Damion Downs is quickly making a positive impression for his new club Southampton.
Downs scored his first goal for the club in Saturday’s 2-1 friendly loss to Espanyol. U.S. men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino was in attendance to see his player get off the mark for the English second-tier club.
The summer signing’s one-time finish nestled into the top-left corner.
Downs, who joined Southampton from German side Koln FC this summer, will aim to make his EFL Championship debut on August 9 against Wrexham.
Christian Pulisic assists once in AC Milan’s win over Liverpool
Christian Pulisic registered his first assist of the summer in AC Milan’s 4-2 win over Liverpool.
Pulisic’s upfield pass was slotted home by Rafael Leao for a 1-0 Rossoneri lead.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek also scored for Massimiliano Allegri’s squad while Noah Okafor added two goals off of the bench.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo scored the lone goals for Liverpool.
Pulisic was substituted off at halftime while fellow U.S. men’s national team star Yunus Musah played 45 minutes off of the bench.
Both players will continue preseason camp against Australian side Perth Glory on Thursday.
IV,
“we have hired poch for a job and not to watch his Local. or to scout the same guy we already had in camp this summer. we have a finite amount of weekends between NT camps/games. spend it efficiently. go watch someone who has been out hurt or is a new prospect.”
Who is we?
I did not realize that you had Pochettino’s work schedule. So the Espanyol /Southampton game was not on the approved list of games for him to watch?
Who made up that list? You?
“. if he’s expensing USSF to watch his Local with the excuse downs is there, that’s sketchy.”
1. What makes you think he is expensing the USSF for this match?
Where is your proof?
2. How do you know he saw enough of Damian at the Gold Cup?
Maybe he needs to see more. More important, Damian is healthier now and that makes him almost a completely different player.
If you want to fire a guy for cause, you’re going to need more than the extremely thin case you just made against him.
you’re kind of struggling with why it doesn’t make sense to be scouting a guy you just had in a month long camp for 8 games. it’s not that hard. maybe play him more than a single game’s worth of minutes while you have him.
re “expensing it,” you seem to suggest my theory is outlandish. except USSF posted social media of the staff saying they were there to scout downs. which not shockingly suggests we paid for it as a scouting trip. y’all are the ones who said, but TIV, this is really his former Local FC where he beds down now. that it was more about watching espanyol play where he lives. ironically you’re the ones supplying the competing explanation where it feels more cynical.
to me it’s we’re not paying you $6m+ to go watch a player you just had for a month to watch, or to watch your local FC play. we’re paying you to figure out the tactics and scout NEW players.
last, it would speak to the fecklessness of the NT in general if we can’t seem to figure out whether a guy in camp all summer is worthy or not. the normal way about it would be he plays an extended period while we had him. does something or not. but as is typical we were trying so hard for a trophy we fixated on a lineup that then couldn’t get it done. and so we’re now scouting a guy we had for a month because we didn’t learn enough.
based on the penalties i think he’d have handled, say, guatemala fine.
absurd.
IV,
He didn’t play Downs more because he was injured. Isn’t that one of your crusades?
So who died and appointed you as Pochettino’s hall monitor?
you’re the ones who responded to “why are we scouting the same guy we just had” with “no, this is his local team he’s watching.” as in he really wants to watch the opposing team and not our player. i am just saying that’s worse.
if he doesn’t want to be criticized he can win games.
he was hurt during friendlies and group. he was well enough to be subbed on in knockouts. i am simply saying why not play him actual minutes where he can be judged.
and you’re missing that dude having been in front of them for a month must have given some impression. good or bad. if it’s bad, cut bait. if it’s good, we see who’s healthy in september and consider him again. i don’t get why you need to scout someone you’ve just watched play for a month. it’s not efficient.
similar lines, you either like paxten or mcglynn or not. you shouldn’t have them for nearly 1/4 of an EPL season and still be hmmm jury’s still out on this one.
it’s no wonder this moves at a snail’s pace.
IV,
” i am just saying that’s worse.”
What’s wrong with him watching a local game just for fun?
“if he doesn’t want to be criticized he can win games.”
Winning games does not insulate you from being criticized. You will criticize a ham sandwich for being a ham sandwich.
“he was hurt during friendlies and group. he was well enough to be subbed on in knockouts. i am simply saying why not play him actual minutes where he can be judged.”
You just answered your own question.
