A trio of injuries have forced U.S. men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino to make three roster changes for October’s international window.
Midfielder Tanner Tessmann and forwards Brandon Vazquez and Alex Zendejas have been added for the upcoming matches against Panama and Mexico. The trio will replace Johnny Cardoso, Folarin Balogun, and Tim Weah due to respective injuries.
Balogun suffered a dislocated shoulder on Saturday in AS Monaco’s Ligue 1 win while Weah did not dress in Juventus’ Serie A match. He had missed time earlier this season due to a hamstring problem.
Cardoso started for Real Betis on Sunday in La Liga play, but has dealt with his only injury issues this fall.
Tessmann, 23, captained the U.S. men’s olympic team this past summer and has earned two senior caps to date. At club level, the Alabama native transferred to Ligue 1 side Lyon from Serie A club Venezia.
The 25-year-old Vazquez remains at Liga MX club Monterrey this season where he’s tallied three goals in 12 matches. He’s scored four goals in eight senior appearances for the USMNT.
Zendejas, 26, has earned seven caps for the USMNT since committing his international future to the program in March 2023. He most recently returned from injury at club level with Mexican side Club America.
The USMNT will host Panama on October 12 in Austin, Texas before traveling to Guadalajara to take on Mexico three days later.
those arguing this has always been a club snobbery form team do not know what they are talking about. setting aside our historical issues getting big clubs to look at our players or keep donovan, friedel, etc. there are plenty of examples of “kirovskis” or “berhalters” who played a lot of their career abroad but sat behind MLS players for scheme or talent reasons. eg kirovski never played a world cup minute, and berhalter came off the bench one burst in three tourneys. despite “dortmund” and “palace.”
even during klinsi’s term, when the snobbery started, he might occasionally drop one of the fan favorites, jozy, dempsey, bradley, and diss their career choices. but it ended up being ironic commentary because he built them into the core of his team most nights.
no, the fanboys are wrong, rosters have not for about 30+ years been done on club locations alone, you have earned the team. and if it’s what we’re doing now, what we’re doing now doesn’t work. or are you watching games? it’s strange watching peopls savage the old coach but then circle wagons on doing a thing with the team after.
this team loves to default into whacking crosses in. and historically this team has usually had a mcbride, ching, gordon, casey, or the like to head them in. they wouldn’t be the whole selection, but we’d have one banger on the roster.
sargent is not that guy. sargent is an open spaces finesse guy.
i am talking a dude to throw on down 0-1 with 20 minutes left when the scheme offense isn’t working and we need a goal or we’re done. someone to run in the box for corners, kicks, and crosses. knock a header towards a net corner.
You’re being pretty fast and loose with facts. As far as Kirovski, perhaps Steve Sampson’s ‘98 squad with Chad Deering starting against Germany is not the best “good old days example”. Wegerle and Joe Max we’re English league vets, McBride was a Wolfsburg guy before MLS started. There was a lot of pressure and incentives for NTers to play in MLS and that brought guys like those along with Stewart, Dooley, Lalas, Wynalda to come back to America. So you had a lot of MLS players playing in front of Euro based guys but they had been Euro guys prior. Let’s also not forget Sampson and Arena’s obsession with David Regis, who was pretty poor for the NT but went to two WCs because he had a good accent. Berhalter went to Europe, but didn’t play much for Zwolle or Rotterdam before the 98 WC. When he began starting for Camburr in the Eredivisie he started playing a lot for the NT. Then he moved to Palace (who was is in 2nd tier then) and didn’t play much again. Arena played his guys Agoos, Llhamosa and Pope because they were in form and he knew them. By 2006 Gregg was 33 and the new “fanboy favorite” Onyewu was on the scene. What’s funny is in 2018/19 the complaint was “we’re play too many MLS guys when we have guys in Europe” (Acosta, Roldan, Zardes) then when we have an almost all Euro roster “we need system guys that can break ankles and run fast”.
JR,
“eg kirovski never played a world cup minute, and berhalter came off the bench one burst in three tourneys. despite “dortmund” and “palace.””
