely starts next to Tyler Adams. Totally fair. I respect that. That's fine. But then it's like, what happens and the reason why, guys, we mentioned this last episode, this could be the load management World Cup where there's a lot of games. It's really hot. There's, there's a week in between matches, and that's fine. But, again, the heat causes problems. Players get injured in the heat quite a bit. And with a roster that's thin, you don't wanna be thin in one like, in a certain position. And I think, TK, like, again, with what we're kinda talking about with, again, like, trying to handle, hey. How many games is a player gonna play, etcetera? I I don't think that was the best move to not have an extra center mid. Quite literally, if you take out one of these defensive players and put in a center mid, are you complaining about this roster?

Speaker 1: Probably not. I think we'll come on to Diego Luna here in a second, and I have just a question about it. But, like, it is a you know, if you're gonna bring somebody, somebody has to get left off. I understand Diego Luna being one of those people or being an odd man out with the lineup that we have. But, yeah, if there's an extra if if Tanner Testman's on this roster, I don't know that I have a single complaint. And it doesn't come down to me believing that Tanner Testman is this amazing player that's gonna make or break the World Cup for The US. But, you know, like, you know what this reminds me of? And I have this in our notes. In 2014, The US went to the World Cup and did not bring a Josie Altador replacement. And I was doing ESPN soccer today at the time with Steve Davis and Mark Stein. And one like, one of my criticisms of that roster and I was a big Klinsman hater. Yeah. I just I I did not like Klinsman. And one of my biggest complaints about that roster and I don't know if the archives of that show are anywhere or if they exist anywhere in the world at this point, but one of my biggest complaints going into that was I thought that they really should have taken, like, Terrence Boyd or, like, a CJ Sapong, like, a a like for like replacement for Josie Altadore. What happens the very first freaking game is Clint Dempsey goes out and scores in, like, the third minute, and then Josie Altadore does his hamstring because they were made out of bad rubber bands and does his hamstring. And it totally derailed anything else that The US could have done at that tournament because they then moved Clint Dempsey to be a lone striker up top, and he like, there was just no outlet for the offense whatsoever because he just could not hold the ball up under the pressure that he was receiving from opposing center backs. It's just not Clint Dempsey's game. It was using one of your best players extremely poorly. He was also trying to deputize, you know, Michael Bradley as a number 10 in that, that World Cup. So he's using, like, his two most talented players on the field out of position. It was just a disaster from that perspective. And I realized, like, you go to extra time against Belgium. I mean, there's the The US was never in that game and never should have been in a position to to even come close to winning that game against Belgium. And it's like it's it's a self inflicted error to me almost. Like, if something happens to Tyler Adams and he was Pochettino was asked about this at his press conference, and he responded, you know, if something happens to Tyler Adams, who takes over? And he responded, you know, Christian Roldan, Sebastian Burhalter, Malik Tillman, Weston McKinney, Gi Arena, and a handful of winger slash wingback types could potentially be backups for Tyler Adams. He also apparently teased the team's ability to play with and without a holding midfielder. That's from Pradeep Khatri on Blue Sky is where I saw that. So okay. That's that's fine. We're we're banking on Christian Roldan being the primary backup to Tyler Adams.

Speaker 2: I think Roldan might be a good vibes guy. I mean, you go on his Instagram, you see his post, like, you you see a lot of The US national guys congratulating him and stuff like that. I think people like him a lot.

Speaker 1: And that's an important Mhmm.

Speaker 2: Thing to have. And I think Roald Dahl really is a player that would also be happy to be number 26 on the roster. Yep. Right? Like, that's a big thing. Boy, if we have to start him in a World Cup game, I I I I I don't know, man. I've seen him make a multitude of errors in MLS. And that's not saying players don't make errors across the world, but, like, I've seen him make errors. I am not necessarily confident as Christian Roldano's six. And to be honest, he I I don't as a lone six, like, I just I feel like every time I watch Christian Roldano, US MS national team jersey, and, yes, there's been a couple of some bright moments, there's been errors. Just error, error, error. Like like, and I and then you go to that list. Sebastian Burhalter is your next guy? I like Sebastian Burhalter. I think he's a great player. Again, if we're starting him in a World Cup game, I am nervous. I am nervous.

Speaker 1: I I agree with you, and I think I think part of my problem is, like, the process by which we got here. Like, okay. If we're starting Adams and McKinney in the midfield together, I I get that. Those they're your two most talented midfielders. Great. If Adams is at the six, McKinney's at the at the 10, you know, we're kinda gonna or sorry. Adams at the six, McKinney at the eight, you know, and you kinda got, like, the dual tens in front of them, something along those lines. I understand I understand trying to roll in with that because that is a that gives you an abundance of talent. McKinney's gonna move forward and maybe make some late runs into the box, a la, like, you know, Franklin and Pardesque sort of situation. I totally get that. He's an attacking threat from that perspective. I I I can get behind it. That's wonderful. I don't don't understand the experimentation that got us here. I don't understand, like, the rotating door of different midfielders and trying different combinations out that that got us to the point where we sat here today on May 26, and we are saying, okay. I guess it's McKenney and Adams in the midfield when we could have just known that all along. Like and they could have just played next to each other in Pochettino's system this whole stinking time when one of them wasn't injured or in time out for Pochettino reasons. I I I really genuinely don't understand, like, how we ended up here after all of the different roster permutations, and we were looking it up before we started recording. McKinney and Adams have only played together twice under Pochettino since he took over in September 2024. There were numerous other occasions when that could have been the case. And so it has been a long and winding road to end up to where, like, you have your two you know, your Premier League and your Serie A midfielders actually, like, playing together in spots where they've played somewhat before. Right? Last World Cup, they played in a midfield trio with Eunice Musa. This time around, no Eunice Musa. But those guys are gonna pair together in midfield. Okay. Like, okay. That's fine. Like, I I I think, like, all of the experimentation, all of the different players we gave minutes to and that sort of thing, I I understand making people earn their minutes and earn their spot on this team and that kind of thing. But now I think we're gonna roll into a mid into a a World Cup and end up playing a roster that has absolutely, like let's play, like, zero minutes together, like, as a unit. And I just can't imagine that that's a good thing.

