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rosepmarkert · 3 years ago

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USMNT Concacaf World Cup qualification vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV information, USMNT roster

USMNT Concacaf World Cup qualification vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV information, USMNT roster The United States men's national soccer team is coming off a 2-0 victory over Mexico in Cincinnati on Friday and will be looking to maintain that momentum when it goes to Kingston to face Jamaica on Tuesday. The USMNT beat Mexico by a score of "Dos a Cero" in World Cup qualification for the sixth time since 2000, with all of those victories happening in Ohio. That victory sent the United States to the top of the Concacaf World Cup qualification rankings (via the goal-differential tiebreaker). The team, on the other hand, cannot afford to make a mistake. The USMNT is even on points with Mexico, Canada is one point behind, and Panama is three points behind. The top three teams will automatically qualify for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, while the fourth-place team will have to participate in an intercontinental playoff. RELATED: USMNT .VS MEXICO 2021 CONCACAF GOLD CUP final beginning XI, LINEUP NOTES, TV CHANNELS Personnel-wise, the USMNT will be without two players who started against Mexico on Friday. Weston McKennie (yellow card accumulation) and Miles Robinson (red card) are both banned for one game and will be unavailable for Tuesday's encounter. In order to compensate for the absence of those two players, USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter added James Sands to the team for the qualifier against Jamaica. Here's all you need to know about the match on Tuesday: When is the United States Men's National Team vs. Jamaica World Cup qualifier? The game is set to begin at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday. How can I watch the United States Men's National Team's World Cup qualifier vs Jamaica? The game will be available for purchase on Paramount+. Universo has a Spanish-language transmission (pregame show at 4:30 p.m. ET). The game is also playable on fuboTV. Where is the USMNT-Jamaica World Cup qualifier taking place? The game will take place in Kingston, Jamaica, at Independence Park. This will be the fourth meeting between these two teams this year, but the first time they will face in Jamaica. The USMNT beat Jamaica 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier last month in Austin, Texas. The United States defeated Jamaica in the Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinals at Arlington, Texas. The United States defeated Jamaica 4-1 in a friendly match at Wiener Neustadt, Austria, in March. Which players are on the rosters of the USMNT and Jamaica? The USMNT roster Sean Johnson (New York City FC; USA), Zack Steffen (Manchester City; England), and Matt Turner are the three goalkeepers (New England Revolution; USA) Defenders (9): Reggie Cannon (Boavista, Portugal), Mark McKenzie (Genk, Belgium), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim, Germany), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, England), James Sands (New York City FC, USA), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany), Sam Vines (Royal Antwerp, Belgium), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray, Turkey), Walker Zimmerman (Gal (Nashville SC; USA) Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; USA), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig; Germany), Gianluca Busio (Venezia; Italy), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; USA), Yunus Musah (Valencia; Spain), Cristian Roldan (Valencia; Spain) (Seattle Sounders; USA) Forwards (6): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg; Austria), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; USA), Jes Ferreira (FC Dallas; USA), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; USA), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea; England), Tim Weah (Red Bull Salzburg; Austria) (Lille; France) Jamaican lineup Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union; USA), Dwayne Miller (Syrianska; Sweden), and Jeadine White are the three goalkeepers (Cavalier; Jamaica) Defenders (8): Javain Brown (Vancouver Whitecaps; Canada), Oniel Fisher (LA Galaxy; USA), Kemar Lawrence (Toronto FC; Canada), Greg Leigh (Morecambe; England), Damion Lowe (Al Ittihad; Egypt), Adrian Mariappa (Unattached), Liam Moore (Reading; England), Alvas Powell (Unattached), Alvas Powell (Unattached), Alvas Powell (Unattached) (Philadelphia Union; USA) Bobby Reid (Fulham, England), Anthony Grant (Swindon Town, England), Ravel Morrison (Derby County, England), Lamar Walker (Miami FC, USA), Je-Vaughn Watson (Humble Lions, Jamaica), and Devon Williams are the midfielders (Miami FC; USA) Forwards (6): Michail Antonio (West Ham United, England), Leon Bailey (Aston Villa, England), Cory Burke (Philadelphia Union, USA), Junior Flemmings (Birmingham Legion, USA), Shamar Nicholson (Charleroi, Belgium), and Kemar Roofe (Birmingham Legion, USA) (Rangers; Scotland) also see source: US men's soccer team Concacaf World Cup qualifier vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV info, USMNT roster#instagram #happy #nature #photography #fashion #instadaily #beauty #instalike #fun #friends #me #summer #tbt #cute #beautiful #likeforlike #smile #music #ootd #family #model #follow4follow #lifestyle #design #motivation #beach #sunset #amazing #dog #makeup Read the full article

#ConcacafWorldCup #Jamaica #New24hour #new24hour #New24hours #News24hour #USMNT #WorldCupqualificationvs.Jamaica

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lilianjdubose · 3 years ago

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USMNT Concacaf World Cup qualification vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV information, USMNT roster

#ConcacafWorldCup #Jamaica #New24hour #new24hour #New24hours #News24hour #USMNT #WorldCupqualificationvs.Jamaica