I don’t know what he is talking about here but IV would not know a fact if it came up and bit him on the ass and held on.
After Jeff Agoos got hurt, Greggie started and went 90 minutes in two infamous 2002 World Cup games, Mexico and Germany.
He’s the guy whose shot was notoriously “cleared ” off the lines by Torsten Frings, the German Weston McKennie.
It’s clear to me that Greggie was talented enough to maybe make IV’s select team.
Greggie did very well as a USMNT player and had quite a long career in Europe. Anyone who captains a team named Energie Cottbus is worth following. I was quite a fan of Greggie the player.
i know you don’t know crap if you think pope was bad or out there just because he was on DC. pope is probably the best CB we had from the 90s up through the bradley era. he was the second pick in his draft back before HGP when everyone went draft. athletic, could mark, could score goals (8 NT goals from the back). he was “boca before boca came up.” pope’s “sin” is in that harsh, biased era, he never went abroad.
now, being critical of lalas, agoos, berhalter, the other gawky, weak defense stick figures of that era, only good in aerial games, that might be a sign of good sense, like dissing the more recent omar G out of that same mold. but pope? you don’t know crap, then.
the set that followed, boca, demerit, gooch, that is probably the highwater mark for defensive US CB so far. this group should in theory be better than that but i ain’t seen it on the field yet. that group could hold peak spain on a good day. boca is probably one of the best 2-3 CBs ever. demerit is underrated (and definitely better than GB), messed up his eye and had injury issues at the end. gooch was sloppy as heck but could physically dominate people out of a game. we could badly use some CBs where they outbattle you all day and you aren’t getting anything off them. people can diss that all they like but they don’t know defense. i wish we had someone physical and good we could stick on an elite forward and frustrate them all night. and people forget gooch started in europe, was signed by ACM, played at the sort of teams that would now justify mckenzie.
if you want to see berhalter in his fully “glory” look up highlights for germany 4, US 1 in a friendly right before the 2006 world cup tournament, and watch dude get lit up. GB was getting a shot in the march 2006 window to be a starter that cycle. after that friendly, he never played for the US again and sat the bench for the world cup. and before you start selling some bull, he played another half a decade professionally. he simply was never starter material.
the myth of GB vs. germany is precisely that. is more people wanting to pout about a handball than reality. the ball was saved. we lost the game. at least the deluded brooks fanatics talking about that ghana sub performance are talking about a goal and a win. this is people talking about a ball never crossed the line like he scored it, then polishing his image based on he made it off the bench as an injury replacement for that single pair of games in 3 world cups.
which, if i want to be punchy, says he was seen as worse than lalas or agoos by more than one coach. as well as me. to me dude was a slow, lazy stick figure, like if you made mastro a center back. composed, low effort, no foot speed at all. there is a reason dude sat all those years and had 40-ish caps in a 10+ year stint.
dooley was similarly low energy but had a much better positioning brain. berhalter, to me, was like a slow mid pretending to be a back.
telling me how many ordinary caps kirovski and berhalter got misses the point. they were european stalwarts in an era not many were, and between themselves they got as many caps as landon TOTAL. barely ever saw a world cup. y’all have trouble understanding what it means to be on dortmund or palace and beat to the roster by, say, mathis or pope? my point is being abroad didn’t used to mean everything.
you can quibble all you want. tell me when they make the national soccer hall of fame.
i am not even going to dignify the idea i am being unfair to kirovski or berhalter or have spun the facts. if their era team ran like this team they would have started world cups for being in europe. instead, i think they have 2 world cup caps between them. kirovski didn’t make his teams. berhalter did but spent 2 whole world cups picking up splinters, then played a game and change off the bench in 2002 because agoos got hurt.
and that has to do with NT performance. kirovski has one of the all time screamers in a US uniform — on germany no less — but he never consistently produced. and GB is best known for the debatable CR handball, the germany play, and the germany friendly he got torched. all losses and fans pouting making excuses.
you can mock pope, boca, or gooch but people can actually make a positive explanation why they were on the field, teams defensed, goals actually in the net.
IV,
“i know you don’t know crap if you think pope was bad or out there just because he was on DC.”