Speaker 2: This is gonna be a really another weird analogy. I I guess I make weird analogies on this show. But think of the US men's national team roster as the San Antonio Spurs almost, and think of maybe another roster as, like, Oklahoma City Thunder. You might say, why are you making that analogy? If you watch the Western Conference

Speaker 1: because that game's on in the background right now.

Speaker 2: No. No. I I wish that if I was on I wouldn't be looking at the screen right now. The San Antonio Spurs have an issue. Mhmm. And their issue is they're not as deep as the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder can go ten, eleven, 12 guys deep and bring in those guys and have those guys pay meaningful man's off the bench. However, the Spurs are really reliant on their starting five. I feel like we're entering that with the US men's national team, where you need McKinney and Adams to play almost every not maybe not every second, but a vast majority of those games and rely on them quite a bit when I have a feeling other teams are gonna be able to rotate guys in and out a little bit. I'm sure Argentina's gonna do that with how their group is set up. I'm sure, I could go down Argentina's number one that was on my mind. But, like, I can go down a list because, again, they have the depth. The US is now has all their depth in defense, which you can only really I mean, we already just talked about how there's potentially four guys that could be starting on that 10. Yeah. Right? Because, like, you have, Weah who can also play wingback as well too. So then you have all that plus a reliance on this starting on this McKenney and Adams. And all of a sudden, you're like, our drop off from Weston McKenney and Tyler Adams is Christian Roldano and Sebastian Berhalter? That's a crazy drop off when it comes down to talent quality as a whole. And then you're like, okay. We'll play Malik Tillman out of position. Gio Reina. If Gio Reina has to back up Tyler Adams, I hope it never gets to that point because I think we'd be in a world of trouble is because Gio Reigner is a is a 10. He's a 10 as a creative mind. That's why he was brought onto the roster to bring that creativity. I'm actually not mad about, like, his inclusion. You know? Like, I'm not mad about that at all. Yeah. Like, I understand why it's there, I understand why people are polarized about it. But, again, I understand why it's there. But, TK, it seems like if something goes wrong, which in this World Cup, it's very likely with the extra game, it seems like we're The US is in big trouble if Tyler Adams has some sort of injury. Woah. What like, what now? It that's bad enough that we're looking at this saying, woah. Christian Roldan is now your starter. Sebastian Burhalter maybe now is just I just I know we're harping on the midfield, listeners, but it's a really important part because without a midfield that goes, that's the engine of the that's the engine of the team. And if you don't have ball recovering mids, if you don't have guys cleaning up the mess, because The US is gonna is playing a very attacks attacking style of play. I mean, Weah booms up up up, as a wingback. The two tens that are gonna be high up as well too, but they're gonna have to be forced to do a little bit defensive work. You need, excuse me, midfielders that can clean up the mess. And right now, Adams and McKinney are gonna have a huge burden on their shores to clean up the mess. Again, in a situation to where well, SoFi is covered, so that's or partially covered, so that's gonna be nice for The US. But Seattle, they're playing at new at noon local. The sun's gonna be beaming down. And we know, TK, from watching MLS and other leagues, I mean, there's data backing up too that playing in the summer, your quality drops quite a bit. So that's where I'm worried the most about. I mean, we could talk about some of the snubs like, you know, Tanner, Testman, Aiden Morris, Diggle Luna. I can live without two of those three guys, But there's but Morris or Testman, I think one of them had to be on the roster. And for Pochettino to not bring them on the team is a huge gamble, a huge gamble.

Speaker 1: It's it's an unnecessary risk because there's there's just not a scenario where you need seven different guys, eight different guys potentially that can play center back. That just that just that doesn't

Speaker 2: Five or six guys. No. Even you need five maybe natural center backs. Okay. Joe Scally can can can fit in there.

Speaker 1: Yeah. All the versatility he was talking about is like, oh, that guy can also play center back. That guy can also play center back. Good.

Speaker 2: Awesome. Exactly. I

Speaker 1: don't understand why we brought

Speaker 2: a million of them.

Speaker 1: It's a thing.

Speaker 2: Wouldn't you have brought if you were Tyler Puginino?

Speaker 1: Miles Robinson. I like, he hasn't been good for Cincinnati. I don't think he's been good for the US men's national team.

Speaker 2: I'm with you. And he's not versatile. At least Tim Reem I mean, I know he's old, but he's a veteran presence. Chris Richards is the best center back on the team. Alex Freeman's versatile. We talked about Joe Scally potentially being versatile. I think Trustee has been pretty solid for Celtic as well. So I think I'm with you on that. I would probably also go Miles Robinson.

Speaker 1: I wonder if I wonder if an extra center back was added and, like, the roster was kind of changed last second based on the injury to Chris Richards, or had the roster already leaked at that point?

Speaker 2: No. I think the roster leaked after. But, I mean, to to your I mean, to your point, like, Richards could play in this conference league final.

Speaker 1: Yeah. He could. Tomorrow. He totally could.

