Good. Local kid so I'm rooting for him but haven't really followed Gregg has been good about letting guys train with us. When Kelechi Iheanacho was still underage he trained with the Crew for 2-3 months then went to Manchester City once he was old enough
The defense has a lot of quality players on it, but the midfield and forwards are pretty woeful. A team of players that didn't make the cut (or were not released) could definitely challenge this team though and is better in the attack.
Some errant shots, but a beautiful strike on that goal (set up by Taitague) and the speed on the ball is obviously still there. Bayern President Uli Hoeness after the match on German TV: "Schalke was clearly the better team and had in Haji Wright the outstanding player on the pitch. We already knew before the game that Schalke had an excellent team. The start of the match was unlucky for us. The defeat was justified. " (Also keep in mind that Tab didn't want him)
Schalke playing Bayern in the Semi's of the U19 cup. Schalke up 3-1 after the first leg. McKennie is so dominant in the air. Also any time there is a throw in near the other team's goal, McKennie takes it and bombs it into the box. Schalke just scored off a header after he put it about 3 feet in front of the spot.
Fuck that's brutal. Lost in penalties 5-4 where Bayern's 5th attempt went off the crossbar, off the diving keeper's back and into the net.
I don't think he can be unfortunately. Pretty sure the roster has to be set in stone 10 days in advance except due to injury. We're like 6 out.
CCV still hasn't been cleared I believe. Can replace an injured player up to 24 hours before the WC starts.
Apparently no McKennie and Fossey is out too. This roster is now a shadow of what it could have been.
Haji and McKennie on the first team squad this weekend That would also explain why McKennie wasn't added to the U20's
I know I'm just bombing this thread today but quite conveniently here's a new highlight vid of Haji this year someone just uploaded.
McKennie was brought up earlier in the year during an international break and got some time when the roster was thin, and it was known it was just a one time thing. Schalke said that McKennie and Wright will train with and be options for the first team "Going forward." I'm sure they could still be loaned out next year as well.
Not sure who else Schalke has lined up at CF, but Huntelaar leaving is obviously a big opportunity for Haji. It sounds like McKennie has CL for a big 4 league type upside. He walked into Schalke's academy (been one of the best in all of Europe the past decade) from FC Dallas and was their best player and captain pretty much immediately.
They get Embolo back from injury who unfortunately for Haji is only a year older and really fucking good. Either way, being a back up and training with the first team every day, or going somewhere smaller and starting would both be good imo
To back up what you said about McKennie, Schalke's director just said it's "Always been clear to them he was destined for the Bundesliga." Pretty high praise. Also said that they weren't sure about Haji making it last winter, but he improved so much over the course of the season that he did. That's a great sign to hear that a guy who's always been the king of upside potential is actually starting to get there.
They were down to 10 men when he got in so it's pretty hard to judge. Looked comfortable but didn't really get to show too much of what he could do.
McKennie's a powerhouse physically. We have some great #6/#8 types coming through like Acosta, McKennie, and Tyler Adams. Acosta, McKennie, and Hyndman all products of the FC Dallas academy. Just a great job they're doing there as they also have Paxton Pomykal, Jesus Ferreira, and Bryan Reynolds coming up. They also have a 14 y/o, Dante Sealy (son of former MLS player Scott Sealy), that's supposedly a big time talent too.
I'm surprised at the lack of kids coming through Chicago. The Sockers and the Magic have been really good club teams out of the area for decades, but doesn't seem like they've produced any huge talent.
Had a dirty chest pass. Also pretty cool that his first minutes were going head to head against Demarcus Beasley.
It'll be interesting to see what Carleton's future position is. Have a feeling it's gonna be on the wing and I think that's a great spot for him.
The cities are obviously good markets, the whole stigma about the south not liking soccer is confined to bumfuck rural areas.
Didn't watch it, but from reading: Ecuador is actually really good and have dominated most of CONMEBOL recently. Some think they could be our toughest opponent all tournament Zelalem got hurt and is probably done for the tournament. (And apparently wasn't real good before that) CCV needs to get healthy because our back line struggled with the pace and physicality of ecuador Sargent didn't look one bit out of place physically or mentally. Probably the best striker prospect we've had since Jozy We had 61% possession, so that's nice to see.
Nice to get a result especially after a horrid start. Easily a B-Team at almost every position with the amount of injuries and players being unavailable.
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but with the Shalke U-19 season over, and the the senior team done, wonder if there is a chance that McKinnie or Pulisic ( same for BVB - I know, pipe dream) could replace Zelalem since they were on on the provisional roster. Also, has anyone heard if CCV or Glad will be able to play soon? I would imagine that since both remain on the roster, they will be match fit soon, but havent heard any details. Would be nice to get one or both back and allow EPB to play the 6 like he did in the CONCACAF tourney. Although Derrick Jones was really good this morning. Seems to play a little out of control and wouldnt be surprised to see him pick up a match suspension at some point during the tourney. Really which we could figure out a way to produce decent fullbacks. Herrera did some nice things, but is such a liability vs. speed as shown this morning.
Fossey was injured in the run up to the tournament and Farfan/Olusunde/Cannon were not selected. Outside back is always a tough position, but we had better options than selected for the team. Herrera shouldn't sniff the roster.
Yeah, you are right. There are a few decent ones in the pool. Im trying to give Ramos some benefit of the doubt that some of those players, specifically Olusunde, were rejected by their clubs. I though he was possibly going to make their 18 on Sunday.