USMNT news, results, and roster

Phall

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I'm creating this thread to be a catch-all for USMNT updates. I find myself frequently mentioning in other soccer threads that the USA roster has been racially replaced. Despite a massive, steady influx of hispanic immigrants, the team always features a preponderance of blacks. This thread will be for focusing on the promising white players still in the ranks and discussing their roles. However, I'm going to start with some team history to put the current state of affairs into perspective.

The 1990 World Cup marked the first year the USA qualified to participate in 40 years. The roster of 22 included 2 blacks (Jimmy Banks, Desmond Armstrong) and 20 whites. Tab Ramos was a naturalized Uruguayan.
USAWorldCupFacts-1990Team.png


The 1994 World Cup team of 23 featured 2 blacks (Cobi Jones, Earnie Stewart), 1 hispanic (Hugo Perez), and 20 whites. This tournament was held across the United States and was the catalyst for lots of investment in American soccer infrastructure, from the formation of its professional league (MLS) to the creation of youth academies. MLS was formed with a very restrictive salary cap save for its Designated Player exceptions, and the vision was always to grow the league slowly and to avoid large-market dominance. There was also a cap on foreign players per team, which has been malleable but still remains to this day, with the stated intent of growing the domestic pool of talent.
USA-1994-WC-Cup-team-1024x660.png


The 1998 World Cup team of 22 included four blacks (Eddie Pope, David Regis, Earnie Stewart, and Cobi Jones) and 18 whites. Pope and Jones had gone through the collegiate ranks, excelling at big schools, whereas Regis and Stewart were foreign-born and grew up playing in Europe.
1998%20WC%20USA.jpg


The 2002 team of 23 was comprised of 17 whites and 6 blacks (Tony Sanneh, Eddie Pope, Carlos Llamosa, David Regis, Cobi Jones, and DaMarcus Beasley). While Llamosa was naturalized late in the game, as he had no chance of playing for Colombia, Sanneh and Beasley were born in the USA and ascended through college soccer as well.
usmnt-2002-world-cup-korea.jpg


In 2006, things were still rather 'business as usual' in terms of the racial composition of the player pool. The World Cup roster of 23 featured 17 whites, 6 blacks (Tim Howard, Eddie Pope, Oguchi Onyewu, DaMarcus Beasley, Eddie Johnson), and 1 Asian (Brian Ching, mixed Hawaiian/Chinese). Tim Howard (black father white mother) caught the fancy of global club powerhouse Manchester United, and was brought over at a relatively young age to be groomed as their full-time keeper. This began a twelve-year reign as national team starter. Howard and Eddie Johnson, a forward, were the first black players to start at their respective positions for the USA in the competition. Despite the Mexican immigration rhetoric in the public sphere, there were no Hispanics representing the USA at the international level.
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In 2010, the thumb on the scale began to manifest. The USA fielded a team of 23 with 9 blacks (Tim Howard, Oguchi Onyewu, Clarence Goodson, DaMarcus Beasley, Ricardo Clark, Maurice Edu, Edson Buddle, Robbie Findley, Jozy Altidore) and 2 mestizos (Franciso Torres, Herculez Gomez). All four forwards were non-white. The team counted two Jewish players in its ranks for the first time (Benny Feilhaber and Jonathan Bornstein).
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German-born internationalist coach Jurgen Klinsmann led the team in 2014. His celebrity within the sport granted him rather unprecedented freedoms within the US Soccer power structure. While there had always been naturalized players included on the squad, Klinsmann incorporated "recruiting" as a practice. The final 2014 World Cup team of 23 had 11 whites, 9 blacks (Tim Howard, DeAndre Yedlin, John Anthony Brooks, DaMarcus Beasley, Tim Chandler, Fabian Johnson, Jermaine Jones, Julian Green, Jozy Altidore) and 3 mestizos (Nick Rimando, Omar Gonzalez, Alejandro Bedoya). Again, two Jewish players were included in Yedlin (Jewish mother) and Kyle Beckerman. Whites were a majority-minority for the first time, and amongst the black players were five German-raised mulattos (Chandler, Johnson, Jones, Brooks, and Green) who spoke varying degrees of broken English. This was the first time that a player who had never lived in the United States would play for the nation. It softly raised questions of nationalism expressed as "allegiance" and "dedication" in the limited American soccer press. Klinsmann also excluded longtime captain and team talisman Landon Donovan to include the 18 yr old Green. While it remains common practice for overmatched international teams to include their veterans, Klinsmann opted for the modern selection approach of elite nations. The team was not successful.
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The United States failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2018. Klinsmann was fired in 2017 during the qualifying games, and placeholder coach Bruce Arena did not manage to undo the mistakes of his predecessor in terms of team cohesion, roster construction, and attitude. Despite all the billions of dollars in investment infrastructure, an increasingly competitive domestic league, and a new focus from European clubs on prospect signings, the USA crashed out in the group qualifiers, finishing behind Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and Honduras. This embarrassment was finalized in the last of the ten-game "hexagonal" playoff, as the team lost to Trinidad and Tobago, an island nation with a population of 1.3 million and eight losses in its first nine matches. The T&T loss was surrendered by a US team with just four white starters, and the roster of 23 included 12 whites, 7 blacks (Tim Howard, DeAndre Yedlin, Darlington Nagbe, Jozy Altidore, Bobby Wood, DaMarcus Beasley, Kellyn Acosta), and 4 mestizos (Omar Gonzalez, Jorge Villafana, Nick Rimando, Alejandro Bedoya).
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a notably asinine marketing slogan