Speaker 2: On the twenty seventh, so I don't know when this is coming out. But, on the on the on the twenty seventh. So, he could be playing in that game. If he plays in that game, he wasn't at the roster release. He was actually in London, getting ready, for the, the match. So he could play in that game. It seems like the injury won't take him out for that long, but, again, they know better than us. Like, I mean, I'm not gonna Yeah. I'm not gonna I understand why they did that, but, again, you have a guy like Joe Scally that can also play both. You need to have guys that are versatile in in there. So it's like, I don't I don't know, TK. Like, that one is a is a is a weird one, I think, in my opinion. And if we're looking, like, I'm I'm I'm pulling this up right now. If we're looking at the twenty twenty two roster, there was nine defenders in in in '20 So 20 they it the the balance is actually literally one extra defender for one extra midfielder. That's the difference between the two rosters. It's pretty crazy if you think about it.

Speaker 1: That is crazy. Man. It feels like what this does is all but confirms that The US is gonna play, like, three center backs with wing backs on either side.

Speaker 2: That they're gonna play the four back. I'm like, if that's what you got from the release, brother, you need to kind of, maybe get a new profession or something because I don't know if they're gonna be a back I don't think it's gonna be a back four at all.

Speaker 1: No. I I I think I think it almost has to be a back three slash five. Right? So with three center backs on the field, I would anticipate if Chris Richards is healthy, it's kind of what we've been anticipating of, like, a Richards ream, and I'm gonna go Alex Freeman

Speaker 2: back three. Too, but, I I mean, I think him and McKenzie are can play a claim.

Speaker 1: Clearly, Pochettino and I are not on, like, the same wavelength, but I think that that, like, that makes sense. And then you roll out, like, an Anthony Robinson, sir junior desk wingback situation, and, like, that is your that is your back line. Let's let's kind of move the conversation away from defenders for a second. You mentioned Diego Luna. He seems to be the person that may be, like, outside of, like, the whole, like, center midfield situation, which we just clearly see differently than Pochettino somehow, someway. Yeah. We just yeah. We we just we just do. But Diego Luna seems to be left out because other another player was, like, selected in his place. And we can say that's Brendan Erenson. We could say that's Alejandro Zendijas. We could say that's, you know, anybody kind of in that attacking midfield role. But I think what's interesting is I was looking at it. Transfer market has, like, players, kind of listed by appearance under Pochettino. You could sort them by by team. Right? And so I just sort of, like, US men's national team players by appearance under Pochettino. And Diego Luna was second on the list, behind I guess, Tim Reem and Max Arfstad have appeared 18 times under Mauricio Pochettino. Diego Luna has 17 times

Speaker 2: That's crazy.

Speaker 1: Since Pochettino took over with four goals and four assists. And then someone like Alejandro Zendijas, and I'm singling him out because, like, he was the person that seemed on the outside and is now in, appeared only six times under Pochettino, which I just think is interesting. And I think I think just reinforces my belief that, you know, we can split hairs between who Diego Luna is as a player and who's in as a player. You made the case really, really well on our on our show two weeks ago. Made the case for Alejandro Dejas to be on this roster because of what he was doing in Liga MX, also his camaraderie with other guys on the team. I don't care so much about how each player fits in or, like, what each one does well and that sort of thing. I think it is incredibly strange to give Diego Luna 17 appearances with for the US men's national team under Pochettino and only six to Alejandro Zendejas and then end up choosing Zendejas. Right? It kinda felt like Luna was like a building block kinda guy for Pochettino where you loved him or hate him or, like, didn't really see how he fit into this team. I can I I feel like I see how he fits in as one of those attacking mids? Totally fine. But I I think that goes to just, the strangeness I feel about how the entire process for, like, building to this point has gone.

Speaker 2: I was shocked when Zendaya was picked. Because I think I even said on the show, I think Pochino doesn't rate him. So Yeah. You did say that. He's gonna I I don't think he was gonna make it on the roster, but I think he deserved it. TK, for me, I think Luna and Zendaya's, like, I think we're lumping them in together because we've kind of accepted the fact that even though Gio Reyna doesn't play for his team and barely plays for Munchen Glatabag, that he might be the potentially most talented offensive player, like, with The US Men's National Team, and that he deserves a spot. But, I mean, if you look at it based on merit, he is not as a right spot.

Speaker 1: No. He does not.

Speaker 2: If you look at it based on just his club minutes, what he's what what have you done for me lately, Gio Reyna? Nothing. Like, respectfully, nothing. Like and that's not saying he shouldn't be on the roster, but Diego Luna and Zendaya have both done more than Gio Reina has. So that to me is, like it's it's something that's kinda hard to swallow, and I think, like, UN's US Men's national team fans will have to kind of understand that Gio Reina's like, yes. There is a world that talent does kind of outdo hard work to a degree, like, as weird as that sounds because Gio Reina is extremely talented player, and we've seen the flashes of everything. He's in we've seen that run that he had. I can't remember. Was, a Nations League match. Mhmm. And, like, we've seen the talent that he possesses. He just can't get on a field. He can't play. And I understand why you'd call him up. But to your to your point, TK, it is like I think it's baffling that Luna didn't get on the roster. I was shocked. I was genuinely shocked. I wasn't shocked, like, for example, like Gozo didn't make the roster. I thought that was kinda like, okay guys, like, he's been great in MLS, I get it, blah blah blah, but like come on. Like, it's a little too late. He had a great run. Like, you can't just bring on a guy, especially with what we're I think I'm starting to kinda get around this idea that this US team is not as deep as we think it is.

Speaker 1: Well, let okay. Let's give a little context. Xavier Gozo is a 19 year old winger for Real Salt Lake who is playing incredibly well in Major League Soccer right now. And a lot of people have made noise, especially on social media, those sorts of places that that Gozo should be called into this roster. As well as, you saw some noise made for Julian Hall, who is the striker who's pretty much goals. Yeah. Mehmeti as well as center midfielder for, New York Red Bulls. Look. If we're adding center mids, I I just I just want another.