“and you’re missing that dude having been in front of them for a month must have given some impression. good or bad. if it’s bad, cut bait. if it’s good, we see who’s healthy in september and consider him again. i don’t get why you need to scout someone you’ve just watched play for a month. it’s not efficient.”
You should read what you write.
They had Downs in for x amount of time and saw whatever they saw;
Positive and negative.
Now you’re raising fucking hell and being a dick because Pochettino watches Downs in what amounts to an intramural game around the corner from his house. We don’t know if this was preplanned or not.
If you were the manager of the USMNT I’m sure you would have already seen enough to sort out Downs.
But Pochettino is not you and he does not possess your keen eye for talent.
There are differences.
“similar lines, you either like paxten or mcglynn or not. you shouldn’t have them for nearly 1/4 of an EPL season and still be hmmm jury’s still out on this one.”…..it’s no wonder this moves at a snail’s pace.”
Part of the issue appears to be approach. You view players in isolation.
Pochettino views players in the context of how they interact with the other players , which means he sometimes has to wait to see how those other players are doing.
He coaches for a real live in person soccer team.
You coach for a fantasy league.
There are differences.
IV,
“keeping was poor on the finish.”
when they score the keeping is always poor.
“personally i think that throughball suggests people are wrong on wing vs. CM for pulisic”.
Why?
I’ve seen him make that pass when he was lined up as a wing and when he was lined up as a CM. The important thing about it is to have Leao at the end of it not Patrick.
Now when they were trying to pound square peg Felix the cat into a round hole they put Felix in the middle and ran CP out wide. CP’s numbers dropped but I couldn’t tell you if that was because CP was on the wing or because Felix was in the game and just brought everyone down.
re the keeping, there are several good angles to see the keeper is right where the ball goes, and for inexplicable reasons bends down then still has the shot whiff between his arms. i think he sold out too hard low near post.
personally i think that throughball suggests people are wrong on wing vs. CM for pulisic.
that is also the sort of direct, outlet and play fast, counter soccer i advocate. win the ball, get in space or outlet, 2 passes, shot, goal. no farting around, no turning it back to wait for numbers. was skillful to watch. wasn’t kickball.
keeping was poor on the finish.
Probably safe to say Puli can play wide or central for us. Tend to agree with the counter comment but one major problem is we don’t have a Leao…
We have a Flo and A Weah ALSO Pepsi has scored this exact type goal at PSV
IV: Poch must agree with you since Pulisic has played centrally the last 3 matches he’s played for the US. Did you see my breakdown of all our summer goals? Almost all came on quick attacks similar to this.
————
McGlynn (Türkiye) 15 secs from Freese to back of the net.
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Tillman vs TnT (1&2) turnovers from Luna and Tillman high pressing
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Agyemang vs TnT 50 yd diagonal ball to Luna sprinting behind the backline deflected off Pat and in.
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Aaronson vs TnT couldn’t find extended clip of buildup but BA runs behind the backline, beats his man and scores
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Wright vs TnT Arfsten plays ball behind defense Haji runs 40 yds to win cuts inside scores
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Tillman vs Haiti long ball to Pat, Aaronson and Tillman have 40 yd sprints to get second ball,
Aaronson has to sprint to get to the initial rebound and hit Tillman back post.
——-
Agyemang vs Haiti ball over top to Pat, goes from our half line to back of the net in 8 secs
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Luna vs CR sprints about 30 yards in 4 secs from Richards passing it from before midline to goal is 7 secs.
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Arfsten vs CR Richards-Tillman-Agyemang-Tillman-Arfsten 8 secs goal covers about 50 yards
———
Luna vs Guatemala only real methodical build up goal 11 touches about 40 secs
———-
Luna vs Guatemala (2)
Berhalter takes the ball 12 secs later Luna has it in the net, Seb-Tillman-Seb-Agyemang-Tillman-Luna
ok, whatever, the A team hasn’t done that AT ALL and the B team if you actually watched the games, didn’t do it for the tough friendlies or the final. “but january,” “but trinidad,” “but haiti.”
it’s usually something else and it’s schizo on a good day.
you’re also confusing occasional opportunism — often in more of a press approach — with strategic countering all day. like we’re gonna keep the shape tight, punish attempted attacks, and hit long outlets as opposed to wall ball the way out. what i want is a little less of a give and go finally works and we go, and a little more of we’re looking for a fast wing on the chalk 40 yards down the field every time we win a ball in certain areas.
we overcomplicate stuff. win it, get your head up, send it.
