ASN: Evaluation: Kreis names 20-player roster for Olympic qualifying

The U.S. U-23 crew has a tricky highway in entrance of it to qualify for the Olympics and on Thursday, we formally discovered the gamers who will probably be a part of the hassle to guide a ticket to Tokyo. ASN’s Brian Sciaretta breaks it down. 

BY

Brian Sciaretta

Posted
March 11, 2021
2:00 PM

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ON THURSDAY, JASON KREIS introduced his 20-player roster for its Olympic qualifying match that begins subsequent week in Guadalajara, Mexico. The roster beforehand was leaked by CONCACAF however immediately U.S. Soccer formally introduced it.

The leak definitely created an ungainly second for gamers and employees assembled in Mexico however what is completed, is completed. Now it will likely be about discovering a technique to get to the ultimate recreation.

Right here is the roster in addition to some ideas.

The roster

GOALKEEPERS (3):Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union; Wayne, Pa.), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes, Alamo, Calif.), David Ochoa (Actual Salt Lake; Oxnard, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6):Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy; Lompoc, Calif.), Justen Glad (Actual Salt Lake; Tucson, Ariz.), Aaron Herrera (Actual Salt Lake; Las Cruces, N.M.), Henry Kessler (New England Revolution; New York, N.Y.), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fireplace FC; Bolingbrook, Sick.), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids; Colorado Springs, Colo.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional/BRA; Denville, N.J.), Hassani Dotson (Minnesota United FC; Federal Manner, Wash.), Ulysses Llanez (Heerenveen/NED; Lynwood, Calif.), Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montreal/CAN; Jacksonville, Fla.), Andrés Perea(Orlando Metropolis SC; Medellin, Colombia), Sebastian Saucedo (UNAM Pumas/MEX; Park Metropolis, Utah), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; Bloomington, Minn.)

FORWARDS (4): Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids; Plantation, Fla.), Benji Michel (Orlando Metropolis SC; Orlando, Fla.), Sebastian Soto (Norwich Metropolis/ENG; San Diego, Calif.)

Mihailovic significance

In 2020, the U.S. U-23 qualifying crew was very sturdy in attacking midfield with Paxton Pomykal, Richards Ledezma, and Brenden Aaronson. Transfers and accidents have harm this space of the sector. The midfield is closely weighted with 4 defensive midfielders in Cardoso, Perea, Yueill, and Dotson though Dotson is taking part in principally as a quantity eight.

Mihailovic goes to want to play very nicely on this match to create alternatives as a result of he is without doubt one of the few who’ve this accountability for his membership. If it isn’t him, it needs to be Saucedo or Ferreira who can play within the attacking midfield though are in all probability finest used elsewhere on the sector.

Pineda and Glad

The doubtless beginning central protection pairing will probably be Justen Glad and Mauricio Pineda. This marks a really totally different pairing than the crew had hoped for final 12 months with Mark McKenzie and Erik Palmer-Brown. Pineda has not performed with the USA internationally and Glad was final concerned formally on the 2017 U-20 World Cup.

Goalkeeping isn’t a energy of this U.S. U-23 crew and purpose scoring is considerably questionable. It’s laborious to see this U.S. crew reserving a ticket to Tokyo with out Glad and Pineda taking part in on the high of their video games.

Wing play

If the U.S. crew struggles with out attacking midfielders, it should thrive on wing play together with getting the fullbacks deep into the assault. That has not been an total energy of this crew. Jonathan Lewis, Benji Michel, Sebastian Saucedo, and Uly Llanez should do a lot of the heavy lifting on this regard.

There may be expertise right here too. Jonathan Lewis has performed nicely internationally. Benji Michel is making his U.S. debut on this one and Sebastian Saucedo is coming off an damage. The actual wild card, nonetheless, is Uly Llanez who’s rated by the U.S. employees however has had a brutal season on mortgage at Heerenveen.

Expectations

The U.S. crew fell in need of qualifying in 2012 and 2016 and failing to qualify was seen as a large disappointment as a result of heightened expectations.

Expectations in all probability shouldn’t be as excessive this time round for 4 huge causes: 1) Preseason kind, 2) lack of key gamers getting launched, 3) accidents, and 4) the outflow of key gamers from MLS groups to Europe.

Whereas having MLS groups embrace promoting gamers is total factor, the one downside it has is that this specific U-23 crew. The transfers/loans of Brenden Aaronson, Reggie Cannon, Mark McKenzie, and Daryl Dike has eliminated an enormous chunk of the crew’s core.

By way of releases, nobody was anticipating the highest gamers like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie however the lack of ability to safe the releases of gamers like Erik Palmer-Brown (who was launched final 12 months), Konrad de la Fuente, Luca de la Torre, McKenzie, and others outdoors of the elite gamers hurts this crew.

Reserving a spot within the semifinal will doubtless come right down to the crew’s opening recreation in opposition to Costa Rica. If the U.S. crew wins that recreation, it may possibly afford a loss to Mexico, and can be favored in opposition to the Dominican Republic. These six factors would doubtless be sufficient. A loss to Costa Rica, nonetheless, in all probability sends the U.S. crew residence unsuccessfully after the group stage. A draw, then it turns into a coin flip.

Costa Rica’s roster is attention-grabbing. 11/17 of the sector gamers play for 2 sturdy groups whiting its home league: league leaders LD Alajuelense and fifth-place CS Herediano. Most of the gamers on the roster are in midseason kind having performed repeatedly in 2021. In drawing from these two groups, many gamers even have a longtime chemistry.

The U.S. crew has an opportunity, however maybe the lowered expectations will play in its favor. It’s not one of the best of conditions, however it will likely be attention-grabbing to see if gamers can rise to the event versus collapsing below the weighted expectations the final two cycles.