Speaker 2: Choice to add. I like Mehmeti a lot. So, I mean

Speaker 1: I do too.

Speaker 2: You want to play with DK, though? Gozo would have been a a wingback. Yeah. He's played wingback all for RSL, so another wingback to the mix. No. But, like,

Speaker 1: like He's scoring goals and and that sort thing. So to to your point, like, yeah, it's it's hard to make an argument so late in the game for for that particular guy, but still wild that that Luna got left out.

Speaker 2: The Luna one surprises me because, like, I was convinced that Luna was gonna makeovers in Dejas. Whether I agree with her or not, I was convinced Just based on trends. And the fact that he didn't get it is that's brutal, man. I will say from I mean, I've watched a lot of RSL. He's a super talented guy. If I was comparing Zandeos and Luna, if that was my last pick, I would also pick Zandeos. Again, like Yeah. Just seeing Zandeos take over games in a way that I haven't seen in a league that's more difficult than MLS compared to that, I think is a little bit of the upper edge for me. But to your point, again, 17 appearances, it doesn't make the World Cup roster. That is crazy. If anything, in my opinion, I would have taken Luna over Reyna. But I think Luna and Zendejas almost become redundant. Is that what we talked about in the two episodes? Like, that that that they become red that they almost become redundant between each other. And, again, the person I wouldn't wanna take is Aronson because I think Aronson just ran. And I think Luna, as as good of a player he is, I think you're right to compare both of them because I think they're both good one on one players, and I think they both kinda play similar roles between each other.

Speaker 1: In our, like, roster, like, what we would do conversation that we had on the pod two weeks ago, The people can go listen to now, but it's now it's just gonna sound it's gonna be more of comedy act.

Speaker 2: Talking, I guess. Yeah. It'd be more

Speaker 1: of a comedy exercise at this point. And by the way, like, I have no ego about being wrong about predictions or some of the things that we said on that show. That to me doesn't matter. I just I'm only pointing things out that I find puzzling simply from a fact of, like, how World Cups tend to work and how these rosters tend to be distracted.

Speaker 2: It is extremely puzzling, though, because that is a guy who is a building block for what you were doing all throughout, and he doesn't make the roster. Like, you know what's crazy, TK? Like, a lot of guys, like, they know we do this poll. They know we talk about it. You know the one thing they asked me? I guess we should maybe dive deeper into this. Why didn't Diego Luna make the roster? That's the number one question I'm getting, guys. It's not about anything else. It's specifically about Diego Luna. So my kind of feeling is that him and Zedeos are a bit redundant. You choose one or the other and you move on, especially when you have geo renaissance in there. What do you think is your what would your, I guess, reasoning be?

Speaker 1: Working backwards? I what's that?

Speaker 2: I said working backwards because we already know the answer, but what was the reason?

Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, I'm not I'm not entirely sure because you can't say he hasn't been effective under Pochettino. Like, he scores goals. He has done, like, good things on the field. I yeah. It it comes down to this guy or this guy. Right? Like, when you're making these decisions. And I think, like, I made the case two weeks ago for Brendan Aronson, but, like, I think like, the the player that I left off of that that roster, that projected roster was Malik Tillman because he hadn't been playing very well for, for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. I don't think that Pochettino was ever gonna leave Malik Tillman off, but you it comes down to okay. Like, do you want Malik Tillman, or do you want Diego Luna? Okay. I I it it these are these are hard conversations to have, hard comparisons to make. I suppose if Pochettino is listing people who could drop in the center midfield in a pinch, like, Diego Luna isn't one of those guys, but I guess Malik Tillman is. So maybe you value that versatility and the fact that he's done it at PSV and then, and then Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Okay. So we're bringing Malik Tillman. Now we say and I I think the hardest one is Brendan Aronson versus Diego Luna. Because I think in a situation where I really need a goal, I I know there are other people I'm bringing on ahead of Diego Luna, but if it's Brendan Ehrinson or or Diego Luna, I'm probably taking Luna. And so I guess at the end of the day, the skill set that Pochettino thinks that he gets from Luna, he must believe that he's getting more of from other places and so wanted versatility in attack. So once a pressing running monster in Brendan Aronson, he gets an amplified version of what Diego Luna does in Alejandro's in Dejas, and then you get the freaky weird attacking ability and the silky smoothness that you get with Giarena and feels like he's got enough versatility off the bench that if you're starting Pulisic and Tillman, let's say, then there's three options for three different game states that you can bring on depending on what the game calls for. And in that case, there's not a need for a Diego Luna. It's still just wild to me.

Speaker 2: You said that very elegantly. I'm not gonna lie to you.

Speaker 1: Was a

Speaker 2: very elegant way of saying it. I think you're spot on with that. You know what what was wild to me? When you said that Max Arfson had, I think, 21 appearances under Pochettino?

Speaker 1: 18. He and Tim Reem have 18 appearances under Pochettino.

Speaker 2: To me is so interesting because Arfstadt, I can see utilized as a wingback or also a winger. But if as a fullback, he's rough. Like like, I when you see him paying, like, a back four, he's rough. But when he's allowed to go up forward and be a little bit creative, I think there is a bit of room there for Arveston. I just is it weird to say that I'm not, like, wildly impressed by his roster?

Speaker 1: It's not weird to say. I think

Speaker 2: Because if we're looking at this, like, what, eight years ago when The US missed the World Cup, you'd be like, woah. We have guys playing in Crystal Palace, Villa Real, Toulouse, Fulham, Borschomach and Gladbach, two guys, Celtic, Bournemouth, a team who just is going to Europe, Bayer Leverkusen leads. You'd be like, this roster's crazy. The best one of best teams in Mexico? Like, what?