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laylavonrueden · 3 years ago

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USMNT Concacaf World Cup qualification vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV information, USMNT roster

#ConcacafWorldCup #Jamaica #New24hour #new24hour #New24hours #News24hour #USMNT #WorldCupqualificationvs.Jamaica

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mrfogmaxpro · 3 years ago

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USMNT Concacaf World Cup qualification vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV information, USMNT roster

#ConcacafWorldCup #Jamaica #New24hour #new24hour #New24hours #News24hour #USMNT #WorldCupqualificationvs.Jamaica

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debbiebfansler · 3 years ago

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USMNT Concacaf World Cup qualification vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV information, USMNT roster

#ConcacafWorldCup #Jamaica #New24hour #new24hour #New24hours #News24hour #USMNT #WorldCupqualificationvs.Jamaica

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dalerwalker2 · 3 years ago

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USMNT Concacaf World Cup qualification vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV information, USMNT roster

#ConcacafWorldCup #Jamaica #New24hour #new24hour #New24hours #News24hour #USMNT #WorldCupqualificationvs.Jamaica

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suejbueche · 3 years ago

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USMNT Concacaf World Cup qualification vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV information, USMNT roster

#ConcacafWorldCup #Jamaica #New24hour #new24hour #New24hours #News24hour #USMNT #WorldCupqualificationvs.Jamaica

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bernadettedmoreno · 3 years ago

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USMNT Concacaf World Cup qualification vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV information, USMNT roster

#ConcacafWorldCup #Jamaica #New24hour #new24hour #New24hours #News24hour #USMNT #WorldCupqualificationvs.Jamaica

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annettedlopez2 · 3 years ago

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USMNT Concacaf World Cup qualification vs. Jamaica: Live stream and TV information, USMNT roster

#ConcacafWorldCup #Jamaica #New24hour #new24hour #New24hours #News24hour #USMNT #WorldCupqualificationvs.Jamaica

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junker-town · 5 years ago

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Building a better USMNT together: Picking the right tactics for the right team

We’re using ‘Football Manager 20’ to develop the United States’ young stars. But who should make the team, and how should we use them?

I’m using Football Manager 20 to build the best United States Men’s National Team I can, controlling both the USMNT and FC Dallas. Last week, we did a lot of dual national recruiting, took a look at our best young prospects, and set up the initial framework of our team.

At the end of the introduction, I asked y’all what you want to see and how I should set up our team, something I’m going to do regularly throughout this series. I got a lot of great responses, so let’s run through them. First, my former colleague and noted FC Dallas fan Tim Cato.

Where’s Paxton Pomykal?

this is extremely good quarantine content. but where is our baby boy paxton

— Tim Cato (@tim_cato) March 19, 2020

We’re certainly going to try our best to make Paxton Pomykal a key player for Dallas and a regular for the USMNT, but I am going to need to be equal parts good and lucky to do so. He’s good enough to be a decent MLS contributor, but he’s far from a superstar. I think the game underrates his dribbling and work rate.

Here’s how USMNT assistant Josh Wolff rates Pomykal relative to our other options. He’ doesn’t have mega high potential, and he’s currently worse than Keaton Parks and Cristian Roldan, two players he’s competing with.

His potential isn’t set in stone, though; it’s just Wolff’s opinion based on current information. If we get our training schedules right and he plays well in MLS, he’ll improve. But Pax will likely be passed by Gianluca Busio and a couple of other high potential players in the U-20 pool. Perhaps even by his own club teammates, Brandon Servania and Thomas Roberts.

Where’s Giovanni Reyna?

4-1-4-1 is fine, and so is attacking but where is Gio Reyna? The American that’s lighting up the Bundesliga with Dortmund?

— the only worthy ronan (@ronan_b13) March 19, 2020

I somehow failed to notice that Giovanni Reyna, arguably the best Under-20 prospect the USMNT has in real life, wasn’t in the pool I showed in episode one. I found him, tried to recruit him to the USMNT, and got this message.

Reyna looks really good, so I’m concerned we’ll lose him to England. NYCFC has his MLS rights, so we can’t loan him in and trick the system that way. We need to hope that his career stalls out for a bit, or that NYCFC signs him on loan. If he starts playing regularly for Dortmund, or on loan for a 2. Bundesliga team, I think he’ll get called up by England and we’ll be screwed.

Tactical suggestions

play strikerless. i know it sounds crazy, but trust me. 3 central attacking midfielders. force Pulisic to play out of position but maybe use him as a trequartista.

— Rose (@StUziRoRo) March 20, 2020

I’ve seen some content creators do this and it looks great. I’ve done it in previous editions of FM when it was meta. But a) I want Josh Sargent to be a key player for my team, and b) I’d rather play realistic tactics than cheese the match engine.

I'd suggest a second striker, a big guy. Josh alone next to two 6'3+ defenders is not fortunate. Maybe 5 3 2, with high stamina wingers, allow josh to drift to the sides and play counter attack.