Such drama queen behavior. No one in this thread said anything bad about Eddie.
“you can mock pope, boca, or gooch but people can actually make a positive explanation why they were on the field, teams defensed, goals actually in the net.”
Such malarkey.
You’re making up shit and arguing with yourself. No one is being critical of those guys. The only person mocking anyone is you mocking yourself.
You act like Craig Bellamy of whom it was said that if you left him alone in a room he would get into an argument with himself. You’re doing the equivalent of trying to draw attention to yourself by setting your hair on fire.
By the way, Berhalter was fired. He’s no longer here.
Why don’t you go piss on the Fire who hired him. Gregg and the Clown Car USSF gave us nearly six years of being ankle deep in shit. While, you obviously miss having him around to piss on, you’re missing a rather interesting approach to the USMNT by Pochettino.
Your loss.
Also according to Wikipedia Berhalter and Kirovski had a combined 106 caps for the US so I think they got called plenty.
Berhalter was the whack in crosses guy. Look at his Crew teams. Kei Kamara, Ola Kamara, and Gyasi Zardes scored tons of goals on crosses. Berhalter is no longer the manager of the USMNT.
——————
Over the last two years Pepi has more goals scored on headers than Vazquez, 3-2. Sargent has 6 in that span and Wright 2 in England but FBref doesn’t have stats for Turkey, Pefok 2.
Awesome opportunity for Vasquez and Zendajas. I love it!!!
me too. Hope they grab it and never let go
zendejas as a wing replacement reeks of more of going back to the old analytics-driven well, he got tried, he couldn’t create separation. we have a ton of younger upside wings we could look at. as it stands i feel, as with every call sheet for months, like we have too many strikers (4) and not enough wings. (2)
i understand there are theories on some players as multipositional “slashes.” i understand we tried that this summer. i understand it went badly.
this is becoming like a dog with a bone which defeats the point of hiring new coaches and telling yourself changes will be made.
“get some fresh faces in” is not zendejas.
he separated all the time, IV. Your memory is selective and biased
Zendejas’ problem in the National uniform was finishing…he got in the spaces easily, then scuffed finishes like a jittery high school kid
he may flame out this time, but it’s ninth chances…that is what ALL of these players need to get better at in the uni…finishing. It’s not because he couldn’t shake. He needs to finish his chances, which I predict he will seemIF he gets on the field.
we’ll see
not ninth chances…FINISHING chances
Good observation. It seemed to me he was really overthinking.
He should be more comfortable this time around.
If he gets to play it will be interesting to see if it makes a difference.
Cardoso was awful in the Betis game against Sevilla. He is a liability for the USA he just stands and ball watches, barely tries to tackle the ball from the opponent. His passing is bad too and not creative at all. SMH!
johnny occasionally shows attacking or defensive flashes but he looked out of his depth this summer, and what attack he does do, is like box play that’s not really what a 6 usually does.
i think we badly need to find some 6s who can play well for full games or game after game at their primary function ie sweeping the midfield. i felt like he, like a list of others, had proved unworthy. a well run team would move on. we are either perseverating or so up the tookus of analytics we ignore whether game play suggests someone is not up to the task. we like continue to try to convince ourselves of bad ideas.
tessmann wouldn’t have been my first choice but he would be on the list, i like his tenacity, and things tend to happen when he’s around. so give him his shot.
Thanks for that comment The Imperative Voice, I agree. We need some up and coming 6’s
striker: i mean they might as well approach this like adams isn’t playing anymore because 1/2 to 3/4 of the time — he isn’t. is out now, again. the play there was also poor this summer. so, to me, declare it open season and give a few a shot.
i say “a few” because we have a bad habit of just grabbing a fashionable choice nearby and making them the starter and giving them several games, then deciding maybe i made a dumb choice. so pick a few and have them compete for the job.
really we should be doing that everywhere but striker.
The Imperative Voice I like that Striker pun. I hope Pepi, Wright,Sargent, and Vazquez gets a lot of time upfront time up front. I like the Striker depth.
