I find it hard to imagine that Aaronson will not be on the final squad one way or another. His play in CL has shown he is a talented midfielder capable of scoring, making assists and pressuring opposing defenses against very good teams.
Also, Morris is quite likely to find his way onto the squad, especially if he has a strong season in Seattle. If nothing his speed will be valuable as a late game sub to run at tiring defenses.
All of Pulisic, Reyna, Weah and Adams need to get and/or stay healthy.
Finally, I think those in Ives list most likely to not make the final 23 next fall are McKenzie, Sargent, Busio, DelaTore. Who will replace them? An endless list of possibilities, including one or two not on anyone’s radar right now.
McKenzie has not played at the level that JAB has for as long as JAB has.
I’ve only seen McKenzie play for the USMNT. And in those games they played garbage opposition.
Based just on those performances why is anyone talking about him being comparable to JAB in ay way?
A World Cup roster is not about potential. At this point that is the only thing McKenzie has going for him. He’s had a pretty so-so season at Genk so far.
Never mind Brooks, why is McKenzie in the picture at all?
Right now, Sargent is probably the weakest of the front line players and McKenzie the weakest in the back. It would surprise me if Morris and Brooks did not somehow find themselves on the roster, either by replacing the first two outright or due to injury to other players.
We r not guaranteed a spot if we beat Panama. Costa Rica can still edge us out if we drop our two away matches and they win out.
I like the list but not sold on McKenzie. Still a lot of time for players to play their way in or out of the 23 but fun for discussion.
Also wondering if there’s a possibility that FIFA would expand past 23 in the covid era.
I take Brooks over McKenzie in the back.
Morris & Pefok are the first 2 reserves if any midfielders or forwards get injured in the last month up to tourney.
And 95% of this squad will be the same for 2026. wow.
“And 95% of this squad will be the same for 2026. wow.”
Four years is a very long time in soccer.
And , if by squad you mean the 23 man roster for the World Cup, 5% of 23 is 1.15.
In other words you expect a change of, at most, two players, for 2026.
That is possible but seems very unlikely.
Sean Johnson, Lletget, Ariolla, Zardes, Roldan, Yedlin, Aaron Long, Brooks, Acosta,JMO, all possibilities for Qatar aren’t likely to be at this level in 2026. Adams and Pulisic are legit health concerns after 4 more years of wear and tear. Both will be about 26-27 but it will be an OLD 26-27 with a lot of mileage on their tires.
Pepi, Gio, Musah, Miles, Zack, Timo, Brenden and Matt look possible.
While Lletget, Arriola, Zardes, and Roldan are technically possibilities for Qatar…at this point they’re long shots who’s best chance are injury replacements. Aaron Long is a Gregg favorite and will be given every opportunity to make the 23, but he’s got to show he’s healthy and capable at the club level again before I guess his opportunities.
S. Johnson, Brooks, & JMO are likely going to be part of the preliminary 30 player roster but will have to fight off challengers.
Acoast is the only “Older” player locked in right now. And that has more to do with lack of options, than anything he’s actually done.
–
26-28 yrs are usually considered the prime playing ages for soccer players. Of our current regular “A” Team players (Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, Reyna, Weah, Dest, Musah, Richards, M. Robinson, Aaronson) are all going to be in their Prime in 2026. If they avoid significant injury they should all still be significant players.
We’ll still have Luca DLT, McKenzie, Busio, Tessman, A. Robinson, Pepi, Sargent, Hoppe, Dike, Sands, Cardoso, from our current USMNT fringe players fighting for minutes with the USMNT.
The good news is that we have some very good talent in the pipeline to challenge what in 2026 will be the veterans…Scally, Che, Gomez (if he commits) Konrad, Baker-Whiting, Aaronson (the younger), Clark, Cowell, etc…
Then there are still a handful of duel national players who’ll commit and further strengthen us. That said I’d expect that if everyone stays healthy that we’ll retain close to 70% of the 2022 WC squad come 2026. The only thing we’re missing is a decent coach to manage them.