The current head coach is Gregg Berhalter, who was seen as a safe but unspectacular choice after a long stretch of success in the MLS ranks. He was tasked with pushing out the older players (not tough with this group) and ushering in the next generation, so to speak. Covid restrictions have pushed back the start of 2022 CONCACAF qualifying and changed the format to allow more nations to play each other. Since the MLS recognizes international dates but plays March-through-November rather than the traditional September-through-May, Berhalter has not been forced to nail down a true first team just yet. Based on previous rosters, camp call-ups, and selection trends, the USMNT will be minority white in the immediate future and average about five white starters at a time.
 

clement

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the first older player to be pushed out has to be altidore, this guy sucks
3 goals in 52 matches for sunderland :risas3:
he was only scoring in the dutch league because it's a terrible league
 

Phall

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the first older player to be pushed out has to be altidore, this guy sucks
3 goals in 52 matches for sunderland :risas3:
he was only scoring in the dutch league because it's a terrible league

Altidore and former captain Michael Bradley are the last of the holdovers. No one really wants them included anymore; Altidore is a bitter younger and is closer to clinging onto consideration. They both play for Toronto FC (a Canadian club team in MLS) and still get booed in stadiums throughout the country, especially Bradley, for their role in the 2018 qualifying failure. Bradley gave an unfortunate quote in the buildup that the national team was nice, but the club team was the one that makes him rich (they both have lucrative long-term contracts). Bradley was the former coach Bob Bradley's son, but was also one of the best American players for a number of years. He fared decently (but not great) in Italy before a new coach recycled him in Roma's lineup. Oddly, Bradley also got his kickstart playing in the Dutch league, scoring 15 goals in 2008 as an attacking midfielder (not even his natural position of box-to-box).
 

Phall

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The USMNT squeaked by Jamaica 1-0 on a goal from Matthew Hoppe, who is currently playing for Bundesliga 2 club Schalke 04. The US controlled possession but gave up a lot of decent chances to the overmatched Jamaicans. Matt Turner had an impressive night in goal. It's important for his future chances to get these sorts of feathers in his cap. I believe he's on four straight shutouts for the national team now, albeit in favored matchups.

The US started six whites (Turner, Hoppe, James Sands, Sebastian Lletget, Paul Arriola, and Sam Vines) and five blacks, and they finished with four whites, six blacks, and one mestizo.
 

clement

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wow, 5 blacks and then 6, this is getting close to NBA standards
are any of those blacks from south american countries like brazil for example?
 

Bucky

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Weird how Black Power our team is.. Especially considering I've never witnessed a black Guy play soccer in real life LOL. Up here it's suburban White Kids and Usually Illegals/Anchor babies playing in public parks.

Great job on this thread @Phall shows how swift our replacement has been.
 