Striker: I do think it’s probably a lot of mental with Johnny. He went right from Brazil to Betis without a break and then a limited break this summer due to Copa. He was pretty successful in the dual DM role for Betis last year next to Rodriguez, who I think is more a traditional DM. This year mostly next to Roca who’s more a passing DM I think he’s more lost. Also appears there’s maybe some nagging injury. I don’t think Gregg’s one DM formation was good for him when he had to progress the ball and protect the CBs all by himself.
Johnnyrazor He does look a little burnt out and does seem lost at times. His urgency getting back solo on D needs to improve too.
He came up thru Internacional as a striker/10 and then got moved to MF. I think you see some of that lack of positional understanding at times. Definitely has some lack of urgency to get the ball off his feet. I’d say maybe he can learn but we said the same 3 yrs ago in Olympic qualifying. Some big league clubs thought it could be fixed so hope springs eternal.
A big break for Vazquez. With Sargent and Balo scoring for their clubs and Dike returning soon he may not have had a lot of opportunities with NT if not for this injury replacement.
——————-
I wonder what the reaction will be if the former Chivas man Zendajas gets on the field in Guadalajara?
do explain why a guy with 4G in 8 caps should rank behind a guy with 2 major reconstructive injuries, more caps, and fewer NT goals may soon be well? almost every single cap i have seen dike get, he looks like a nervous wreck — not unlike zendejas. hmmmm
you wonder why i throw around snobbery but that explanation comes too easily to mind when you favor english second division over MX first, and would demote the guy with more production and more of a traditional target game — even if we may need that.
IV,
“do explain why a guy with 4G in 8 caps should rank behind a guy with 2 major reconstructive injuries, more caps, and fewer NT goals may soon be well?”
Why do you need an explanation for something that has not happened and may never happen?
It is Pochettino who hands out the caps not JR.
“you wonder why i throw around snobbery but that explanation comes too easily to mind when you favor english second division over MX first, and would demote the guy with more production and more of a traditional target game — even if we may need that. ”
Snobbery: “to rebuff, avoid, or ignore those regarded as inferior.”
Snobbery sounds what you’d find in the duties section of a job description for a soccer team manager. In other words, snobbery is exactly what managers do.
There is good reason to think Wright and Sargent are better players than Brandon. If Pochettino thinks those guys are higher in the pecking order than Brandon I got no problem with that.
As for Dike you’re shitting all over him for no reason.
If you were paying attention, Brandon Vazquez has been called up NOT Dike has not so you got nothing to bitch about.
one guy is healthier and scores more often in fewer matches. on a well functioning team that’s not really a debate. this is about one dude plays in england and has been a theoretical favorite for years. but dude cannot stay healthy and usually looks nervous on the field for the US.
one of the US’ big problems is they are big on theory and light on practicality. we are so sure the system will work. we are so sure certain players will work — even the ones who never really have played well.
there are two basic words for this. arrogant. stubborn.
normal soccer teams who had horrific summers don’t come out the other side saying, hmmm, let’s try same formation, and let’s even start going back to the guys cut during covid. they move forward to what’s new in 2024.
the crazy thing is dude isn’t even playing games yet. for all we know dude is either an adams on health or a miles who comes back but looks a shell of himself. at minimum maybe have dude play a few months before we send the invitations.
V: and dude, i’m not confused, i am responding to someone acting like a guy with a goal every other cap should have few chances at the team, and be behind dike in the pecking order. who has fewer goals in more caps.
that’s setting aside US fans have become such stats-driven fanboys they are oblivious to skillsets and how players A B C might actually fit together in a scheme. this isn’t an all star team to honor the highest producers on the best teams in summer friendly tour spectacle. this needs to be a functioning soccer team that actually plays together and wins soccer games against organized teams that do choose their players wisely.
IV,
“V: and dude, i’m not confused,”
Sure you are.
Pochettino did not call up Dike over Brandon. Your faux outrage is misplaced. And Gregg, in case you did not know, is still fired. And Varas, BJ and Sarachan are nowhere to be found.
Brandon (Liga MX) has been called up instead of Daryl ( Championship) so your “snobbery” argument is moot for now.