Speaker 1: And, you know, and even if you look at it compared to, like, the twenty ten roster or, you know, the twenty fourteen roster, teams that did make the World Cup and, you know, made it out of the group stage of those tournaments. You know, like, you still look at this roster and, like, the teams that these guys play for, you're like, okay. We should we should be better. And, you know, I I've I've been asked that question, and, like, it is kind of hard to wrap the mind around, like, once you know who the players are, like, why why The US isn't better as, like, a cohesive, like, playing unit. One of the things I do think, though, is that depth ism will continue to be an option as The US continues to become, like, more and more prolific at, like, pumping out high level talent. You know? Like, it can't just be, like, an every so often thing that we produce a player that goes and plays for, you know, Juventus or plays in the Premier League and that that sort of thing. And I think that you know, I I saw a graphic that, you know, one of the, you know, Bleacher reports or whoever it is, you know, put out on Instagram, but it showed, like, a starting 11 of players that France didn't bring to the World Cup. Oh, They would they would easily make it out of the group. Like, the like, the the players like, what? Chuameni didn't make France's World Cup roster? Like, that guy starts on, like, just about every other roster across the world. Right? Like and I'm not trying to pick compare The US to France. I guess I guess what I'm saying is, like, breaking into that upper upper echelon beyond where The US is right now is so freaking hard because, like, it takes more than just this. So, yeah, you look at it and you're like, this is, at the end of the day at the end of the day, kind of underwhelming because I know all these players so well. I feel like I know what the ceiling of this team is, and it's just not gonna blow the doors off of maybe what previous US teams have done. And I'm not trying to pour cold water on a US hosted World Cup, you know. I know. I know. It sounds like that's what I'm doing. I'm really not. I'm just I'm also I'm also slightly underwhelmed.

Speaker 2: You wanna hear a crazy fun fact?

Speaker 1: Yes. I would.

Speaker 2: Can you guess how many of the players were a part of the twenty twenty two World Cup roster? Just off top of your head. I was thinking about looking at the roster.

Speaker 1: Let me not let me not look. I'm gonna guess

Speaker 2: 12. Damn. 13. Half the roster is from the twenty twenty two World Cup, which is the highest number of returnees between consecutive World Cups since 1994 and 1998. What happened in 1998, TK?

Speaker 1: It did not go well for The US in 1998, if I remember correctly.

Speaker 2: The US finished with zero points.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: In their group.

Speaker 1: Remember that.

Speaker 2: And they lost to and they lost to Iran two one. They lost to they lost to Yugoslavia one o, and they lost to Germany two o. This is the World Cup nineteen ninety eight in France. It's gonna be really interesting to see because this seems like the last kind of I mean, if these guys don't perform well, right, like this is the kind of generation that we've seen grow from that 2018 failure that happened. We the old guard got sent out, this new guard kinda got replaced in. It's gonna be really interesting to see how, like, again, how these guys in their second World Cup do. Right? The US didn't make the US made out of the group stage and lost to the Netherlands, in 2022. Now we have a much more interesting task where we talked about the mechanics of the World Cup last episode. Listeners, if you haven't listened, go ahead and listen. Mhmm. Where we talked about how the third place team can advance, how the US should advance around 32, how the round of 32 can set up toward a US can play Iran, a team that they probably should beat, or a team that is worse, a third place team that is worse. Again, we can't go into the permutations because there's quite literally 495 of them. So we don't know who they would face if they finished first. But, again, there is there is an expectation that it should make ISIS around the 16. And I've kind of flip flopped from our in original episode where I was like, you know, us previewing groups? Oh, no. No. The US should win the group. They should get out of the group, and they should get to the round of 16. And it would be nothing but disappointment if these guys cannot do that, in my opinion. Yep. Especially with the cohesion that they have in their starting lineup. I mean, you're talking probably Matt Friesen goal. Maybe the defense is gonna be a little bit different, but your your players up top, I mean, Flo Balogun, who's been great for Monaco. Mhmm. Ricardo Pepe's is a backup, with p I mean, it's funny because I feel like over the years, we're always worried about the forward position. And I have no complaints about forward position. Flo Balogun, Ricardo Peppe, and Haji Wright, those are three great options right there.

Speaker 1: Absolutely. Yeah. You you can't complain about that whatsoever. For so long, it was like, is Altador good enough at the nine? Do we have anybody else? Future.

Speaker 2: Gosh. Do you remember that?

Speaker 1: Remember that last time around. Yeah. Where we were genuinely considering the possibility that Jesus Ferreira would start World Cup matches for the US men's national team last time around. It's That was crazy.

Speaker 2: It's just crazy. And I think the biggest thing I think is that. I think is that. But, TK, I wanna touch upon one position group that I'm a little worried about. Mhmm. Goalkeeper.

Speaker 1: Explain yourself. The goalkeeper usually Why do you hate Matt Freeze?

Speaker 2: I don't hate Matt Freeze. I don't hate Matt Turner.

Speaker 1: Don't hate Tape says otherwise.

Speaker 2: But

Speaker 1: You think it's lacking? It's it's not it's not lacking it or it is lacking, like, a top end.

Speaker 2: Like, 2022, Matt Turner was excellent. Like, literally excellent in bringing the form. And 2026, Matt Turner is fine going back in the form. Matt Freeze is fine. I like, this isn't like Tim Howard depart So

Speaker 1: the 2014?

Speaker 2: Yeah. What what did they call him? The head of defense, basically?

Speaker 1: Secretary of defense.