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Bucky

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wow, 5 blacks and then 6, this is getting close to NBA standards
are any of those blacks from south american countries like brazil for example?

Few years back we had like 3 German/Mulattos on the team. Mudsharks in Germany wanted to see what all the hype about being a single mom with a Black baby was like.
 

Phall

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Here is the pool of white players currently in the mix for the USMNT should they advance to the World Cup for 2022.

I tried to be pretty inclusive with this list. It's mostly for comparison sake, so you can easily reference the players who are selected and passed over. Coincidentally, I ended up putting 26 players "above the line" in terms of having a realistic chance to make the 2022 World Cup squad, as opposed to being future prospects or just camp bodies. I would predict that only about half of these 26 make the final team down the road.

Forwards
Christian Pulisic (age 22, LW, Chelsea)
Josh Sargent (age 21, forward, Werder Bremen)
Gio Reyna (age 18, attacking midfield/wing, Borussia Dortmund)
Jordan Morris (age 26, striker/winger, Seattle Sounders)
Matthew Hoppe (age 20, forward, Schalke 04)
Tyler Boyd (age 26, winger, Sivasspor)
Chris Mueller (age 24, winger, Orlando City -> Hibernian)
Brenden Aaronsen (age 20, LW, Red Bull Salzburg)
----
Sebastian Soto (age 20, CF, Porto B)
Corey Baird (age 25, winger, Los Angeles FC)
Andrija Novakovich (age 24, forward, Frosinone)

Midfielders
Sebastian Lletget (age 28, CM, LA Galaxy)
Paul Arriola (age 26, CAM, DC United)
Jackson Yueill (age 24, CDM, San Jose Earthquakes)
Michael Bradley (age 33, CDM, Toronto FC)
Paxton Pomykal (age 21, CM, FC Dallas)
Luca de la Torre (age 23, CM, Heracles Almelo)
Caden Clark (age 18, CAM, New York Red Bulls -> Red Bull Leipzig)
Djordje Mihailovic (age 22, CAM, CF Montreal)
Wil Trapp (age 28, CDM, Minnesota United)
---
Tanner Tessman (age 18, CDM, FC Dallas -> Venezia)
Johnny Cardoso (age 18, CDM, Internacional)
Lynden Gooch (age 25, CAM, Sunderland)
Keaton Parks (age 23, CM, NYCFC)
Christian Cappis (age 21, CM, Brondby IF)
Chris Durkin (age 21, CM, Sint-Truiden)
Taylor Booth (age 20, CM, Bayern Munich II)
Emerson Hyndman (age 25, CM, Atlanta United)

Defenders
Aaron Long (age 28, CB, New York Red Bulls)
Matt Miazga (age 26, CB, Anderlecht)
Walker Zimmerman (age 28, CB, Nashville SC)
Sam Vines (age 22, LB, Colorado Rapids)
Tim Ream (age 33, LB, Fulham)
James Sands (age 21, CB/CDM, NYCFC)
---
Brooks Lennon (age 23, RB/winger, Atlanta United)
Daniel Lovitz (age 29, wingback, Nashville SC)
Joe Scally (age 18, RB, Borussia Monchengladbach)
Justen Glad (age 24, CB, Real Salt Lake)
Chase Gasper (age 25, LB, Minnesota United)
John Tolkin (age 18, LB, New York Red Bulls)

Keepers
Ethan Horvath (age 26, Nottingham Forest)
Matt Turner (age 27, New England Revolution)
Brad Guzan (age 36, Atlanta United)
---
JT Marcinkowski (age 24, San Jose Earthquakes)
Matt Freese (age 22, Philadelphia Union)
Tyler Miller (age 28, Minnesota United)
 
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Phall

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wow, 5 blacks and then 6, this is getting close to NBA standards
are any of those blacks from south american countries like brazil for example?

Most of the USMNT candidates with Central and South American ancestry are either white enough to be counted as such (Reyna, Soto, Cardoso) or simply mestizo. Most of the Mexican players with dual citizenship still choose to play for Mexico. There are lots of black players from the Americas playing in the MLS, but they generally grew up in their home countries and have found their way to MLS as adults, so do not have a fast path to citizenship.