There are many reasons why one player is called up over another.
The previous management was not great at explaining their rationale behind those choices, if they even chose to explain. When they did I often found their stated reasons to lack credibility. Eventually, I stopped paying attention to Gregg’s coach speak and like many here made my own educated guesses. It never bothered me much because if I were in Gregg’s shoes, I would never tell you anything I didn’t have to either.
All that smoke coming out of our takes on the topic was always just mostly speculation.
However, you also clearly believe that you know better than Pochettino how the team should move forward from Gregg and his Clown car. You seem to believe that you were the first and remain the only person who understands the nature of the challenge facing the USMNT.
You’re not.
The USMNT is not a high school, college or select team. They are not a club team.
They are basically a modified All Star team. At this point, they have only one overriding objective:, to advance as far as possible in the 2026 World Cup.
Pochettino seems to believe he has enough time to coach up this player pool ( and by this “pool” I mean every single USMNT eligible player that Pochettino thinks might be useful ). Like a lot of people in the rest of the world, I was doubtful about him having enough time with the team but , for now, I’m happy to let him make his case.
Nothing will be easy but there is historical precedent and if nothing else the team should be a fun thing to watch.
” i am responding to someone acting like a guy with a goal every other cap should have few chances at the team, and be behind dike in the pecking order. who has fewer goals in more caps.”
You are at best mixed up and at worst hypocritical.
In the example above ,you are saying Dike has fewer goals in more caps than Brendon. Your argument for Brandon over Dike is therefore stats driven.
Yet: “that’s setting aside US fans have become such stats-driven fanboys they are oblivious to skillsets and how players A B C might actually fit” together in a scheme.”
You criticize “stats driven fanboys” for being like you and having their choices driven by stats.
You can’t have it both ways, IV.
“this isn’t an all star team to honor the highest producers on the best teams in summer friendly tour spectacle. this needs to be a functioning soccer team that actually plays together and wins soccer games against organized teams that do choose their players wisely.”
Even if you truly believe that, nothing you have written is particularly insightful or helpful in how to achieve that goal. In a project like the one Pochettino has been hired for, the devil is in the details.
Everything you have written lacks details, context.
That’s because you are like all of us. You don’t have access to the most important details, namely what kind of people are these players? Pochettino, like Gregg before him, will get to meet these guys in person and in a group setting and get to manage them in real live games. That places you at a distinct disadvantage in terms of understanding what kind of people they are. I’m just some schmuck who knows a little bit about how to track things down. You think you’re better than everyone else on SBI and in the USSF ( you might be right about that) .
For any project in any profession the key is understanding what kind of people you are dealing with. The USSF is betting that Pochettino has the skill and experience to figure that out quickly and has the gravitas and skill to come up with a way to get this herd of cats to do what needs to be done.
It’s insanely difficult thing to do but it can be done.
Vazquez has played against one first team, Jamaica. His goals against Serbia’s domestic players, Trinidad, and Canada’s MLS based players. Dike has 3g in 10, his best against CR who had quit on their manager. No one knows what Daryl will be like when he gets back but he certainly muddies the waters for Vazquez who is already 5th in line. If Dike regains form he’ll certainly compete for the again “5th spot”. That doesn’t even take into account if Weah, Pulisic, or Reyna move into a striker like position. This is a big opportunity for Vazquez, it would have been highly unlikely he’d have had a chance until next summer if at all without the injury to Balogun. He’s had 1 career season with more than 10g. He’s also the oldest of the strikers with more than one cap. Duncan McGuire has more double digit goal seasons in MLS than Vazquez does. Striker isn’t a strong position in our youth system but with youngsters like Downs, Figueroa, and Zambrano developing in Europe Brandon’s best time is now.
