Malik Tillman looked to have found his form heading into U.S. men’s national team duty this month, but instead will be watching from home due to a recent injury at club level.
Alex Zendejas has been named to the USMNT roster as an injury replacement for Tillman, U.S. Soccer announced Monday. Tillman suffered the injury in Saturday’s 4-0 Eredivisie victory for PSV.
The Bayern Munich loanee scored his third goal of the season in the result, breaking the deadlock in the 51st minute. However, he was substituted off in the 72nd minute and the reason for it become clearer on Monday afternoon.
Tillman, 21, joined PSV on a season-long loan earlier this summer and has proceeded to total three goals and one assist in seven senior appearances. Tillman did have an impactful performance in the UEFA Champions League last week, drawing one penalty kick in PSV’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla.
“It’s an unfortunate injury for Malik,” USMNT assistant coach B.J. Callaghan said. “He’s been in really good form somebody that we’re looking forward to having in and we certainly wish him a speedy recovery.”
The 25-year-old Zendejas has earned seven USMNT caps since confirming his international commitment in March 2023. Zendejas has scored two goals and added three assists in 10 Apertura appearances this season for Club America.
The USMNT faces Germany on Oct. 14 in Connecticut before also hosting Ghana in Tennessee on Oct. 17.
Logical replacement. I see him more as a CAM with the USMNT not on the wimg.
Especially with Gio undoubtedly severely limited in minutes due to his own injury, that hurts.
I’d probably call in Ferreira as a replacement. I think his future’s at the 10 spot and I still insist the quality is there.
Apparently Zendajas has been added as a replacement.
I can deal with that call too. Be really interesting to see if Zendejas gets a look as a 10 or a winger. He’s another one I’d personally be reluctant to give up on because he’s really technical and offers a skillset and an ability to play and combine in tight spaces we just don’t have a ton of.
Hopefully at some point he can put it together and get his confidence going. Similar to Ferreira, we’ve all seen the talent, just not the mentality yet.
Q: I wonder if we’ll see Aaronson as the 10/8 and then Zendajas becomes backup wing. That seems more likely to me.
Could be. It had actually been in my head that we needed to try both Ferreira and Zendejas as potential 10’s. People just continually underestimate how good Ferreira is and the main reason is they keep evaluating him as a 9 when IMHO he’s actually a 10 or maybe a tucked-in left or right wing. But he’s got attributes that jump off the field, at least to me. He’s incredibly technical, he’s got iron lungs like few guys I’ve ever seen, and that speed of his…my word. And he’s a good finisher…for a 10. If you want him to mix it up in the box and bang and leap with a CB, that’s not his game. He doesn’t have a scorching shot from distance. But I truly do think the dude has some serious value if he’s just used correctly; he’s just been somewhat miscast (and judged) at what isn’t his best position…though the fact that he can be used anywhere across the front (even in the course of a single game!) makes him even more valuable, IMHO, not less.
I personally was hoping Zendejas could be an inverted right wing and solve the problem of: how do we break down a low block when our blaze-it-down-the-flanks-and-cross “strategy” – if you can call it that – isn’t working? I love his ability to combine, I love his ability to play in the smallest of spaces, I love his pressing, I love how he can pick pockets and thieve balls in very dangerous spots on the field. But I have noticed that no matter where we line him up – left or right – he seems to occupy those middle three channels and in no way looks like a winger…no matter what you try to do with him, he ends up playing like a 10 anyway. But then he had that awful Gold Cup and people wrote him off…I mean, I get it, you only get so many chances and you’d better take them…but he still intrigues me. If Zendejas can just get over the yips like Josh Sargent did I definitely believe he belongs with this group skillwise and adds a component and capability we don’t have.
I love a lot of what Aaronson does, I love his skill on the ball and willingness to try stuff when he’s feeling it, and he’s got a set of iron lungs up there with Ferreira’s. But one thing I’ve noticed about him is, he doesn’t have any kind of collision radar…Zendejas and Ferreira do. Both are hard to foul in the open field; Ferreira’s so incredibly fast he’s never there to be fouled, and Zendejas is elusive as a fruit fly.
Aaronson on the other hand takes hard-to-watch kill shots and hacks every game…and he definitely seems to do better when you put him out in space. As a central mid he takes a frightening beating and can be bullied right out of the game. I said before Aaronson left Leeds he needed to get to a technical league like Italy…instead he got into the Bundesliga, which is at least as physical as the Prem…with predictable results.
All of which is to say, I think Aaronson’s an edge player. Ferreira and Zendejas belong in the spine.
Gregg may not see it that way, of course.
quozzel,
“But I truly do think the dude has some serious value if he’s just used correctly; he’s just been somewhat miscast (and judged) at what isn’t his best position…though the fact that he can be used anywhere across the front (even in the course of a single game!) makes him even more valuable, IMHO, not less.”
That’s one way to look at Ferreira.
What you say about him may matter with Dallas ( I have not seen a lot of him at Dallas) but it does not really matter with the USMNT.