— vielosofALI (@rgndsnali) March 20, 2020

I like this idea with almost all of the USMNT’s personnel, but the problem is that Christian Pulisic doesn’t fit into the system. He’s not good enough defensively to play the winger/wingback role, and he’s not good enough in the center to start there, either. I have to play him in an advanced wide role, and I’m not benching him, so we’re stuck with 4-3-3 variants.

From SB Nation editorial manager Pete Volk: With tactics, I like the idea of trying out a hard counter-attack style, basically doing a successful version of the direct style previous real USMNT managers have tried? Might be a way of highlighting the athleticism of the squad and hiding some of the technical flaws? But maybe the solution is having one of each, dependent on the opponent (especially since quality of national teams vary so much).

Vs. Attacking teams, use counter-attacking Tactic + No pressing. Vs. Defensive teams, use Attacking Tactic + hard pressing. Vs. Counter-attacking teams, use possession tactic. Every team is different so it’s good to have 3 tactics. This is what’s called being a Tactical manager.

— Tigers G (@TigersG2) March 21, 2020

I really like these suggestions! I’ve decided to take what Pete and Tigers said into serious consideration and come up with three different tactics with enough consistent themes that our players should be able to switch among them depending on the opposition.

Here’s our control possession tactic:

Our counter-attacking tactic:

And our gegenpressing tactic:

I anticipate the control possession tactic being our “base” system for most matches, especially in CONCACAF. We’ll be slightly better than a lot of the teams we face, which means our opponents will likely be sitting back but trying to counter-attack. But the gegenpress tactic will come in handy against teams that are physically overmatched, and hopefully the counter tactic will help us steal results against top teams.

Arriola vs. Morris

From SB Nation soccer team site manager Jeremiah Oshan: I’d love to know how Jordan Morris got left off the squad. He’s a little on the older side, I suppose, but at 25 still has a couple World Cups in him and is coming off a season in which he was arguably the best attacking player (aside from Pulisic) in the USMNT pool.

I think that Paul Arriola is slightly overrated in the game, and Jordan Morris is slightly underrated. Here’s the direct comparison.

Pulisic and Tim Weah are our starting wingers, and Jonathan Amon is a big talent with game-changing speed who I want on the bench. The last winger spot is for a defensive substitution, and Arriola does that job much better than Morris.

Advanced ‘crootin

From SB Nation commenter aanvil: Target Brazilians (and Argentinians). Use your DP slots to sign 18-year-old studs with no caps, then do whatever it takes to hold onto them for five years until they gain eligibility for the U.S.A.

I like this idea, and I think it’s something that will come up naturally if I play this save for a decade-plus. Some of the best players I find to sign for FC Dallas will just naturally be youngsters who aren’t good enough to play for Brazil or Argentina, and I assume other MLS teams will sign players from countries with excellent national teams who will pick up American citizenship in an attempt to play for me.

I’m not going to enact ‘crootin like this as a policy just because I want to see what we can do with players from MLS academies and the draft, but I’ll definitely take opportunities to add naturalized players to the USMNT as they come up.

Next week, we’ll get into the MLS season and talk about the development of some of FC Dallas’ prospects whose futures are very much up in the air. We’ll also play our first match with the USMNT, against Colombia.

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gadgetsrevv · 5 years ago

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Sergino Dest could be U.S. Soccer’s ‘Next Big Thing’ but even if he’s not, he’s proof of progress

Gregg Berhalter speaks highly of new USMNT first team members Sergino Dest and Paxton Pomykal, after naming his 26-player squad for upcoming friendlies.

Gregg Berhalter previews USMNT vs. Mexico and how Josh Sargent used missing out on the Gold Cup as a positive.

The list of American soccer’s Next Big Things extends back further than you might think, at least all the way to Steve Snow.

Uh, who?

Snow was the Parade Magazine High School Player of the Year in 1988. In suburban Chicago, he scored a goal in 49 consecutive high school games and earned a place on the 1989 U.S. Under-20 World Cup team. Snow scored five goals in seven qualification games and then another three more at the tournament in Saudi Arabia, where the U.S. came in fourth, still their best-ever U20 finish. After attending Indiana University for a year, he turned pro in 1990 and signed Belgian outfit Standard Liege.

— Borden: Pulisic isn not your wonder boy anymore — Carlisle: Way too early look at USMNT for 2022 — Schoenfeld: Former phenom Adu is not giving up just yet

How good was Snow? Former USMNT midfielder Chris Henderson told MLSSoccer.com in 2014 that, “From 1985-1989, he was the best forward in the country. He was the best goalscorer I’ve ever played with.” However, Snow soon struggled with injuries and had a falling out with U.S. Soccer at the 1992 Olympics. He was benched for the tournament-opening 2-1 loss to Italy, and told reporters after the game, “This team cannot play at all without me. This team wouldn’t be here without me.” He played and scored in both of the side’s remaining group games, but never made another appearance for the full national team. After a couple years of professional indoor soccer, Snow was out of the sport completely by 1995.