IV,
“keeping was poor on the finish.”
when they score the keeping is always poor.
“personally i think that throughball suggests people are wrong on wing vs. CM for pulisic”.
Why?
I’ve seen him make that pass when he was lined up as a wing and when he was lined up as a CM. The important thing about it is to have Leao at the end of it not Patrick.
Now when they were trying to pound square peg Felix the cat into a round hole they put Felix in the middle and ran CP out wide. CP’s numbers dropped but I couldn’t tell you if that was because CP was on the wing or because Felix was in the game and just brought everyone down.
to underline the backwards way this team works, downs got an in person scout by poch and co. at his weekend friendly. and i understand he was hurt some of gold cup but he was barely seeing the field when we had him healthy. so we’re going to continue to favor theory over praxis. we had the kid in for an 8 game window, played him 81′, and are now scouting him like some noob.
meanwhile agyemang had no goals in the knockouts. kind of like ream hogged back time then laid an egg in the final.
quit picking the team on paper. put dudes in a camp. give them similar minutes. see who emerges.
It was Espanyol vs Southampton, the Pochettino Derby. He was at Espanyol for 15 yrs as a player and manager and then went and managed at Southampton, that Downs was playing was just icing on the cake. If Downs hadn’t been there Poch would have still been there US Soccer just wouldn’t have tweeted about it.
y’all are too busy trying to ding me to get my point. we have hired poch for a job and not to watch his Local. or to scout the same guy we already had in camp this summer. we have a finite amount of weekends between NT camps/games. spend it efficiently. go watch someone who has been out hurt or is a new prospect.
all due respect to your arguments but there’s social media by the NT describing this as a scout with the full staff present. if he’s expensing USSF to watch his Local with the excuse downs is there, that’s sketchy.
he can watch espanyol when he’s done with us.
IV,
“we have hired poch for a job and not to watch his Local. or to scout the same guy we already had in camp this summer. we have a finite amount of weekends between NT camps/games. spend it efficiently. go watch someone who has been out hurt or is a new prospect.”
Who is we?
I did not realize that you had Pochettino’s work schedule. So the Espanyol /Southampton game was not on the approved list of games for him to watch?
Who made up that list? You?
“. if he’s expensing USSF to watch his Local with the excuse downs is there, that’s sketchy.”
1. What makes you think he is expensing the USSF for this match?
Where is your proof?
2. How do you know he saw enough of Damian at the Gold Cup?
Maybe he needs to see more. More important, Damian is healthier now and that makes him almost a completely different player.
If you want to fire a guy for cause, you’re going to need more than the extremely thin case you just made against him.
IV,
” we’re going to continue to favor theory over praxis. we had the kid in for an 8 game window, played him 81′, and are now scouting him like some noob.”
The game was at Espanyol.
Downs is at Southampton.
Pochettino lives in Barcelona when he is not with the USMNT.
Pochettino managed Espanyol. His successor, by the way, was Mexico’s Aguirre.
Pochettino’s first big claim to fame was when he took over Southampton. Allegedly he still has lots of friends there and you’d think those guys would have asked him about Damian before they signed him. Downs was allegedly hurt during the Gold Cup so this is a chance to see his old friends and see how well one of his important players is doing. What’s not to like?
I can’t think of one single bad thing about Pochettino going to catch Damian in this game though I’m sure you can.
As for Ream “hogging time” there is no such thing. You don’t seem to understand that Pochettino has very little time left to build a team. He’s experimented a little and we’ve all seen how well that worked out for him. I’m sure there are still new wrinkles to be added or explored but when it comes to your bald faced ,white hot, unleavened hatred of Timmy, barring something unusual, he’s probably going to be a starter and the Captain in 2026.
i think the part i don’t understand is we’re losing a lot. this isn’t the old coach had to prematurely retire for a health problem with the team at peak quality. this is we’re getting dumped out of tournaments regularly lately.
the “experiments” argument is funny. we xeroxed call sheets for months. arguing someone is experimental based on january and gold cup is misleading.
last, my argument does verge on tautological but if you push all your chips for a tournament behind a particular veteran that has to pay off. because that’s a results move and because you just took away everyone else’s opportunity to make their case. when ream plays badly in the final — the level game we really need players ready for — you just wasted that event. you bet on the wrong horse. you didn’t find the right one and in ream’s case no one else had a chance.