A common type of black American player at the top level is still the mixed-race mulatto with a black American father and a white European mother. They are then raised in Europe and are treated positively by their youth academies. They choose to represent the US rather than where they were raised, sometimes for "the money" (soccer sponsorships here are not really lucrative, but Nike/Adidas will throw money at the very top class of players, and general exposure is an intangible benefit), other times because they stand a slimmer chance of making a Euro nation's roster. Former coach Jurgen Klinsmann started recruiting these players hard. Prominent black starters Sergino Dest, John Brooks, and Weston McKennie still fit this mold. This number seems to be declining as European teams get comfortable signing prospects from American academies.

There are also a fair number of regular old American blacks, who are also treated favorably by our domestic youth academies and select teams. These players are usually still ascending through the college ranks. Major League Soccer teams have bridged some of the gap with the European model, so a 15-yr old prospect can now receive room and board while retaining his college eligibility, so he can still opt for a college sports scholarship at age 18 if he doesn't pan out as a superstar. If you get signed early, great; if not, you can stay in the system up through finishing college. Tyler Adams, Reggie Cannon, Chris Richards, and Miles Robinson are black players on some form of this career path, which is also the most common trajectory for white players.

We also have players using the "birthright citizenship" technicality. Yunus Musah was born to two Ghanaian parents while they were "on vacation" in New York. Jozy Altidore's parents are Haitian citizens but gave birth to him quickly after being received here as temporary refugees. Jordan Siebatcheu recently picked the US over France (he wouldn't play there) and Cameroon (his parents' country, less lucrative). The most ridiculous choice is perhaps Timothy Weah, whose famous father George is the president of Liberia. George and his Jamaican wife purposefully chose to give birth in New York to afford their son citizenship.
 
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Phall

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David Ochoa is an 18-yr old keeper and dual citizen of Mexico and the USA (racially mestizo). He has played for the Mexican u-16, US u-16, u-17, and u-18 teams previously. This past March, Ochoa was named to the Olympic qualifying squad (a youth team) and tabbed as the surprise starter over the older and more experienced JT Marcinkowski, who has in the past been jerked around and benched in favor of Jurgen Klinsmann's son. Ochoa had no starting experience at a club level, whereas Marcinkowski had three pro seasons under his belt. Ochoa played well in the first game against Costa Rica and was sufficient in the next two group stage matchups. But, his goof in the knockout round against Honduras cost the USA a berth in this years Olympics.

Ochoa was selected again as the third keeper for the USMNT in June's CONCACAF Nations League, which is basically a short series of competitive exhibitions. This was surely part of the plan to solidify his "recruitment", as he remains eligible to switch his FIFA nationalities. The USA defeated Mexico in a hard-fought final. Barely a month later, Ochoa is in camp with the Mexican team, "trying them out" to see if they might be a better fit for his long-term plans.

While he hasn't decided one way or another, this anecdote is a strong example of a dual-national receiving preferential treatment over other Americans. Also, it's another story of Mexican-Americans' flimsiness of allegiance to their home country.
 

Phall

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The US is starting five whites and six blacks in the Gold Cup final tonight against Mexico. On the bench are seven blacks, three whites, and one mestizo. This is as poor a ratio as I can remember for any USMNT sheet, although they have fielded a team in the past that started four whites and dropped to three after substitutions. I expect they'll end with less than five on the pitch by the end of the night.

E7vf3wNVEAELJLL
 

Phall

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The gay, gay USA announced its roster for the first window of World Cup qualifications. Surprise! This may be the worst roster of white representatives in national history. To infinity... and beyond! Only ten of 26 players picked were white, with two hispanics and 14 blacks.