This, of course, is a cycle that American soccer fans are by now all too familiar with. There’s a savior identified at a young age. Then there’s a brief period of initial senior-level excitement. Then the impossible expectations are never met, for one reason or another. And then the cycle starts over again, and the U.S. men’s national team remains in the same spot it’s been in for the last 30 years: somewhere between, say, the 15th and 40th best team in the world.

Could 18-year-old full-back Sergino Dest be U.S. Soccer’s ‘Next Big Thing?’

John O’Brien, Freddy Adu, Juan Agudelo, Bobby Convey, Santino Quaranta, Julian Green, etc. — there’s a starting XI and a full bench worth of prospects who failed to live up to the hype. But the reality is that most youth prospects globally don’t become high-level professional players, and a microscopic sliver of them go on to become what one might consider “world class”. Case and point, in 2007, World Soccer magazine published a list of the 50 most exciting teenagers on the planet. On the cover were Giovani dos Santos, who’s currently playing in Liga MX with Club America, Alexandre Pato, who’s back in Brazil with Sao Paulo after two years in China, and Anderson, who once played for Man United but now plays for Adana Demirspor, a club in the Turkish second division.

“Everyone has their own progress,” USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter told the media on Monday, ahead of the team’s upcoming friendlies against Mexico and Uruguay. “The speed in which they continue to progress is unpredictable.”

The goal for any national soccer federation is to simply create more top-level talent, and the way to do that isn’t to hope for one player to appear and suddenly change a country’s fortunes. Rather, it’s to build an environment where there isn’t just one top prospect in a generation, but 10, so when seven of them don’t pan out, you’re still left with three more. In other words, the more raffle tickets you have, the better your chances of winning.

The U.S. still isn’t close to reaching the kind of talent production seen in France or now England, but things have slowly started to change. Perhaps that’s why there’s an 18-year-old American starting for a team that made the Champions League semifinals last year, and it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal.

—

Sergino Dest was born in Almere, Netherlands in 2000. He initially played for a local club before joining Dutch giants Ajax in 2012. After six seasons in what might be Europe’s premier talent-development factory, Dest was promoted to the Amsterdam club’s second team, Jong Ajax, last year. He made 17 appearances in the Dutch second division and then went on to star for the U.S. at this past summer’s U20 World Cup. Come August, he was starting for Ajax, as they overcame Cypriot power APOEL, 2-0, in Champions League qualification playoff-round. And this week he earned his first USMNT call-up.

Sergino Dest has broken into the starting XI at Ajax and now must decide between playing internationally for the U.S. or Holland.

“For him, he got his opportunity, he seized his opportunity, and now he’s a starter for Ajax, a semifinalist in the Champions League,” Berhalter said. “That’s an unbelievable story. You can never tell when it happens, who it’s gonna happen to, but Sergino’s in a good moment now, and we wanna capitalize on that.”

Dest, whose mother is Dutch and whose father was an American serviceman stationed in the Netherlands, has all the outlines of a top-tier modern full-back. He’s rangy enough to get up and down the sideline without throwing a team’s defensive structure out of whack, but he’s also comfortable coming infield and functioning from more traditional midfield positions — whether it’s progressing the ball up the field, maintaining possession, or play-making around the opponent’s goal.

He’s got the kind of slick, 360-degree range of movement that’s rare among players who spend most of their minutes cramped up against the sideline. It’s only a couple games, but the youngster completed 90 percent of his passes and won a higher percentage of 50-50 duels than any other full-back during UCL qualification. In the final match against APOEL, a 2-0 home win, he created two chances, in addition to completing a higher percentage of his passes and winning a higher percentage of duels than any other player on the field. Not bad for an 18-year-old.

Ajax were then drawn into a Champions League group with two other Americans: Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, and Lille’s Timothy Weah. Another, Tyler Adams, will also participate in the competition with RB Leipzig. Not one of those players is old enough to buy a beer in the States yet, and they represent a growing trend within U.S. Soccer: there are more Americans playing in professional academies than ever before.

According to US Soccer, the 2017-through-2018 cycle of youth national team players featured around 50 international-based players called in for the U14 through U20 teams. For the 2018-19 cycle, that number jumped up to about 70.

“We have continued to expand our talent identification structure both domestically and abroad, with the goal of locating and developing the best players wherever they are,” said Earnie Stewart, U.S. Soccer’s sporting director. “The results of those efforts are reflected in the makeup of our youth national team rosters, and will ultimately benefit the senior team.”

At the 2009 U20 World Cup, 10 of the U.S.’s 21 players were either playing college soccer at the time or were associated with American clubs below the MLS level. Only three guys on that roster were playing for European teams at the time. Fast forward 10 years, and every player on this past summer’s team was either with an MLS side or a European club. In fact, more than half of that roster came from Europe. Thanks to globalized scouting networks at most top clubs and an increasing interest and investment in American players, just about every big club in Europe now has at least one American somewhere in its pipeline.

Stateside, every MLS club now has its own academy, and all but two of them (Minnesota and D.C. United) are free. One added side effect of MLS’s continued expansion is the growth of affordable, high-level training in a sport that has tended to weed out lower-income, non-white kids due to high participation costs or lack of a nearby club. The U.S. remains humongous and 24 MLS clubs aren’t close enough to cover it, but the current situation is better than the one where Clint Dempsey‘s parents had to completely rearrange their lives just so their son could get to and from practice.