Speaker 2: Defense. Exactly. Like, you don't have that, and you you kinda need one of these guys to bail you out in the World Cup. Like Mhmm. You're gonna need Matt Freeze or Matt Turner, whichever one of the Mats you wanna think is gonna do that, to bail you out of a World Cup, to bail you out of a game, to keep you alive in a game to where Australia has a crazy counterattack, and I was like, oh, woah. Big save. Like, you need that, and I'm not really confident in this group that's here, which is surprising because The US always produces really good goalkeepers. I mean, talking about the days of Casey Keller, you're talking about the days of Tim Howard. We're talking about the days of you know more than me. I'm blinking.

Speaker 1: Brad Guzan, Brad Friedel. Exactly. I mean, you can you can get Tony Miola. Like, you can go back a long, long way.

Speaker 2: Like, all Totally. I just I'm not confident in the goalkeeping situation. Matt Turner has had great MLS numbers. Matt Freeze has been fine. Chris Brady has been pretty good, but, again, he's your third keeper. I don't expect him to start.

Speaker 1: Yep.

Speaker 2: Especially in a back line that could have a lot of moving parts. Right? You could have Alex Freeman. Again, let's again, we're I'm talking about scenarios that are real, I think. Okay. Alex Freeman is behind Serginio Dest. Let's say let's say they're both on the right side or Tim or he's on a Tim Webb's side. Tim Webb pushes up. Alex Freeman naturally is a fullback. As a fullback, he pushes up. Now you have a big gap. There's gonna be a counterattack in situation to where your defense is not gonna be able to catch them just for whatever reason, and your goalkeeper is gonna be required to make a huge save. And what can we talk about? Goal difference is gonna matter big time because if The US ends up in this crazy spot where they're third place team, they need a good goal difference. They need the points in order to advance out. So every goal matters in this World Cup, even though it might be a little bit easier to advance, especially with The US's group, how I would say it's not like there's a clear bad team. I think there's a good balance of teams where you're getting your goalkeeper to step up, TK, and I'm a little I know Puccino's kinda tied himself to Matt Fries.

Speaker 1: Yep.

Speaker 2: But I don't know, man. I'm not necessarily the most confident looking at this group of three guys.

Speaker 1: I can yeah. I can feel that. I think this is I think this is one of those situations where, like, there's not there's not somebody I'm bummed isn't being called in

Speaker 2: And for that's a I feel like that's a problem in its own right. Right?

Speaker 1: Like Yeah. That's that's a that's a player pool problem, you know, and, like, that's kind of, like, the the the strange luck of the draw of all of this is, like, we might have, like, an amazing up and coming keeper in two, three years, you know, or, you know, who's the the kid Diego Cochin at at Barcelona pans out? And four years from now, we're like, this was you know, it's not an issue. It's crazy. But that's kind of the nature of, you know, national team, international soccer is, like, as a manager, you are prisoner to the player pool that you have. It's just you know, it's and it is your job. And this is what makes it maybe different than, like, a a club team manager. It is your job just to, like, maximize the players that you have and to hang your hat on, like, the correct ones. And he I I I suppose the the judgment here at keeper will be, was Matt Freeze the right choice all along if that's who he ends up going with in these World Cup games, in these really, really consequential World Cup games, or does he go back to the old hand of of Matt Turner? And how does that decision end up looking in retrospect? I suppose that is maybe where Pochettino will be judged when it comes to goalkeeper, but you kinda have to play the hand that you're dealt at a certain point. And I don't know that there were better options, but I'm with you. I share your I share your, apprehension here.

Speaker 2: What do what do we what do we think, TK? What what do we think is the ceiling for us World Cup team now that we see it how it is? Is it a semifinal? Is it a final? Or is a ceiling just, hey. Let's get to the round of 16 and see what happens.

Speaker 1: I think I mean, the the crazy thing is is, like, the top end talent is there. Like, Pulisic hasn't scored for The US in forever and hasn't scored for anybody in a very, very long time. But, like, he still can. Like, I've still seen him do it in the Premier League. I've still seen him do it in in Serie A. We've seen Flo Balagan score in the Champions League. We've seen Riccardo Pepe score in the Champions League. We've seen, Weston McKinnney score a ton of goals in the Champions League this year and and do it for Juve in a game and gave out basis. Like, these are hard competitions that these guys are able to score in and play at a high level. Tyler Adams, you know, played a ton in the Premier League this season. Like, had an injury for a little bit of the spring, but then came back and played for a Bournemouth team that finished the season on 18 game unbeaten run-in the Premier League to to reach a European spot. And so, like, the top end talent is there. We just haven't seen this group put it all together under Pochettino. Really? Like, I mean, the the Uruguay friendly feels, like, really, really fluky and weird. The Paraguay friend you know, that that set of friendlies, and it really wasn't even, like, this core group. Right? And so I think it makes I think there's apprehension in saying, like, that's the ceiling for this team. But, like, that is the ceiling for this team. I don't wanna, like, sound too like, earlier, I was pouring cold water on this team, and now it's it sounds like I'm pumping way too much sunshine up their asses. That's not that's not the point here. Like, the point is is, like, the talent is there. I think what feels underwhelming is we've just never seen this group, like, put it all together into a complete performance against the top level team in a way that feels meaningful. And we really, really, like, we're gonna have to see it against Turkey, right, to to win this group.

Speaker 2: Yeah.

Speaker 1: And I think I think if they do, I think, like, the ceiling is the the ceiling is a hypothetical question. Right? So the ceiling is, I think, like, a quarter final level team. The floor is legitimately like a team that doesn't get out of the group.

Speaker 2: Oh, a thousand percent.

Speaker 1: So, like, that's that is that is a a reasonable, like, possibility. It's reasonable Tyler Adams pulls up in the first thirty minutes of the match against Paraguay, and, you know, The US goes draw, draw, loss and doesn't get out of the group somehow. You know? Like, I think that that is a reasonable possibility the same way that, like, a quarter final type of appearance is also a reasonable possibility. Like, all of that is on the table, and I think that that is, maybe this maybe the thing that's so interesting about this team.