LOS,
“While Lletget, Arriola, Zardes, and Roldan are technically possibilities for Qatar…at this point they’re long shots who’s best chance are injury replacements. Aaron Long is a Gregg favorite and will be given every opportunity to make the 23….”
If you were the manager I’d be reassured. You have a logical, sensible point of view.
The thing is this manager is not as logical and sensible as you are. He’s bent on proving his “system” is superior. That’s why, on a regular basis, he pulls his head scratching moves.
Once they qualify, he’ll know his approach was right all along and he’ll get even more intense with it.
Which is why I don’t discount the possibility that he will take as many of his “boys” to Qatar as he can get away with, just to prove the haters wrong.
If you listen to those times when he allegedly takes “the blame” for a deficient performance what he really says is that the players did not implement the system properly. That’s why he spoke of “dominating” Canada.
In his mind the “system” worked, it’s just that the players failed to score.
He’s more concerned with the system than the results, because he’s “the system”. He did his job; it was the players that failed.
“26-28 yrs. are usually considered the prime playing ages for soccer players.
Of our current regular “A” Team players (Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, Reyna, Weah, Dest, Musah, Richards, M. Robinson, Aaronson) are all going to be in their Prime in 2026. If they avoid significant injury they should all still be significant players.”
Maybe. The new generation of players are starting much younger these days so that 26-27 may be coming down a bit in the next few years.
Four years is an awfully long time in soccer. 4 years ago, Green (now 26) and Tillman (now 23) were hot prospects who were really going to give the USMNT some options by this time. It hasn’t worked out that way.
Of your A team list only Pulisic and Weston are what you might call A list players at the world level (and that’s generous). The others have a ways to go to prove that they won’t plateau out in the next 4 years. For example, Bayern Munich have had defensive problems all season long and now Sule is leaving for Dortmund. The word is that they will be scouring the bushes for a suitable CB. Are they going to recall Richards? You’d think that if he was the solution, you’d read about it in the news, but you don’t.
“We’ll still have Luca DLT, McKenzie, Busio, Teasman, A. Robinson, Pepi, Sargent, Hoppe, Dike, Sands, Cardoso, from our current USMNT fringe players fighting for minutes with the USMNT.”
I love all those guys, but they are still potential top players, not actual top players. I can see a lot of them plateauing and /or being out of the topflight in the next two years.
Don’t get me wrong the USMNT had got a lot of fantastic potential for the 2026 team. But potential is not reality, not yet.
And this manager is about the worst guy I can think of to have in charge of building a team with them.
But there’s a very good chance he will be. Anyone who thinks otherwise has not been watching the USSF the last few years.
It’s 2022 and everything is political. This manager is a company guy and appears to have all his political ducks in a row with the authorities.
Let’s not take MLS players to the World Cup. We have better talent in Europe.
That’s some deep analysis! Some of are still stuck in 1999 with their anti-MLS bias. Who do we have better than Zumerman or better than Acosta as a back-up to Adams? And I also wonder if based on your logic, Pepi should not have been included a month ago, but now he should be?
The Qatar roster will probably have fewer MLS players than usual due to the fact that tournament will run right at the end of the MLS Cup. OTOH, the break comes three months into the European season, so more European players should be at peak midseason fitness levels.
McKenzie has not played at the level that JAB has for as long as JAB has.
I’ve only seen McKenzie play for the USMNT. And in those games they played garbage opposition.
Based just on those performances why is anyone talking about him being comparable to JAB in ay way?
A World Cup roster is not about potential. At this point that is the only thing McKenzie has going for him. He’s had a pretty so-so season at Genk so far.
Never mind Brooks, why is McKenzie in the picture at all?
Biggest concern is who can stay healthy. If Morris gets back to his old form, I think that would allow Reyna to play in the midfield because I would still want 4 players there, Pulisic, Weah, Aaronson, and Morris.
I find it hard to imagine that Aaronson will not be on the final squad one way or another. His play in CL has shown he is a talented midfielder capable of scoring, making assists and pressuring opposing defenses against very good teams.
