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Bruce Arena not expecting to have DeAndre Yedlin for September World Cup Qualifiers

Bruce Arena is not expected to have DeAndre Yedlin in his side for the next slate of World Cup Qualifiers.

The U.S. Men’s National Team manager told CBSSports.com that Yedlin will not be available for selection when the Americans face Costa Rica and Honduras over Labor Day weekend.

Yedlin injured his hamstring during Newcastle United’s preseason and he missed out on their first two Premier League matches. He started 21 games for the Magpies last season, scoring once and providing five assists. He last played for the USMNT in a friendly when they drew Mexico at Estadio Azteca on June 11.

With Yedlin sidelined, the U.S. right back position is one Arena will have to deal with heading into a pair of qualifiers against teams with dangerous wingers. Graham Zusi played well at the CONCACAF Gold Cup and stands a good chance at getting the starting nod, while Tim Chandler remains a possibility despite his past struggles with the national team.

Arena will release the squad for the next round of qualifiers on Sunday.

Comments

  1. The other issue is who will be available for CB, because if we have both Brooks and Gonzalez for CB, then Cameron can play RB.

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    • It really scares me, but I suspect we’ll see a 3-man defense next week. It could be fine, especially for the road game at Honduras, but it really puts the pressure on the midfielders to help out. If Arena does go with a 3-man D, it would of course then impact who he uses as midfielders.

      Another option that really, REALLY scares me is that Arena could go with a 3-man D, using a midfielder that can slide back into a true defender role. In that case, the plan could be to have a 3-man D until the US has a lead, and then slide the midfielder back into a true defender role. I don’t think Arena would use that idea, but after a few years of Klinsman’s tactics, I’ve learned to not dismiss such a concept.

      Reply
  2. Everyone’s whining about Zusi, but I’m more concerned about Yedlin losing too much ground to reclaim his spot on a recently promoted club.

    I was concerned about this when the stated his injury length/timeframe, and I’m even more concerned now. Hopefully, I’m wrong.

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    • I haven’t tuned in to watch Newcastle yet, but as long as they’re losing without Yedlin in the lineup there should be a good chance for him to make his mark when he is back. ITs not like he would be disrupting a well oiled machine.
      As for the RB slot I would be surprised if Zusi isn’t the man to fill the hole here. Not my personal pick, but Bruce showed plenty of faith in Zusi this summer.

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  3. I also would like to challenge anybody to show me on what planet did Zusi show well in the GC?? We all know that him making all tourney team for the Gold Cup was misleading because of the lack of first teamers playing in the tournament for every team to begin with and if we’re being honest the Concacaf region is not littered with class RB’s either

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    • i thought zusi did fine in the final, so there’s that. and i think he’s likely good enough to help us qualify from concacaf.

      so long as he’s not keeping a better—or more promising—player off the field, then i don’t care that much that he plays these games; seems like arena’s set on making “zusi-as-rb” happen, in any case.

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  4. Please God don’t make me have to watch Graham Zusi play RB for the NT again. Can’t wait for those explosive runs and overlaps Zusi makes down the wing and the one v one moves he puts on defenders as he gets into position to get his cross in, really a great RB that Zusi (tongue in cheek). Well if our NT setup wasn’t so MLS biased maybe we could see one the better RB from the Bundesliga play that position for us, maybe if we where nicer to the guy instead of throwing shade his way he’d actually give a damn.

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    • If you’re talking about Timmy Chandler, what has he ever done in a US jersey that would give you the idea he’s an upgrade on Zusi?

      I dunno if it’s a question of the fact that he rarely if ever seems to travel well, or if he just never transplanted well, but for whatever reason Chandler’s a liability for the USA most times…and rarely if ever seems even close to the guy he is in the Bundesliga, where I will admit he often looks good.

      Zusi’s another of those guys everyone loves to hate at the moment right now. I never understood it. I wish he had a little more speed, especially catch-up speed. I wish he was a little less raw as a defender, but he’s still been doing that job less than a year and he’s improving in leaps and bounds at it. Why the hate?

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      • Let’s be honest, At no point is Zusi close to the level of Chandler, unfortunately TC hasn’t shown well consistently with the Nats and he seemingly has lacked heart or turned down call ups for multiple reasons. JK called him out years ago regarding if his heart was into playing, and TC did himself no favors with the scared to fly comment as well. All this to say that yes, Chandler should be called in because of ability and success in the Bundesliga but at the same time his past performances and weird passes on a few call ups makes you wonder if it’s worth it to continue including him.

      • I don’t know what level of Timothy Chandler you’re referring to, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a worse player in the USMNT shirt than Chandler. Anyone, including Zusi, would be an improvement.

      • 1. Chandler is better than Zusi by a good amount.

        2. The Chandler that plays in the Bundesliga and the USMNT is the same person/player. He doesn’t magically become a worst player when he puts on the USMNT shirt.

        3. So where does the narrative come from? From natural bias from certain fans/pundits. Every player in the national team pool has good and bad performances. With Chandler some fans have blinders on when he plays well but the moment he has a down game they pay more attention and can suddenly remember every Chandler touch of the ball.

        That simple.

        If you’re a big fan of a certain player most fans naturally seem to be oblivious to bad performances but remember all the good ones. Same thing the other way around. Its why most mothers probably think their son(s) are attractive, whether its true or not.

      • Why is it that Chandler is vilified for allegedly (I don’t remember if there is proof of this out there or it was just rumor and didn’t want to look for it) turning down a call up, yet Nagbe is probably the second most popular USMNT player right now and he turned down a call up allegedly because he wasn’t going to start.

      • @Bryan

        “Because Chandler has been horrendous every single time he has put on the shirt”

        no, he hasn’t. he’s had a few very bad games for us, but i remember after his first 5-6 appearances, he was being heralded as our long-term answer at right back. i’m going to guess the truth is somewhere in between, but then, that doesn’t make for hot takes on the internet.

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