On the most recent USMNT roster of 26 players, 10 spent time in an MLS academy and another 10 were at a European club before their 21st birthday. Tyler Adams, who isn’t on the current roster due to injury but is expected to be one of the team’s stars over the next decade, came up through the New York Red Bull academy and then signed with RB Leipzig when he was 19. Weston McKennie came up with FC Dallas and joined Schalke when he was 18. When healthy, both of them are already starters for two of the better clubs in the Bundesliga. While Christian Pulisic has shown enough to suggest that America’s Next Big Thing might finally actually become The Big Thing, he’s also going to be flanked by a collection of young talent that exists, in part, because of a developmental environment that never existed for a prior generation.

Whether that group actually includes Dest isn’t a sure thing yet. Although he’s represented the US at U17 and U20 levels, he is still eligible to play for the Netherlands. If he does end up representing the country in which he was born, that could end up being a big blow the USMNT. Long-term, though, the goal should be to finally get to the point where the future of a single player isn’t so closely tied with the future fortunes of the team. The numbers aren’t there yet, but they’re moving in the right direction.

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#Uncategorized #Ajax #Sergino Dest #u.s. soccer Sergino Dest could be U.S. Soccer’s ‘Next Big Thing’

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savetopnow · 7 years ago

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2018-03-24 06 SPORTS now

SPORTS

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365footballorg-blog · 6 years ago

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Armchair Analyst: What's at stake across the league on Decision Day

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October 26, 20182:37PM EDT

And so here it is, the final weekend of the 2018 MLS regular season – the highest-scoring regular season in nearly 20 years. I like goals, so this has been a lot of fun for me.

What’s at stake during Decision Day presented by AT&T? The final playoff spot in each conference, the Supporters’ Shield, homefield advantage basically everywhere (but especially the top of the West), perhaps the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award, and the Valderrama Award (I just made that up but from now on that’s what I’m calling the single-season assist king. Please join me in pushing this and together we can make fetch happen).

Let’s dive in and go for one last swim around the league:

Chicago Fire vs. D.C. United 4:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

At Stake for Chicago: Pride and jobs. This, from Jose Luis Sanchez Pando’s look at the Fire this week in the Chicago Tribune, is pretty stark:

The cruel reality is that, aside from only four players (Richard Sanchez, Dax McCarty, Aleksandar Katai and Nemanja Nikolic), the rest of the roster and coaching staff will be out of a contract at the end of December and, given how poor the season has been, it would not be strange to see a complete clearing out of the squad with several departures.

That doesn’t mean those will be the only four guys who return, since the team has a ton of guys with contract options for 2019, but it speaks to just how hard a reboot might be coming this offseason. For everyone.

At Stake for D.C.: Their second-half run has been remarkable, and they finished the first job last weekend by once again taking three home points and officially qualifying for the playoffs.

What they haven’t had to do much of since July is leave home, and for a team with a 1-9-6 road record this year, that’s obviously a good thing. And that brings us to the second job: Win this one and they’ll get to play the Knockout Round game down at the Southwest Waterfront District. Lose, and they’re definitely going on the road on short rest. A draw means they have to get some help from NYCFC in order to get that home game.

United have been truly awesome to watch over the last four months, but it’s all come with a caveat. Win here and that caveat goes away at least a little bit.

By the way…

So I checked every season for every team on the #MLS website. So there’s a bit of a caveat here, but if Yamil Asad scores next weekend, #DCU will be the first team in which 4 players reached double digit regular season goals in one year.

— Steven Streff (@streffsoccer) October 22, 2018

This team is so much more than just the Wayne Rooney/Lucho Acosta show.

NYCFC vs. Philadelphia Union 4:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

At Stake for NYCFC: Homefield advantage, their identity, a proper farewell for David Villa (maybe), and… are those whispers about Dome’s job? Too soon for that, but the fanbase is really, really unhappy, and I get it.

This team, which was justifiably considered one of the league’s best at the start of the year, and spent the first five months of the season somewhere amongst the top three or four in the Shield race, has gone 2-6-4 since the end of July. Injuries have played a part, but just a part not the part. The fact is that NYCFC have come unglued in terms of how and where they press, what they do when they win the ball back, and how to even build from the back – the most crucial and definitive part of their identity under Patrick Vieira.

They look nothing like a contender in any sense of the word, and everything like a team that will get worked in the Knockout Round if they have to play anywhere but Yankee Stadium.

All they need to claim a home game is a point. Villa’s healthy and Yangel Herrera is back for probably 30 minutes, and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi’s good to go. No excuses here.

At Stake for Philly: Homefield advantage is the big one. If Philly win this they leapfrog NYCFC and finish in third place. It would be a testament to how well they’ve played since mid-May, and a validation of both head coach Jim Curtin’s trust in the kids as well as the organizational philosophy. And it’s clear that these kids are very, very good:

good morning to everyone that wants to see how modern centerback @markmckenzie4_ handled the best press in @MLS history. he’s just getting started, y’all.

and this is only from the first half. pic.twitter.com/QJ2G6TXVYm

— Adam Cann (@adamtcann) October 23, 2018

That kind of play out of the back is really useful on most fields. Beware of it in the Bronx, though.