USMNT WCQ roster
(club team/caps/goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 7/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 23/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 7/0)

DEFENDERS (10): George Bello (Atlanta United; 3/0), John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 43/3), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona/ESP; 11/1), Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 6/0), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 45/1), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 12/0), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 9/3), James Sands (New York City FC; 6/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray/TUR; 64/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 17/2)

MIDFIELDERS (5): Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 37/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 14/1), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 29/7), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 24/7), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 25/0)


FORWARDS (8): Brenden Aaronson (RB Salzburg/AUT; 7/3), Konrad de la Fuente (Olympique Marseille/FRA; 1/0), Jordan Pefok (BSC Young Boys/SUI; 6/1), Pepi (FC Dallas; 0/0), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 38/16), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 8/4), Josh Sargent (Norwich City/ENG; 16/5), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 13/1)

Again, that's a total of 10 out of 26 rostered players. But to exacerbate the matter, two of these ten are the backup goalkeepers who have no chance of playing. For the record, the whites are keepers Horvath and Turner, defenders Ream, Sands, and Zimmerman, midfielder Lletget, and forwards Aaronsen, Pulisic, Reyna, and Sargent. (Roldan and Pepi are the hispanics). I could easily see this team trot out just 2-4 whites as starters without obvious substitutions in line for minutes.

The big "prize" is supposedly this teenage kid Pepi, who is the first mestizo who has ever picked USA over Mexico for representation in recent memory (since maybe Omar Gonzalez). I am sure Berhalter will cap-tie him out of principle.
 

Phall

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The USA opened World Cup qualifying earlier this week by starting five whites (including goalkeeper Matt Turner) and finished with four on the field in their 0-0 draw against global powerhouse El Salvador. Turner only played because Steffen was out with injury (although Steffen also caught a 'breakthrough' case of covid, lol).

In the second game of qualifying tonight, the USA drew 1-1 with Canada, another storied nation of footballing glory. They started just four whites, including Turner, and ended with three. Twenty year old Brenden Aaronson opened his national team account with a simple finish in front of goal. Incidentally, the Canadian team resembles that of Switzerland by featuring a melange of internationals imported from various corners of the world, a rapidly increasing share having African ancestry.
 

Freethinker

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The USA opened World Cup qualifying earlier this week by starting five whites (including goalkeeper Matt Turner) and finished with four on the field in their 0-0 draw against global powerhouse El Salvador. Turner only played because Steffen was out with injury (although Steffen also caught a 'breakthrough' case of covid, lol).

In the second game of qualifying tonight, the USA drew 1-1 with Canada, another storied nation of footballing glory. They started just four whites, including Turner, and ended with three. Twenty year old Brenden Aaronson opened his national team account with a simple finish in front of goal. Incidentally, the Canadian team resembles that of Switzerland by featuring a melange of internationals imported from various corners of the world, a rapidly increasing share having African ancestry.
Glad they can’t win. Just like the women’s team, but for different reasons, I cannot support the USSA. Artificially diverse and they suck. What would I get out of watching this mess?
 

Phall

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The USA started four whites and finished with three on the field in their 4-1 comeback win against Honduras last week. They now have 5 points after three qualifying games, and this win gets them back to "par" for the window. Hitting the pin from the bunker, so to speak.

On the bright side, Brenden Aaronson has really come on well in his appearances overall and scored his first USMNT goal. He'll be getting Champions League minutes with Red Bull Salzburg and is a solid roster selection at this stage. Matt Turner played very well in net and now seems to have a realistic shot to supplant Zack Steffen full-time as the top choice. Lletget was rated well during all his shifts. James Sands got a start at CDM (he can also play along the back line), although he was among the US players who weren't very effective.

On the other hand, Walker Zimmerman was the only white field player excluded from minutes in this window. As the top MLS center back of the last five years and club captain of turnaround success story Nashville, it doesn't seem like there's much he can do to jump ahead of these blacks in Berhalter's pecking order. Josh Sargent wasn't outstanding at lead striker. I'm reading the narrative from the American soccer press that he doesn't work as a winger and hasn't perfected any of the central attacking roles. He is still a regular with Norwich City but apparently drifts in a positionless role for an overmatched team. The lead forwards behind him in the US player pool are all black. Tim Ream was always an outlier on this USMNT roster as a 'safe choice' veteran, so I was disappointed he didn't see more time on the field ahead of the shaky black fullbacks.
 

Phall

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The October qualifiers are upon us. Last time around, Berhalter impressed us with a monumentally-low 10 of 26 white roster selections. This month's team is markedly worse, with just 7 of 26 white players chosen to compete. Do you like black soccer players? If so, you're in luck, as there are 17 of them on the squad. Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic are both out injured, and Berhalter opted for two black players to replace them.