Also, Morris is quite likely to find his way onto the squad, especially if he has a strong season in Seattle. If nothing his speed will be valuable as a late game sub to run at tiring defenses.
All of Pulisic, Reyna, Weah and Adams need to get and/or stay healthy.
Finally, I think those in Ives list most likely to not make the final 23 next fall are McKenzie, Sargent, Busio, DelaTore. Who will replace them? An endless list of possibilities, including one or two not on anyone’s radar right now.
McKenzie has not played at the level that JAB has for as long as JAB has.
I’ve only seen McKenzie play for the USMNT. And in those games they played garbage opposition.
Based just on those performances why is anyone talking about him being comparable to JAB in ay way?
A World Cup roster is not about potential. At this point that is the only thing McKenzie has going for him. He’s had a pretty so-so season at Genk so far.
Never mind Brooks, why is McKenzie in the picture at all?
Right now, Sargent is probably the weakest of the front line players and McKenzie the weakest in the back. It would surprise me if Morris and Brooks did not somehow find themselves on the roster, either by replacing the first two outright or due to injury to other players.
We r not guaranteed a spot if we beat Panama. Costa Rica can still edge us out if we drop our two away matches and they win out.
I like the list but not sold on McKenzie. Still a lot of time for players to play their way in or out of the 23 but fun for discussion.
Also wondering if there’s a possibility that FIFA would expand past 23 in the covid era.
I take Brooks over McKenzie in the back.
Morris & Pefok are the first 2 reserves if any midfielders or forwards get injured in the last month up to tourney.
And 95% of this squad will be the same for 2026. wow.
Agree
Exciting to think most these players will b hitting their prime in ‘26.
“And 95% of this squad will be the same for 2026. wow.”
Four years is a very long time in soccer.
And , if by squad you mean the 23 man roster for the World Cup, 5% of 23 is 1.15.
In other words you expect a change of, at most, two players, for 2026.
That is possible but seems very unlikely.
Sean Johnson, Lletget, Ariolla, Zardes, Roldan, Yedlin, Aaron Long, Brooks, Acosta,JMO, all possibilities for Qatar aren’t likely to be at this level in 2026. Adams and Pulisic are legit health concerns after 4 more years of wear and tear. Both will be about 26-27 but it will be an OLD 26-27 with a lot of mileage on their tires.
Pepi, Gio, Musah, Miles, Zack, Timo, Brenden and Matt look possible.
Everyone else lasting that long is questionable.
While Lletget, Arriola, Zardes, and Roldan are technically possibilities for Qatar…at this point they’re long shots who’s best chance are injury replacements. Aaron Long is a Gregg favorite and will be given every opportunity to make the 23, but he’s got to show he’s healthy and capable at the club level again before I guess his opportunities.
S. Johnson, Brooks, & JMO are likely going to be part of the preliminary 30 player roster but will have to fight off challengers.
Acoast is the only “Older” player locked in right now. And that has more to do with lack of options, than anything he’s actually done.
–
26-28 yrs are usually considered the prime playing ages for soccer players. Of our current regular “A” Team players (Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, Reyna, Weah, Dest, Musah, Richards, M. Robinson, Aaronson) are all going to be in their Prime in 2026. If they avoid significant injury they should all still be significant players.
We’ll still have Luca DLT, McKenzie, Busio, Tessman, A. Robinson, Pepi, Sargent, Hoppe, Dike, Sands, Cardoso, from our current USMNT fringe players fighting for minutes with the USMNT.
The good news is that we have some very good talent in the pipeline to challenge what in 2026 will be the veterans…Scally, Che, Gomez (if he commits) Konrad, Baker-Whiting, Aaronson (the younger), Clark, Cowell, etc…
Then there are still a handful of duel national players who’ll commit and further strengthen us. That said I’d expect that if everyone stays healthy that we’ll retain close to 70% of the 2022 WC squad come 2026. The only thing we’re missing is a decent coach to manage them.