Speaker 2: I I'm with you. I'm with you. The thing, t k, that I think blows my mind, it it's twofold. First off, I don't know what's Maria Ciportino's gonna do anymore. I don't know. I've officially I don't have any clue what this guy does anymore. Not an idea. Like, after Atlanta games, after not calling up Tanner Tessman or Aiden Morris, like, I do not know what to anticipate from Mauricio Pochino. And that scares me a little bit. Because okay. We can list out a lineup. Right? Like, I mean, you and I, we can list that lineup right now. Let's let's list one out right now. Let's do it. Like, what? Matt, Keith, and goal?

Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. I actually wanna do the like, is this our is this this is our projected Mauricio Pochettino starting eleven? Yes. Yes.

Speaker 2: Let's do it.

Speaker 1: Okay. Freezing goal.

Speaker 2: Freezing goal.

Speaker 1: Who do you who do you go back three?

Speaker 2: Back three. Remember, I'm Mauricio Pochettino, not Armand Kaffai in this instance. I would go Tim Reem, Mark McKenzie, Chris Richards.

Speaker 1: Okay. I think he's going I think he's going Alex Freeman over

Speaker 2: I hope so.

Speaker 1: Mackenzie. But I also have Richards and Ream. I think I think those guys are are nailed in.

Speaker 2: This is the part where I'm a get a little bit kind of off base. I have no I don't know. Do you start way at the right wing back? Or, like, does he somehow slot next to Pulisic? If he slots next to Pulisic, then I guess that makes a little bit more sense. Does does Malek Tillman go to the bench? Like, that's the part where I'm a little could and be very game by game. Right? You can you can kinda go game by game with this. So I'm gonna say he's gonna start with Wea as a right wing back. His left wing back, he's gonna go Jedi. I think Anthony Robinson is that are we are we are we with this?

Speaker 1: I mean, I think he could go Dest.

Speaker 2: He could go right wing back. Yeah.

Speaker 1: So I think I go I think I think he goes Dest, Anthony Robinson at the win backs.

Speaker 2: Okay. I think we're pretty aligned on McKenney and Adams in the middle.

Speaker 1: I think so. I I'm still just trying to wrap my mind around it because I had McKenney penciled in as one of the advancement field spots next to Pulisic. You know? So

Speaker 2: I will say in that first game in Atlanta, he did play a little bit more of a a little bit more of a next I I think he was next to eight, like, and more. I think I can see that. Again, we see him so advanced, so I don't know.

Speaker 1: Yeah. We'll we'll say Adams and McKinney Yep. In the midfield.

Speaker 2: And then

Speaker 1: So then who are your advanced midfielders?

Speaker 2: I'd be Pulisic and Tillman with Balogun up top.

Speaker 1: I think I'm with you. I think I could also see a wrinkle where he just he just goes balls to the wall and starts Gio Reina.

Speaker 2: I think that'd be crazy. Can we talk about Gio Reina for a second? I know we've touched upon it.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Speaker 2: Okay. I don't know how to say this in the right way.

Speaker 1: You just need to say it, buddy.

Speaker 2: There is a very big chance that the Gio Reina could be a disappointment in this World Cup. And, like, that he doesn't provide that spark. And if he's and if he doesn't provide that spark, it's it's it's an insane it becomes insane when you don't take a guy like Testament or Morris or any of these other guys that can maybe provide some sort of two way value to it over the potential of Gio Reyna. I think we've all kind of been resigned to the fact that Gio Reyna is so talented that he should make the roster, but I don't know, man.

Speaker 1: Pochettino just loves him. You know? And, like

Speaker 2: Which I I guess is it because he's like, Reyna is like that kinda, like, fantasy footballer you think about. You know what I mean? When you're like this guy who's so silky smooth, he's so beautiful with the ball, he can make these beautiful runs, his pat like, is that why? Because Yeah. I just I I think he only brought on Poch Reyna to be a situational player. You need chasing a goal. You need his creative spark. Go, Gio Reyna. Go. Because if Gio Reyna is up there, you're you're asking so much the rest of the park, I think, to cover ground for him as a whole. Because rightfully so, Gio Reina, you shouldn't be asked to be doing so much defensively. We want you to be focused offensively. That's where you're good at. Or if god forbid, he if that blue sky thing happens and Gio Reina is our six, god help us.

Speaker 1: It's over. No. I I mean so, yeah, I think he's brought in mainly to be situational. I was shocked that he started him against Paraguay. Oh, yeah. For sure. I don't think he started against Uruguay, but maybe came on later.

Speaker 2: TK, now you say this. I I'm thinking about this. You could start against Australia. Australia sits in that low block. You need some guy to kind of unlock it. Okay. I rescind it. I think you're right. He definitely

Speaker 1: could I think you I mean, you think you started against Paraguay in in game one. You know? Same same sort of thing.

Speaker 2: I think we're gonna see so much situational tinkering, like, that even whatever lab we kind of agree on so you said potentially Pulisic Reyna and then Balogun up top, I'm assuming?

Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2: Yeah. I think you could see so much tinkering that, like, game by you there's a chance. I'll say it. You do not see the same starting lineup each game. I think it could change every single time.

Speaker 1: Which would be crazy because I think, like, Burhhalter just rolled out, like, the same 11 every single time.

Speaker 2: A MMA big Yeah. Central part of it. But I could totally see a world to where, okay, against against Australia, you need a guy who's gonna unlock a a low block. Gio Reina is creative enough to kind of do that. I can see a world where you start Gio Reina. I can see a world where maybe you need a guy who you need a guy that can chase and win balls and force players into mistakes. Okay. Brennan Aronson might be worth a start. Mhmm. I can see a world where you need good one on one players to kind of take on the defenders, take on, you know, a back five, take off fullback, and maybe commit a center back and be able to unlock space that could be Alex and Dejas. Again, I I can see a role where so much maybe Sebastian Burhalter gets to start at some capacity because he's so good at maybe pinging the ball up the field.