Goalkeeper seems to be a two-horse race between Matt Turner and Zack Steffen. Steffen is returning from injury and covid and still plays sparingly as Manchester City's backup. Turner played very well in summer qualifiers and is also leading the top MLS team, New England, to a runaway Supporter's Shield trophy (most regular season points). Turner should be the choice, but Berhalter oversaw Steffen's career start at Columbus, so I predict he sticks with his man. The normal third keeper, Ethan Horvath, may have been left off for travel reasons, as the US plays in Panama during this window - English teams have been fussy about club players traveling to "red" covid zones. :rolleyes: So, Sean Johnson from the MLS is filling in as the last man on the bench, and Steffen may be left behind for that game while starting the other two.

In defense, Tim Ream withdrew for family reasons and was replaced as the lone white defender by Walker Zimmerman. Zimmerman saw no minutes last window and seems to be rated below multiple black center backs by the coach. I also don't like that Matt Miazga is consistently missing from consideration. Teenage wingback Joe Scally scored his first-ever goal in the Bundesliga for Monchengladbach, but he was also passed over for some bums.

Here's Scally's highlight:

This is the current absurd roster, with white players bolded. It doesn't have to be like this: I could select a team to beat this one from the unused player pool at the top of this thread.

GOALKEEPERS (3):
  • Sean Johnson – New York City FC
  • Zack Steffen – Manchester City
  • Matt Turner – New England Revolution
DEFENDERS (9):
  • George Bello – Atlanta United
  • Sergiño Dest – Barcelona
  • Mark McKenzie – Genk
  • Shaq Moore – Tenerife
  • Chris Richards – Hoffenheim
  • Antonee Robinson – Fulham
  • Miles Robinson – Atlanta United
  • DeAndre Yedlin – Galatasaray
  • Walker Zimmerman – Nashville SC
MIDFIELDERS (8):
  • Kellyn Acosta – Colorado Rapids
  • Tyler Adams – RB Leipzig
  • Gianluca Busio – Venezia
  • Luca de la Torre – Heracles
  • Sebastian Lletget – LA Galaxy
  • Weston McKennie – Juventus
  • Yunus Musah – Valencia
  • Cristian Roldan – Seattle Sounders
FORWARDS (6):
  • Brenden Aaronson – RB Salzburg
  • Paul Arriola – D.C. United
  • Matthew Hoppe – Mallorca
  • Ricardo Pepi – FC Dallas
  • Tim Weah – Lille
  • Gyasi Zardes – Columbus Crew
 

Phall

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The USA concludes its trio of October qualifying games tonight with an ALL TIME LOW of two white starters. Paul Arriola is starting his third game in a row, and hot shot youngster Brenden Aaronson returns from a rest.

Walker Zimmerman was a last-minute call-up to this roster and started the first two qualifying games, including captaining the 1-0 loss to Panama on 10/10 and earning plaudits as the lone bright spot. Matt Turner also started the first two games in net and may have the thinnest of edges over Zack Steffen, who gets rotated in for a start tonight. Frankly, there just aren't that many white players on this roster to rotate in with whoever Berhalter considers his first team sheet. Matthew Hoppe might be considered a surprise omission tonight.

Ricardo Pepi, the Mexican teenager who surprisingly chose to play for the USA rather than his home country, scored two goals against Jamaica and is now regarded by the fickle fans and media as the new best thing. I've seen plenty of these flashes in the pan burn out quickly, but Pepi is sure to get some international offers soon and will pose a threat to Josh Sargent's role when the latter is available.

On the subject of naturalized Mexicans, I'd written about David Ochoa back in July:
David Ochoa is an 18-yr old keeper and dual citizen of Mexico and the USA (racially mestizo). He has played for the Mexican u-16, US u-16, u-17, and u-18 teams previously. This past March, Ochoa was named to the Olympic qualifying squad (a youth team) and tabbed as the surprise starter over the older and more experienced JT Marcinkowski, who has in the past been jerked around and benched in favor of Jurgen Klinsmann's son. Ochoa had no starting experience at a club level, whereas Marcinkowski had three pro seasons under his belt. Ochoa played well in the first game against Costa Rica and was sufficient in the next two group stage matchups. But, his goof in the knockout round against Honduras cost the USA a berth in this years Olympics.