Here’s the thing: Philly have played five truly big games in their last six outings. They started out with two excellent wins (at Seattle, and home to SKC). Then Houston put them in the blender in the U.S. Open Cup final. Then they came out of that and got a credible draw at Columbus. And then last week they played really well against RBNY… but found a way to lose.

The Union are good and talented and, as befitting a team with a lot of young players and no real match-winning goalscorer, still leave a lot of results on the table. Win this one and the narrative continues to nudge a little bit more in the direction they want.

By the way, the Valderrama Award will almost certainly be won by either United’s Acosta or the Union’s Borek Dockal, both of whom are on 17 assists for the season.

Toronto FC vs. Atlanta United 4:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

At Stake for Toronto FC: Nothing but pride, really. I’m pretty sure they don’t want to see the Five Stripes waltz into BMO Field and 1) break the single-season points record TFC set just last year, and 2) claim the Shield. That would, I imagine, feel pretty bad.

At Stake for Atlanta United: The Shield, and a good chunk of how we talk about the Tata Martino era. These Atlanta teams of the last two years are going to be remembered with real fondness – they played fun and fast and relatively flexible soccer, brought in some of the most exciting new talent anybody’s ever imported, and won a lot of games in style. But will they be remembered as champions?

Win the Shield (which is IMO the very best major trophy to win, because it means you gave your fans eight months of great soccer), and the answer is “yes.” Anything less than that here and suddenly the playoffs are that more pressure-packed. And it’s got to be said: Tata’s teams have a long and sad history of failing to take the last hurdle.

Atlanta are going to be without Miguel Almiron again in this one, which means they’re not going to be as explosive driving out of midfield with the ball on their foot. They’re going to have to be tidier and more creative in possession, and when they do use the ball well…

… they need better than that from Josef Martinez. The Golden Boot winner has scored in just one of his last seven games, and you could argue that the MVP award is on the line here. If he posts another zero, and Atlanta blow their 28-3 lead in the Shield race, and Zlatan leads the Galaxy into the playoffs, it’s at least a debate as to who the MVP is. Two month ago it wasn’t.

RBNY vs. Orlando City 4:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

At Stake for RBNY: Depending upon how the Atlanta games out, they’ve got a shot at their third Shield in six years. And if they win this (which they absolutely should), they’ve got at worst the second-highest single-season points total in league history.

Beyond that: Even in the playoffs I’d expect certain teams to bunker against this RBNY bunch, and why not? Bunkering has historically worked against them in two-legged series, and we have enough data points in that regard to be pretty sure this information is not flukey. So against an Orlando side that played a 3-6-1 (or maybe a 5-4-1) last week to claim just their second win since May, and will probably do the same again, and will do so deep in their own defensive end… this is good practice, right? This is something that the Red Bulls can use to shore up what’s been a traditional weak spot.

I wouldn’t be shocked if, at some point, Chris Armas brings on a second forward next to Bradley Wright-Phillips. Just to see.

At Stake for Orlando City: Jobs, certainly. You don’t go straight into the toilet for 70 percent of the season and not suffer some sort of professional comeuppance. Closing the year with two straight wins would potentially mitigate a bit of that.

There’s also the chance to inch further toward having some definable style or philosophy. The 3-6-1/5-4-1 they played last week is an inherently defensive formation (especially when trotting out multiple d-mids as is James O’Connor’s wont), but at times in the second half it looked a lot like an attacking 3-4-3.

Columbus Crew SC vs. Minnesota United 4:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

At Stake for Columbus: A trip to the playoffs. While they might get help from New England, they absolutely should not count on the Revs in any possible way. Crew SC need to treat this like a must-win game, and also as a should-win game. They’ve gone 2-4-3 in their last nine, nobody can score from open play, the defense has suddenly become a bit fragile, and the Gregg Berhalter-to-the-USMNT rumors are probably playing some sort of role re: focus and distractions.

You are still professionals. You are still playing a home game against an inferior team. If Columbus don’t make the playoffs it will be a choke job akin to FC Dallas last season.

At Stake for Minnesota: Nothing really – the Loons’ braintrust has made it clear that almost everybody’s going to be back next year – except maybe proof of concept:

Darwin Quintero’s output for #MNUFC this season, split before and after Christian Ramirez.

That’s a notable dip in xG+xA production. His raw chance numbers are also down, showing increased defensive focus. Ramirez did a lot of off-ball running to create space for Quintero. pic.twitter.com/juP2XjXrTq

— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) October 23, 2018

Part of being smart about building a team is understanding that it’s not just a collection of talent, but rather a collection of partnerships. So far that really, really hasn’t worked out with MNUFC’s new Designated Players.

By the way, if MNUFC lose 2-0 they’ll finish this year with 36 points, 47 goals scored and 70 conceded. Last year they finished with 36 points, 47 goals scored and 70 conceded.