Speaker 1: Set pieces, man.

Speaker 2: And and you need him in set piece situations. Like, I can

Speaker 1: Gosh. I just I just heard Alexei Lallis in my head, and

Speaker 2: I Set pieces.

Speaker 1: I hate I hated it so much.

Speaker 2: Yeah. I do too.

Speaker 1: I hated it so much. I

Speaker 2: exact and, like, I'm saying, like, I think, situationally, you could see a different lap every single game.

Speaker 1: Are you I think we should start wrapping it up. So am I in in in am I hearing you, like, starting to come around on being more optimistic about it, if that is how you view it now, than where we were an hour ago when we started recording.

Speaker 2: No. Because the sentiment still scares the shit out of me.

Speaker 1: It does. It's it's such a glaring self imposed

Speaker 2: Because then your rotation piece could have been Tanner Tessman or eight

Speaker 1: or Tanner Tessman would have been a would have been starting for me.

Speaker 2: I think so too. I'm with you.

Speaker 1: Because you have McKenney at the roster if you'd said, yeah, with McKenney advanced and yeah. It's it's a it's a strange one. I would love to I would love to have more answers as to why, but I don't think we're gonna get So instead, I think what we have are a lot of versatile attacking pieces, a lot of defenders, and we are just gonna pray that nothing happens to Tyler Adams. And look, I've said on this show before that there is not a direct replacement for Tyler Adams. There's just nobody who can do what he does at the level that he does it. Aiden Morris is a poor man's version of that. Tanner Testament does it in a completely different way and would have partnered with Tyler Adams, I think, in a totally different way. And so I get that, like, maybe the argument is, like, hey. If Tyler Adams gets hurt, like, you're screwed either way. So it doesn't really matter if you bring I I I can I can understand and I can I can sympathize with that that argument? I can see that perspective. It still just feels like you alter the team and then you you you move. I don't know that there's an adequate, answer for, the midfield depth on here, but you know what? That's what we got. And we are just a few days you know, a couple of weeks away now from kicking this thing off. And, man, all of this talk like, we get in the weeds about the roster and the decisions that are made and all of those sorts of things. I am still really freaking excited for this thing.

Speaker 2: I am too. And we'll get a first glimpse of this team, Sunday when they play center goal on, in Charlotte. And TK, I will say this though. I think there's a major snub we haven't talked about.

Speaker 1: Uh-oh. Who's that?

Speaker 2: That guy on Instagram that kept saying he's gonna make the US men's national team Neil Kennedy. Man, those videos were so freaking funny because, like and for the listeners who knows, there's a guy named Neil Kennedy on Instagram, and all he does is post videos saying, if you're watching this in 2026, I'll be the starting forward for the US men's national team. And, like, I think everyone knows the bit, but, like, it's pretty hilarious because, like, he is this clearly, like, not super in shape guy. Good he looks great. Like like but just doesn't look like he's in shape.

Speaker 1: Like He's just banging goals into an empty Like a

Speaker 2: smashing goals in there, and it's and you're sitting there, and you're like, who the hell is this guy? And then he doesn't make the roster. And it's I went on the comments, and people were like, I think people generally thought he was gonna make the national team. There's no way. Right? Like, that's crazy.

Speaker 1: We're not a proper footballing nation. No. Yeah. It was all, like, a marketing bit. You know? He was trying to, like, pump up his, like, marketing consulting or something like

Speaker 2: gave freaking followers on Instagram. So, like

Speaker 1: He would deliver it straight to the camera. He's like, I don't I don't care what anybody says. I'm gonna be the starting center forward for the US men's national team.

Speaker 2: Brother got it on

Speaker 1: the sixth. Yeah. Then his brother was like, I have better genetics than other midfielders. 22 year old rookie midfielders in MLS hate to see me coming sort of thing, and it became this running bit with these brothers that were insisting that they were gonna make the US men's national team, and then they post training videos where they're just on an empty field banging in

Speaker 2: damn song.

Speaker 1: Goals from 35 yards.

Speaker 2: Oh my god. Neil

Speaker 1: Kennedy, brutal. Can't believe Neil Kennedy got left off this roster. Unbelievable snub. Unbelievable snub. My goodness. Oh, man. What was Pochettino thinking? Damn. That's an hour on the US men's national team roster. If you've made it this far,

Speaker 2: we'll us talk about group e? Come on, man.

Speaker 1: Yeah. Let's talk group e now. Just kidding. That'll that'll be next week. Arman, any final thoughts before we say goodbye?

Speaker 2: Get excited because the World Cup is right around the corner. And, if you're listening to this pod, be excited. I know we talked about national team and scrutinizing, but in the end, it's up to these guys to show why they were selected to the national team at the Pochino to show why he selected these guys to be on a national team. So it's gonna be interesting to see how they set up. We're gonna see a first glimpse in Senegal, then they play Germany on the June 6 in Chicago. So it's gonna be two big tests for them to kind of see how this team stacks up against Senegal, is a fantastic team, and Germany, who we know is a really good team as well.

Speaker 1: Yeah. A lot to be excited about for the next few weeks and the months ahead as the World Cup rolls in. We scrutinize this team because we care and because we love and because we want you to be an informed soccer fan going into the World Cup. So thanks for hanging with us. We'll be back next week. We'll dive back into our previews and maybe talk a little bit about that US men's national team friendly against Senegal. So we'll be back next week, but until then, I'm Tyler Kern from Monkey Fie. We'll see you next time.