IV,
“i think the part i don’t understand is we’re losing a lot. this isn’t the old coach had to prematurely retire for a health problem with the team at peak quality. this is we’re getting dumped out of tournaments regularly lately.”
We lose because we are less than we have been and the opponents are better than us.
“the team at peak quality.”
Huh? Like when?
The TEAM sucks. They sucked every game under Gregg , all six years, and Pochettino , even if everything goes right going forward, will have a hard time getting them back to being useless.
You and everyone else on SBI obsessively focus on individuals.
At the USMNT’s level, teams ,not individuals win games. What’s apparent to me is six years of Country club Gregg has given Pochettino a pool of players who don’t understand how to win.
They have two difference makers, Gio and CP. Gio has been AWOL for a variety of reasons and CP can’t do it alone.
“you bet on the wrong horse. you didn’t find the right one and in ream’s case no one else had a chance.”
It’s a team game. And one wrong horse is not ruining this rodeo.
And the take on Ream is just a slightly different take from the one on Gio.
Whether you think Gio is one of quozzel’s yclept diva shitbags or an unlucky boy genius, everyone on SBI genuinely would like him to succeed.
Similarly every single person on SBI is uncomfortable about having to rely on Timmy being the starter in the 2026 WC.
But no one, least of all you, seems to have a plausible alternative. Trusty gets brought up because he’s left footed but his time at Celtic seems inconsistent and did not inspire confidence.
Whatever the ultimate solution is, it will be seen when the starting fullbacks return and the keeper situation is settled. Instability there is one reason the defense sucks
Freese should make the WC team as the designated penalty shootout specialist but he has no swagger beyond that.
“last, my argument does verge on tautological but if you push all your chips for a tournament behind a particular veteran that has to pay off. because that’s a results move ”
As I’ve said all along this USMNT is a work in progress. The USMNT in July will not be the same one that goes to the World Cup. When I say that barring the unforeseen, Ream will be the USMN’s starting left center back and captain at the 2026 World Cup, I mean that literally.
I expect Pochettino is going to try and make the unforeseen happen. However, if that does not work out, I’m okay with it. Timmy and his “flaws” are far from the biggest things wrong with this team. He does better when he does not have to carry two rookie alleged fullbacks, a slumping DM and a raw keeper. Fortunately for him Richards was okay this tournament.
Plus or Minus Downs scores 15 goals this season?
Plus or minus Sargent scores 20 goals this season?
Plus or minus Wright scores 15 goals this season?
Plus or minus Agyemang scores 15 goals this season?
Plus or minus Kellman scores 10 goals this season?
By the way Charlie Kellman signed for Charlton Athletic.
Plus or minus Dike scores 12 goals this season?
Poch is going to have a good look at these strikers/FWDS this year.
Unders on all of them. Those would be career highs except Kelman and Wright. Kelman led League One with 27 last year but QPR still weren’t interested and apparently Leyton his club he scored 27 for weren’t either. Haji has the best chance but I don’t trust Lampard not to mess it up.
Minus
Minus
Minus
Minus
Minus
Christian Pulisic is on another level in terms of the US players………playing Liverpool stacked with all their new multi-million-dollar signings he delivers, impacts the game (first half) and even gets several chances on goal.
Congrats Captain American
Dest went the distance for PSV. Pepi not in the 18.
Dest was on Nico Williams for most of the time Nico was in and did very well. The announcer kept praising him, of course it was on DAZN and the only English speaking countries they serve are US and Canada so probably speaking a bit to the audience.
——————-
Pepi has been training with the team, but no word yet on when he’ll see the field. The Netherlands has strict medical privacy laws so the team gives very little information on injuries. Ricardo is rumored to be a target of some top league clubs so …
Parma’s starting LW broke his leg in their friendly. We might see the Gio talks speed up.
Two Americans (maybe) score for Chivas in the first half, Ledezma and Cowell against San Luis.
Apparently Richie’s has been ruled an own goal.
JR,
Chivas’ uni looks just like PSV. Richie playing attacking midfield.
Interesting Cowell is now being used at striker. Hopefully he continues to produce this season. Still think he has a lot of upside.
Cowell has lots of potential and will probably get a lot better.
I don’t see him having a future with the USMNT. Is he cap tied to the USMNT?
Yes