If formations and Pochettino’s definition of the position stay the same as we’ve come accustomed to, I’d personally put Pefok ahead of both Dike and Vazquez – maybe even Ferriera. I think the opposition probably played a part in both these additions to roster. But it’s a fun debate – a recently returned from injury Dike – who has looked dominant at times when healthy in the Championship, or Vazquez – who we haven’t seen much of and could be one of those guys GB didn’t give much of a chance to. It’s an upside vs Brian Ching type.
first off, balogun had an assist in the last window and remains the most productive striker when healthy. people need to drop the club form silliness. none of the other supposed form guys had any G or A.
second, wright should be second choice, he’s had goals in big games in recent years.
third, pepi last was involved in a goal in 11/23 and before that was off NT boil. sargent has a low NT strike rate and last scored a US goal in like 2019 against cuba. spare me your club form responses.
fourth, vazquez produces in the shirt. vazquez is more of a target guy, which we need but don’t have. vazquez as third guy. and i know balogun is out, so it should be one more striker’s lucky day. then 3-4 wing players.
fifth, of the marginal options, it is actually ferreira produces in the shirt. he is more of a false 9 or swiss army attacker who can also play wide or AM. i thought he would fit the pep scheme as he can be kind of positionless and combine. but the 9 is disconnected. similar problem to what sargent has except i think ferreira is more athletic and versatile, could be carried on the roster to play AM.
i think they badly need vazquez around to bang for headers in close games. i am bored of both the club snobbery and the lack of attention to the type of service the strikers usually get and who is suited to it.
now, that service could change, and that might make others more valuable. if we truly play more transition soccer then you need forwards with some foot speed able to play in tight spaces going to goal. but i think too much of this team is based around naively assuming the game plan working without a hitch and vazquez is the crude but effective plan B.
IV, Balo was played in behind beautifully 3 times in the first half vs. Canada, and created exactly ZERO opportunities on goal with that. Unacceptable man. Any one of those is a goal, or at least a dangerous attempt on goal, maybe it changes things. Instead, it was like he was playing for Canada, where attacks went to die.
I am hopeful he can recover from this injury and show us all what I see him do for Monaco. I hope.
JR
Our # 9 candidates are diverse enough that I’m sure Pochettino is intrigued by the possibilities.
None of them are clones of the other, yet they do have some shared characteristics.
The good thing is that none of them, with the possible exception of Pefok, are at or near their peak. Pefok himself may be a bit past it. There’s room to grow there for all of them.
Based on the increasing amount of articles about him and his staff, it looks like Pochettino will try to get these players playing “their best position”.
I don’t know if Pochettino will succeed with this approach but it’s going to be fun to watch them try.
“Having announced the USMNT roster for his debut matches against Panama followed by Mexico, the Argentinian tactician was generous enough to call up Brenden. Now, ahead of these October friendlies, Poch is ready to give special attention to the 23-year-old. “I know when he arrived to Leeds, and of course the impact was amazing,” began Mauricio in an interview via Jonathan Tannenwald. “We’ll see the way that he’s going to evolve with us. When you watch, you feel something, but then when you create a relationship and you start to work with them, you start to feel if it is exactly what you thought before, or if it’s completely different when you met and you know the player,” continued Pochettino, while praising Aaronson’s versatility to play in different positions, be it the right or the left, No. 8, 10.
“He looks very professional, his standards are very high, he’s a player that always gives the best to the team,” added the former Tottenham boss, while highlighting the former Union Berlin star’s other qualities like ‘excellent‘ work ethic, ability to score and run behind the defensive lines, break the half-spaces while providing all kinds of alternatives to the game. However, this is what Poch believes it’s time to put a full stop at. The new USMNT boss rather wants Aaronson to choose a specific position and master it like no other. “He’s young, and it’s true that he’s playing in too many different positions. And maybe now it’s time for him to find his best position. To say ‘That is my best position, I’m going to perform here.’ We need to help him to discover where is his real position, and [where] he’s going to perform his best. And we are going to be there to try to help,” concluded Pochettino. ”
If that is how he’s thinking about BA, I’m sure we’ll all love to hear what he thinks of our # 9 candidates.
I wondered why he seemed to have been watching BA for a while then I remembered Bielsa, Pochettino’s mentor, was alleged to have been interested in BA even before Jesse. It wouldn’t be surprising if Pochettino has already picked Bielsa’s brain about the USMNT and their players.