John Nieman
As I am sure you have seen, heard or read, this edition of the World Cup will be unique. It’s quite clear that since two or three teams from each four-team group will advance, performance in the group stage is vital. Unlike the NCAA basketball tournament, seeding for the knockout rounds will be based not on the team’s ranking but on their performance in the group stage. It will be important to feast on the minnows to secure a good seeding.
The US Men’s National Team should only have Türkiye to contend with to win the group, but that is certainly not assured. While USMNT should easily prevail over Australia and Paraguay, Türkiye is a fairly strong team, though not as good as USMNT.
Group stage performance will really tell the tale on how the team does in this World Cup. Unlike previous World Cups where we had players playing in the top six leagues, (due to my Netherlands bias, I include the Dutch league with the English, German, Italian, French, and Spanish leagues) now we have established players in these leagues, some of whom are coming off seasons where they will need a good performance in the World Cup to maintain their status.
Front to back this could be the best United States team in history. Traditionally, the US is strong at goalkeeping, but, while still solid, this may be our weakest area. Our three candidates all play in MLS. Matt Freese is the presumptive starter as Matt Turner may be past his prime. They are all dependable but not playing at the level USMNT goalkeepers usually play.
On the field defensively we should be in relatively good shape, Jedi Robinson is one of the best defenders in the English Premier League and Tim Ream—who unfortunately can be counted on for at least one tragic mistake per tournament—provides great leadership and I am really pleased to see that he is Captain.
Hopefully we can have Chris Richards, another English Premier League standout, back from injury and he will provide great play.
Midfield and attack contain several of the players I referred to above. Christian Pulisic, Winston McKennie, Tim Weah, Tyler Adams, Sergino Dest, Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi are solid players if they can play well in this cycle. All of them have something to prove, where in the past, this type of player would be coming to the USMNT with the attitude that they were doing the nation a favor.
Which brings me to Gio Reyna. As someone who has for 74 years of life relied on second, third and sometimes fourth chances, I am really pulling for Gio Reyna to overcome the divisive and destructive behavior he and his family visited upon the team at the last World Cup.
I was one who was happy to see his inclusion on the team and the fact that he started against Senegal in the recent friendly was encouraging. There is no doubt that he is one of the most talented players on the roster and I hope that his lack of playing time in Europe is due to an unfair assumption of his character and that he will use this opportunity to show the world who he really is.
Then there is the all-important X Factor: the manager, Mauricio Pochettino. I am not at all bothered by the fact that he and his representatives have been exploring his alternatives after the Cup and I attribute his somewhat “interesting” comments in his press conferences to a combination of cultural and language differences.
What I am really counting on is his success guiding an under-talented Tottenham Hotspur team to the finals of the UEFA Champions League. Tournament play is completely different from League Play, and he showed his ability there.
So, what constitutes success for the US Men’s National Team? There’s no question that failure to get out of the group would be a disaster. The lowest expectation would be that we would win the group and play well in the first knockout phase, the Round of 32.
A win in the first knockout stage would get us to the round of 16 and I would think that a win in that round or a competitive, well-played loss would mean a satisfactory tournament. A berth in the quarterfinals with a well-played loss in that round would be the minimum for success.
Anything after that would be a huge success and enshrinement for Pochettino and the boys.
Of course, what I really am looking forward to is a well-played, well officiated, sportsmanlike tournament with as little governmental interference as possible.
Hope Springs Eternal.