Getting the U.S. to Russia 2018

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Gold Cup: Quarter Finals
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It’s was one way traffic in this one. Haiti played with three center backs and two wings back, but sat back and were hard to break down. We managed our first goal through Weston McKennie on a corner kick. Pulisic’s kick was to the near post toward John Brooks. The ball was behind him, so he was forced to head it back to McKennie, who played it to Michael Bradley with his first touch. The capitan then played it right back to McKennie who blasted it home from about 15 yards out. Matched up against five defenders we had a hard time exploiting the flanks in the first 45 and settled for long distance shots from our midfielders which never really threatened Haiti’s keeper. Our second goal was an absolute worldie. Our starting left back tweaked his calf, so I decided to prematurely take him off to give 20-year old, Tyler Adams his U.S. debut. It almost backfired when I was forced to take off Danny Williams. However, Adams proved me wrong. Right winger Fabian Johnson put in a cross which was headed out. The clearance looped to Adams who brought it down with his thigh, took a touch, and blasted one into the top right corner from 26 yards out. What a way to make your international debut. Our third came from a simple cross from the left to the far post, which Johnson tapped in. Johnson returned the favor with a cross, which Pulisic tapped in. The goals looked identical, just from opposite flanks. Bradley put the final nail in the coffin. Bobby Wood was pulled down in the box after a Paul Ariola cross and Bradley blasted the penalty kick into the roof of the net. It’s off to the semi’s.


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Gold Cup: Quarter Finals Results

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El Salvador have reached the semi finals for the first time in 30 years. They were able to hold off Panama 1-0 through a 56th minute goal from St. Louis FC’s Irvin Herrera. That was the U.S. second division strikers second goal of the tournament. Canada came into their match with Jamaica in excellent form, but Rotherham striker Jonson Clarke-Harris was too much to handle. The League One striker now has five goals in the tournament. In the most anticipated match of the round Costa Rica were able to bag a second half added time winner through former Fulham attacking midfielder, Bryan Ruiz. Javier Hernandez was unable to register a single shot on target. Finally, the U.S. won in emphatic style with 20-year Tyler Adams scoring on his senior team debut.​
 
Gold Cup: Semi Finals Preview

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We have a rematch of the 2017 Gold Cup Finals as the U.S. face Jamaica. The Reggae Boyz star Leon Bailey is back from injury and should play some part in this match. It’ll be interesting to see how the U.S. coup with the Jamaican attack who put five past Puerto Rico and four against Canada in their previous two matches. Danny Williams, who was subbed off last match through injury is a question mark. In the other match, Costa Rica will face El Salvador. Costa Rica are the heavy favorites, however, they have struggled a bit in this tournament. They lost to Trinidad & Tobago and held off Panama 1-0 in the group stages, and did just enough to beat Mexico in the quarter finals.​
 
Gold Cup: Semi Finals
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It was devastation in Tampa, Florida tonight. The U.S. were the better side in the beginning, but Jamaca got on the board first and the tournament hosts were flat from that point on. The U.S. had a chance to take the lead in the opening minute of the match when striker Bobby Wood nicked the ball on the Jamaican central defender and quickly passed it out to Christian Pulisic on the wing. The newly signed Real Madrid winger fed it right back to Wood who was one on one with the keeper, but the Philadelphia Union shot stopper was able to direct the effort out for a corner. Jamaica broke the deadlock in the 37th minutes thanks to the a Leon Bailey cross to the tournaments leading scorer, Jonson Clarke-Harris. After losing McKennie and John Brooks through injury, the U.S. were forced to play some players out of position as they looked to press on, but were unable to get on the board. Leverkusen winger, Leon Bailey, sealed the match in the 75th minute.​
 
Gold Cup: Semi Finals Review

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The U.S. were sent home prematurely by many people standards. Jamaica's striker Jonson Clarke-Harris has been scoring goals for fun in this Gold Cup and was able to get Jamaica on the board first and there was no looking back from that point on. In the other match, El Salvador knocked off Costa Rica thanks to their in form striker, Irvin Herrera. That’s three in three for the St. Louis FC center forward. El Salvador reach the finals of this tournament for the first time in their nations history. They will face off against the Reggae Boyz who are in the finals for the third straight time. ​
 
U.S. Transfer News

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After missing out on the Gold Cup because of his lack of first team minutes with Newcastle, right back DeAndre Yedlin made the move to Ligue 1 side, Lyon. He will face some stiff competition for the starting right back spot, however. 23-year old Kenny Tete had a strong season last year and I can’t image Yeldin taking the Dutchman's spot away from him. Lyon will compete in the Champions League this year, so Yedlin should get minutes against some strong opponents being in the league or in Europe. The good news is the pacy defender should find himself right back into the U.S. setup if he can establish himself with one of the best sides in France.

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U.S. star, Christian Pulisic has made the move to Spanish giants, Real Madrid. Like Yedlin, the Pennsylvania native will be fighting for first team minutes. However, for Pulisic, it will against some of the best players in the world. We can assume club legend Cristiano Ronaldo will start on the left. That leaves Pulisic battling Martin Odegaard, Gareth Bale, Lucas Vazquez, and Nicola Sansone for minutes. Ronaldo is 34 now, but still managed 23 goals in 33 games last season. Bale is injury prone, so Pulisic should get his chance.

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Cameron Carter-Vickers still seems to be in Tottenham’s plans as he signed a new contract with the north London side. However, this year he will be loaned out to Championship side, Hull City. Carter-Vickers spent the 2017/18 season in the Championship with Sheffield United, but under performed. That led to another loan move last year, but this time to a League 1 side. He did have a solid season with Nottingham Forest, which seems to be enough for the big central defender to earn another chance in the English second division.

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Frankfurt were relegated to 2. Bundesliga after last season and it seems clear Timmy Chandler is looking to force a move back into the top division in one of Europe’s top leagues. Middlesbrough have come the closest to signing the right back after agreeing to a fee with Frankfurt, however they were relegated from the Premier League after last season and Chandler wouldn’t agree to personal terms with the North Yorkshire side. Swansea City do have major interest in Chandler and the player looks to be willing to join the Welsh side after they managed an 8th place finish in the Premier League last year.
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What to Expect Next

Senior Team
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Olympics
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It’s hard to predict what will change for the U.S. They’ve used a 4-3-3 formation since Buckingham took over, however a change of formation will be tough. They lack a true attacking playmaker who can sit behind the striker. Christian Pulisic can play on that role, but he would be out of position as he has spent his entire career as a winger. The same can be said about Darlington Nagbe. Behind those two the other options really aren’t first team players. The U.S. could look to play with two strikers, but again they lack a lot of talent in the number nine role. Bobby Wood, Jozy Altidore, and Aron Johannsson are the three players who are three strong option, but behind them the U.S. don’t have much. Jordan Morris and Christian Ramirez both deserve a shot, but those aren’t guy who should start for a side looking to make a push deep in the World Cup.

The U.S. do have a lot of talent on the wings, so it’s hard to play a lineup that doesn’t start three up front. Starting three at the back would allow their fullback further up the pitch, but again they don’t have many players to choose from who have experience as a wing back. It’s will be very interesting to see what the coach decides to do.


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