Gregg clearly likes Jesus but only in a certain way. It may be that Gregg has capped him under the notion that he has a place with the USMNT but only if he can shine in the role he has been asked to play, the more traditional #9.
Jesus has had 23 games to make his mark and at this point, he is, at best, a spare part.
If Gregg agreed with you then you’d think he would changed things up so that Jesus would have a shot at being more effective as a 10.
But he hasn’t.
Either Gregg does not see Jesus as a 10 or Gregg is just not that into using a 10. It remains to be seen if Gregg uses Reyna or anyone as a 10.
And now that Gregg has, unwillingly or not, had Gio and Malik thrust on him as #10’s, along with other options, Jesus’ value to this team seems to be trending down. In any case, assuming Gregg has maintained his bias, Jesus may have no real future as a 10 with the USMNT.
“I love a lot of what Aaronson does, I love his skill on the ball and willingness to try stuff when he’s feeling it, and he’s got a set of iron lungs up there with Ferreira’s. But one thing I’ve noticed about him is, he doesn’t have any kind of collision radar… Zendejas and Ferreira do. Both are hard to foul in the open field; Ferreira’s so incredibly fast he’s never there to be fouled, and Zendejas is elusive as a fruit fly.”
In other words, compared to other pro soccer players, Brenden is clumsy,
“Aaronson on the other hand takes hard-to-watch kill shots and hacks every game…and he definitely seems to do better when you put him out in space. As a central mid he takes a frightening beating and can be bullied right out of the game. …I said before Aaronson left Leeds he needed to get to a technical league like Italy…instead he got into the Bundesliga, which is at least as physical as the Prem…with predictable results. All of which is to say, I think Aaronson’s an edge player. Ferreira and Zendejas belong in the spine.”
It’s been pointed out by others that one of Landon’s great assets was that he knew how to avoid taking a big hit. Saved himself a lot of wear and tear. Or you can just call him “elusive”. It helped in the long term but it also helps in the short term if you can stay upright and complete a play. It makes you harder to neutralize via physicality.
Whatever Brenden did to succeed at Salzburg it didn’t work in the EPL and it’s not really working in the Bundesliga.
It’s not going to be enough to just put him out on the wing. You’re going to have to come inside sometime. Or they will just come and get him out there. Brenden claims to spend a lot of time in the gym allegedly getting stronger and bulking up but that does not appear to be helping.
I don’t know how you remedy clumsiness or how you get more agile but if he does not fix this issue he won’t last long because he certainly is not a classic winger.
Uh no
We should hope that Gio has had his injury for the season.
I find this ironic because I commented before that if y’all are relying on Malik to replace Gio, well, Malik has an injury history of his own that makes for depressing reading:
Season Injury Games missed
22/23 Hamstring Injury –
22/23 Hamstring Injury 5
21/22 Corona virus 2
21/22 Knock 8
20/21 Fitness 22
20/21 Cruciate Ligament Rupture 35
18/19 Minor Knock 1
18/19 Knock 1
18/19 Unknown Injury 3
17/18 Ill –
17/18 Muscular problems 1
17/18 Knock 3
Injuries seem to be a very individual things.
Granted, there are a lot more games to be played and a lot more extensive travel but some players thrive on that and others do not.
Landon missed 5 games though injury his entire career, in 157 games for his country and 200 games for his clubs. FIVE.
LD’s injury avoidance is part of his greatness. Some of it is fitness, some is plain luck, but some of it is a way of playing. The same attribute that annoyed many fans, namely backing off certain 50/50 challenges, is part of it. “Picking your moments” if you will. Also it’s about getting rid of the ball sooner. Guys like Aaronson and Pulisic could benefit from modifying their approach slightly in this manner.
jb,
From early on LD was a really smart player.. That’s why I’ve always said was the way he was used was to line him up on the wing and then let him go where he needed to be.
He always knew where he needed to be and he had the ability to do something good with that knowledge.
You’re right, I don’t think any of the current players, even CP, are anywhere near as savvy as he was.
While LD was (is) up there in the USMNT pantheon in the GOAT debate one of his greatest assets was his speed. His favorite move was to knock the ball 10-15 yards behind his defender then sprint past them. A clipped heel, or a pulled shirt is much less detrimental to ones health. And as “jb” points out he rarely went into 50/50 challenges. Additionally being the face of MLS he was often handled w/ kid gloves.
I had high hopes for Zendejas ahead of the GC but believe he tried to be too much in a weak squad. I’m hoping that being surrounded by the A-Team he’ll be able to prove he can be a solid contributor. He has the talent, but needs to find his roll within the team.
Was disappointed that Malik had to withdraw as he was rounding into good form with PSV and could have proven he’s the natural challenger to Reyna as an ACM.
Lost in Space,
Speed kills.
Speed gets you somewhere before the other guy. But once you are there, you have to be able to do some damage with your hard won advantage
LD could do damage with his hard won “advantage.”
Fast guys like Ferreira, Cade Cowell and others? Not so much.
As for Malik as a “natural challenger to Reyna ” unfortunately they are similar in that they both have depressing injury histories.