Ochoa was selected again as the third keeper for the USMNT in June's CONCACAF Nations League, which is basically a short series of competitive exhibitions. This was surely part of the plan to solidify his "recruitment", as he remains eligible to switch his FIFA nationalities. The USA defeated Mexico in a hard-fought final. Barely a month later, Ochoa is in camp with the Mexican team, "trying them out" to see if they might be a better fit for his long-term plans.

While he hasn't decided one way or another, this anecdote is a strong example of a dual-national receiving preferential treatment over other Americans. Also, it's another story of Mexican-Americans' flimsiness of allegiance to their home country.

Ochoa picked Mexico a couple of weeks later. He penned a thoughtful and surprisingly-eloquent (though not surprising) open letter about his choice:
It was so tough being with the Mexican kids at Chivas. I had a Mexican passport, I looked Mexican, but since I came from the U.S., I was always the gringo. I was the spoiled kid from the States who had had everything handed to him. Every training session they would harass me with these comments about how my life in Oxnard had been so easy. And every time I mispronounced a word — because my Spanish wasn’t as good as theirs — they would call me out. Pinche gringo!

So yeah, I hated that. I really hated it. I hated that I always had to be different.

In the U.S., I was “the Mexican.”

In Mexico, I was “the Gringo.”

........

And I realized that, no matter how much I try, I will never be fully American. Nor will I ever be fully Mexican, so it’s about where I feel more comfortable, and something inside me feels more at home with the Mexican players. They are loud and fun and outgoing. They make me feel like I’m with my friends from Oxnard.

Basically, after all that’s happened, I just want to be happy.

So that’s why I’m choosing Mexico, and I really hope you understand. Even though it’s a personal, emotional decision, I hope it makes sense. It definitely does to me.

I have another dream, by the way. I want to become a role model for Mexican-American players. There are so many talented kids playing soccer in little cities like Oxnard, but nobody seems to see them. There are more than 35 million people living in the U.S. who were either born in Mexico or have Mexican origins, but hardly any of them are playing soccer professionally here. It’s really weird, right? There should be many more.

So I hope I can play a part in changing that. I hope that Mexican-American kids can see what I’m doing and think, Wow, maybe I can do that, too.

Maybe some will even watch soccer on TV and say, “Dad, I want to be that guy!”

A kid from Oxnard.

A goalkeeper for Mexico.

A proud Mexican-American.

Typical hyphen-American attitude, in my opinion.
 

icsept

Master
Joined
Oct 12, 2008
Messages
3,531
Location
Oklahoma
USA v Costa Rica on ESPN2. I’ve clicked on it 2 or 3 times. I have no idea which team is USA…
 

Phall

Master
Joined
Sep 19, 2012
Messages
2,159
Location
not Brooklyn
After another disheartening round of qualifiers in October, the national team returned to action this past weekend with an international friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Berhalter selected a "Western hemisphere"-based team (all MLS players, save Johnny Cardoso from Brazil's Internacional). While I didn't log it here, there was a game where the USA team started just one white player. On a ten-year timeline 100% diverse team seems inevitable, whereas an all-white team is a pipe dream.

The domestic team looks noticeably different than the "first choice" of Euro-based players and really drives home the unnatural emphasis that European club teams place on signing young black prospects. This roster of 23 featured five hispanics (Roldan, Ferreira, Pepi, Cowell, and Gomez), which is at least more consistent with the state of US demographics, in addition to seven blacks and eleven whites (six starters).

There were a few new faces to add to the white player pool list, as Colorado midfielder Cole Bassett scored on a rebound in his debut. Henry Kessler was handed a start at center back next to mainstay Walker Zimmerman and performed well. Young keepers John Pulskamp of Sporting KC and Gabriel Slonina of Chicago also made the bench, as did forward Taylor Booth (previously of Bayern Munich II). I don't see these players with a realistic shot at this world cup, but it's heartening encouragement for them. It was also good to see Jordan Morris back with the national team, as injuries last year knocked him out of his former starting spot.