New England Revolution vs. Montreal Impact 4:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

At Stake for New England: Take it away, Brad Friedel:

“[This game is] important for a lot of reasons. Montreal has a lot to play for, so I think it’s only right we give maximum effort to make sure the final league standings are a true, accurate reading of what they should be.”

“I think the second reason is players are still playing for their positions next year, and playing for contracts next year. And performances, especially like that first half against Real Salt Lake, won’t help their chances.”

“That’s another thing. The players really need to put on a show for the fans. We were in a great position and came unstuck right after the LA Galaxy game, and that’s not something the fans deserve. They spend a lot of time and a lot of money coming out to watch us play, so I think it’s only fitting the players put in maximum effort and try to get three points.”

Friedel talks in bullet points and I respect the hell out of that. It also needs reiterating that, over the past two seasons, the Revs have spent more on their backline and defensive midfield than anyone outside of the Galaxy, and of the six big-budget players they’ve brought in, only one (Michael Mancienne) is currently a starter. And he’s not 100 percent looking the part.

So there’s a bunch of proof-of-concept stuff applying here, just as it is in Minnesota.

At Stake for Montreal: Potentially – if Columbus trip up – a playoff spot. And it wouldn’t be entirely undeserved, as Montreal have gone 11-5-4 in regular season play since the start of June. It took a while for Remi Garde to figure out what he was doing, but eventually he mashed the “bunker and counter!” button and it largely worked.

But there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to ride this into next season. Usually if a team discovers itself in the second half of Year A, then you can count on them coming out with that identity and riding it at the start of Year B. Even if they miss the playoffs I expect the Impact will try to do that in 2019 (I don’t think there will be a ton of turnover on the staff), but this is the league’s oldest team. Seven of the starters are over 30, two are over 35, and only one is under the age of 25. As individuals most of these guys are as good as they’re ever going to be, and are pretty firmly on the downslope.

That somehow doesn’t yet include Ignacio Piatti, who’s having his best year yet. But he turns 34 before next season kicks off, and eventually Father Time’s going to take a round from him.

If Montreal get the job done here, and get some luck courtesy of the Loons, and get into the playoffs, they are absolutely terrifying and potentially bracket-busting darkhorses. If not, 2019’s an open question.

Sporting KC vs. LAFC 4:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

At Stake for Sporting KC: The view from the top. We’ve beaten to death the fact that SKC have been eliminated on the road in the Knockout Round for four straight years, and that’s because SKC have been beaten to death on the road in the Knockout Round for four straight years. If you don’t want us to talk about it, don’t play in that game.

Well, they’re for sure not going on the road in the Knockout Round – last week’s results made that official. Now they can go one step further and, with a home win against a good team on the final day of the season, claim the No. 1 spot in the West and homefield advantage at least until MLS Cup (should they make it that far).

SKC had their best win of the season last week, pounding FC Dallas 3-0 in Dallas. Khiry Shelton was at the heart of it:

#SportingKC record when Shelton starts at CF:

8W-4D-2L (+14 GD)

Shelton, Russell, Salloi start together:

8W-3D-1L (+16 GD)

— Andy Edwards (@AndyEdMLS) October 21, 2018

Do it again and the starting No. 9 job is certainly his. Maybe it should be anyway.

This is not a given, though. SKC are a middling 5-6-4 against playoff teams (counting RSL and Columbus as in, with the Galaxy and Impact as out).

At Stake for LAFC: All of the above, more or less. LAFC have had a remarkable maiden voyage, winning with goals and style and possession and flair and set-pieces and overlapping fullbacks and wingers coming from every angle under the sun. It’s been fun.

They’ve also been sloppy and naive defending leads basically throughout the year, and have given squandered 15 points worth of results, including last week’s 2-0 lead over Vancouver that turned into a dispiriting 2-2 home draw. That should not happen if you’re a contender.

Even if things go super wrong they’re not going to drop below fourth place, as the goal differential between them and the Timbers is too great. Still… show us something here. Go gut out a result.

Colorado Rapids vs. FC Dallas 4:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

At Stake for Colorado: Jobs for the players, certainly. There’s going to be a bunch of roster turnover yet again, and at least Anthony Hudson has shown some foresight in finally getting the kids onto the field over the past month (Cole Bassett has looked unusually calm and competent at central midfield for a 17-year-old).

My guess is that, regardless of the final score here, Hudson and GM Padraig Smith are both probably safe. Closing the year with three straight results, though – a win at Minnesota, a draw at San Jose and then at least a point here – while playing the kids would be something tangible to build upon.

They need to do a better job with their offseason scouting this year, though.

At Stake for FC Dallas: They’re 6-6-4 in the second half of the season and they’ve scored one open play goal since September 1. At times they look pretty good, but then that last touch…

You’re totally justified in blaming the forwards and wingers for not finishing. But the underlying numbers aren’t great, either, as both expected goals and expected assists are down. They’re not creating as many chances, and they’re not finding as many chances, and they not finishing anything.