LOS,
“While Lletget, Arriola, Zardes, and Roldan are technically possibilities for Qatar…at this point they’re long shots who’s best chance are injury replacements. Aaron Long is a Gregg favorite and will be given every opportunity to make the 23….”
If you were the manager I’d be reassured. You have a logical, sensible point of view.
The thing is this manager is not as logical and sensible as you are. He’s bent on proving his “system” is superior. That’s why, on a regular basis, he pulls his head scratching moves.
Once they qualify, he’ll know his approach was right all along and he’ll get even more intense with it.
Which is why I don’t discount the possibility that he will take as many of his “boys” to Qatar as he can get away with, just to prove the haters wrong.
If you listen to those times when he allegedly takes “the blame” for a deficient performance what he really says is that the players did not implement the system properly. That’s why he spoke of “dominating” Canada.
In his mind the “system” worked, it’s just that the players failed to score.
He’s more concerned with the system than the results, because he’s “the system”. He did his job; it was the players that failed.
“26-28 yrs. are usually considered the prime playing ages for soccer players.
Of our current regular “A” Team players (Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, Reyna, Weah, Dest, Musah, Richards, M. Robinson, Aaronson) are all going to be in their Prime in 2026. If they avoid significant injury they should all still be significant players.”
Maybe. The new generation of players are starting much younger these days so that 26-27 may be coming down a bit in the next few years.
Four years is an awfully long time in soccer. 4 years ago, Green (now 26) and Tillman (now 23) were hot prospects who were really going to give the USMNT some options by this time. It hasn’t worked out that way.
Of your A team list only Pulisic and Weston are what you might call A list players at the world level (and that’s generous). The others have a ways to go to prove that they won’t plateau out in the next 4 years. For example, Bayern Munich have had defensive problems all season long and now Sule is leaving for Dortmund. The word is that they will be scouring the bushes for a suitable CB. Are they going to recall Richards? You’d think that if he was the solution, you’d read about it in the news, but you don’t.
“We’ll still have Luca DLT, McKenzie, Busio, Teasman, A. Robinson, Pepi, Sargent, Hoppe, Dike, Sands, Cardoso, from our current USMNT fringe players fighting for minutes with the USMNT.”
I love all those guys, but they are still potential top players, not actual top players. I can see a lot of them plateauing and /or being out of the topflight in the next two years.
Don’t get me wrong the USMNT had got a lot of fantastic potential for the 2026 team. But potential is not reality, not yet.
And this manager is about the worst guy I can think of to have in charge of building a team with them.
But there’s a very good chance he will be. Anyone who thinks otherwise has not been watching the USSF the last few years.
It’s 2022 and everything is political. This manager is a company guy and appears to have all his political ducks in a row with the authorities.
Let’s not take MLS players to the World Cup. We have better talent in Europe.
That’s some deep analysis! Some of are still stuck in 1999 with their anti-MLS bias. Who do we have better than Zumerman or better than Acosta as a back-up to Adams? And I also wonder if based on your logic, Pepi should not have been included a month ago, but now he should be?
The Qatar roster will probably have fewer MLS players than usual due to the fact that tournament will run right at the end of the MLS Cup. OTOH, the break comes three months into the European season, so more European players should be at peak midseason fitness levels.
hard to believe that McKenzie is above John Brooks at this point, but aside from that, I don’t have any issues- it would be a great sqaud
Jon Brooks had historically been a much better tournament player than quick window player. I take Brooks over McKenzie based on that.
McKenzie has not played at the level that JAB has for as long as JAB has.
I’ve only seen McKenzie play for the USMNT. And in those games they played garbage opposition.
Based just on those performances why is anyone talking about him being comparable to JAB in ay way?
A World Cup roster is not about potential. At this point that is the only thing McKenzie has going for him. He’s had a pretty so-so season at Genk so far.
Never mind Brooks, why is McKenzie in the picture at all?
Biggest concern is who can stay healthy. If Morris gets back to his old form, I think that would allow Reyna to play in the midfield because I would still want 4 players there, Pulisic, Weah, Aaronson, and Morris.