12/18/21
Goalkeepers: Matt Turner, John Pulskamp, Gabriel Slonina
Defenders: Henry Kessler, Walker Zimmerman, Brooks Lennon
Midfielders: Johnny Cardoso, Jackson Yueill, Cole Bassett, Caden Clark
Forwards: Jordan Morris, Taylor Booth
 

Freethinker

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
6,974
Location
Suffolk County, NY
After another disheartening round of qualifiers in October, the national team returned to action this past weekend with an international friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Berhalter selected a "Western hemisphere"-based team (all MLS players, save Johnny Cardoso from Brazil's Internacional). While I didn't log it here, there was a game where the USA team started just one white player. On a ten-year timeline 100% diverse team seems inevitable, whereas an all-white team is a pipe dream.

The domestic team looks noticeably different than the "first choice" of Euro-based players and really drives home the unnatural emphasis that European club teams place on signing young black prospects. This roster of 23 featured five hispanics (Roldan, Ferreira, Pepi, Cowell, and Gomez), which is at least more consistent with the state of US demographics, in addition to seven blacks and eleven whites (six starters).

There were a few new faces to add to the white player pool list, as Colorado midfielder Cole Bassett scored on a rebound in his debut. Henry Kessler was handed a start at center back next to mainstay Walker Zimmerman and performed well. Young keepers John Pulskamp of Sporting KC and Gabriel Slonina of Chicago also made the bench, as did forward Taylor Booth (previously of Bayern Munich II). I don't see these players with a realistic shot at this world cup, but it's heartening encouragement for them. It was also good to see Jordan Morris back with the national team, as injuries last year knocked him out of his former starting spot.

12/18/21
Goalkeepers: Matt Turner, John Pulskamp, Gabriel Slonina
Defenders: Henry Kessler, Walker Zimmerman, Brooks Lennon
Midfielders: Johnny Cardoso, Jackson Yueill, Cole Bassett, Caden Clark
Forwards: Jordan Morris, Taylor Booth
Unnatural indeed. Out of all the sports where blacks are vastly over-represented, I think it’s soccer (football) is the most ridiculous. Blacks, on average, just aren’t very good at the sport. Other than possibly a “pace” advantage, they don’t really excel at all of the other necessary skills that make a good footballer. History bears this out as an entirely black team has never won a World Cup, despite African countries with large populations and a general football craze in African and Afro-Caribbean countries. The only majority black teams to win it all have been France and certain Brazilian teams. And those Championships wouldn’t have been won without huge contributions from Whites. For example, France’s best player (Griezmann) and goaltender were White. They could not have won without them.

So as this all pertains to the USMT, the roster composition is totally artificial. If you look at high schools in diverse counties, you’ll likely find what I experienced where I grew up. The all White schools were generally the best. Heavily Latino schools were also talented. The all blacks schools typically sucked. Admittedly, a big factor is American blacks widely preferring basketball and American football. Maybe some one shine more light on this and if I’m wrong, please do tell.
 

NikoDuke

Guru
Joined
Jan 16, 2022
Messages
484
Blacks are actually fine at football/soccer. There are many of them who have a natural ability for the game and I'm not referencing the stereotype of speed which I think is highly inflated.

No the issue is more so with how White players are being squeezed out of the game and given less opportunities than their Black peers. The caste model is in full affect in soccer and it's not just in the US. Same in UK, Canada, and most of Europe.

In fact there was a scandal regarding this in France that reached the highest levels of politics where racial quotas where discussed.
 

grandmaster

Newbie
Joined
Jul 2, 2011
Messages
65
All Team USA's players under 23 years old with 5 or more caps, ranked youngest to oldest:
Yunus Musah (Black)
Giovanni Reyna (Mestizo)
Gianluca Busio (Black)
Ricardo Pepi (Mestizo)
Matthew Hoppe (White)
George Bello (Black)
Josh Sargent (White)
Timothy Weah (Black)
Brenden Aaronson (White)
Sergino Dest (Black)
Nicholas Gioacchini (Black)
Daryl Dike (Black)

James Sands (White)
Chris Richards (Black)
Jesus Ferreira (Mestizo)
Tyler Adams (Black)
Sam Vines (White)
Mark McKenzie (Black)

That's 18 players...
10 Blacks (56%)
5 Whites (28%)
3 Mestizos (17%)
 
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