The defense has mostly carried the load, but we saw them start to break down last week. If they break down again this week (unlikely against the league’s worst attack), Dallas could drop all the way to fifth and find themselves opening the playoffs on short rest in Providence Park. Obviously that’s not what an ideal way to open the playoffs.

Bear all of the above in mind, but also: That lovely throughball in the highlight to start the break-out? That was from Santiago Mosquera. The DP winger has been working under the radar this season, but since earning his way into the lineup in late August he’s been mostly pretty good, a hell of a lot of fun, and an occasional match-winner.

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Portland Timbers 4:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

At Stake for Vancouver: Two years ago on Decision Day Vancouver ruined Portland’s collective life, beating them 4-1 and knocking them out of the playoffs. In 2017 they went to Portland and lost 2-1, allowing their rivals to top the West. What will happen in Round 3?

Now, the Timbers can’t top the West, nor can they fall out of the playoffs. But at the very least Vancouver have a chance to inflict some misery here.

Beyond that, there are jobs on the line. We’ve already seen Carl Robinson part ways with the club, and a whole host of the players he’s brought in over the past few years have mostly underachieved. A bunch of them won’t be back.

Neither will Alphonso Davies, who definitely did not underachieve. ‘Caps fans should cheer and sing their heads off for him for the full 90, and he should get an 88th minute curtain call no matter what the scoreline is at the time.

At Stake for Portland: Homefield advantage if either Dallas or Seattle manage to biff it. The Timbers are a better road team than in recent years, but 11-2-5 (Providence Park) is a lot better than 4-7-5 (elsewhere). A win would at least give them a prayer of a home game in the Knockout Round, and would close their regular season slate with two straight away wins against decent teams.

Bigger picture: There’s some identity stuff at play here. Portland have performed better recently in the 4-2-3-1 Gio Savarese scrapped way back in March, and another positive data point would be useful heading into the postseason.

Biggest picture: Soccer has often been termed as a “weak link” game – i.e., the herd can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. Who’s the weak link for Portland? Most often this year it’s been the center forward and one of the wingers. Jeremy Ebobisse, who seems to have locked down the No. 9 role, was excellent with 1g/2a in the two wins over RSL. This is so nice:

Andy Polo, who’s been mostly on the right wing, has only really been “functional.” Getting just a little bit of danger out of the guy – he has 1g/2a in 1600 minutes – would be nice.

Seattle Sounders vs. San Jose Earthquakes 4:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

At Stake for Seattle: It would be at least a little bit hilarious if, after the best half-season in MLS history, the Sounders figured out how to lose to the Quakes on the final day, at home, and cost themselves a home game in the Knockout Round. Win and get some help elsewhere and they could even avoid the Knockout Round entirely.

Given their institutional knowledge, their individual quality, their recent performance and Nico Lodeiro’s all-around greatness (this is now unmistakably his team), Seattle should probably be considered no worse than co-favorites in the West no matter what the result is here. But at the same time, they haven’t exactly been facing down murderer’s row since July.

At Stake for San Jose: Another chance to impress Matias Almeyda, who will be on hand and taking the game in with interest, I’m sure.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I really, really like a bunch of San Jose’s not-so-young-anymore attackers. They’re all playing regular minutes now, and moments like this hold more than just promise:

#WondoWatch is still alive and well, too. A single goal and he equals Landon Donovan’s career mark; a brace and he’s the new all-time goals king.

I will be shocked if he gets that brace this weekend, but Seattle have been sloppy defending restarts lately. Don’t be shocked if Wondo pinches one.

LA Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo 4:30 pm ET | Match Preview | TV & streaming info

At Stake for LA: They are mad at Bobby Warshaw in Sweden because he doesn’t believe Zlatan should be anywhere near the MVP race.

Anything less than the full three points, and the discussion becomes moot – the Galaxy will have missed the playoffs and Zlatan’s first season, despite his great stats, will be considered an on-field failure. If he puts together yet another commanding performance (he has 7g/3a in his last seven games), and leads the Galaxy to a win, and thus into the playoffs, and if Josef and Atlanta fall short in the Shield race… then Zlatan’s got a real argument.

This is literally a must-win for Zlatan, and for the Galaxy, and for interim head coach Dom Kinnear (who’s done a nice job of simplifying the team shape and tipping some expensively sacred cows on that backline).

There are bound to be a bunch of changes this offseason regardless, but if Kinnear Schmetzers this team to an MLS Cup title, he’ll probably get that “interim” tag removed. Everything’s a final from here on out for the Galaxy.

At Stake for Houston: Nothing much, and they’ve been playing like it sine winning the Open Cup. This team’s core is going to be back next year – hopefully with some defensive reinforcements – and their next game will be in the Concacaf Champions League. Going out on a high note would be nice, but what would be nicer is making sure nobody gets injured and that they get through a game without a colossal defensive error.

One More Thing to Ponder

Go check out the Slow Mo Guys on Youtube.

Happy weekending, everybody.

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The Winning 11 Pick ‘Em’

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Armchair Analyst: What's at stake across the league on Decision Day was originally published on 365 Football

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