Full Transcript for USMNT Roster Reaction: Snubs, Surprises & 3 Things Tab Wants to See

few players that won't get an opportunity to play too much. And maybe some of the younger guys won't because, you know, when you look at Matisse Albert, for example, he hasn't played that much since the last camp. And, you know, so for me, that's a little bit of a surprise of him being here. You know, when I look at Brian Reynolds, he hasn't been around in a while. He also hasn't played a lot in the last couple of games with his team either. You know, um, And then the other guys, you know, Justin Ellis, I think, is a great player and I think he's done well. But did he do enough really to get on this roster in front of like Pepe, for example? You know, so, you know, I do have some questions. Audrey Mimetti, I watch him play every game. I love the way he plays. I think he's got a lot to offer. But is he ready for, you know, these type of games already? And, you know, and I'm not sure about that. And I'm not sure that in the last camp he did enough. to earn another call for this particular camp and there'll be others. But yeah, so there's been, there's been a few surprises for me on the, on the side of getting selected. But within that, I have to say, you know, it's, you know, we have a lot of good players and it's not easy to get selected for these camps. And, and when you look at the omissions without, without going too far here, when you look at the omissions and you see that, you know, Johnny Cardoso and, and way, and, and Pepe and Arvsten and Moussa are not here, I think that says a lot for the players who did get called. Because we left out some players that could really make a difference for this team. 00:06:46 Speaker 3: Tab, when I was trying to compile the omissions or the guys who maybe just missed the roster, I was like, hey, you could put together a half-decent 11 here. And to your point, that's a notch in the direction of the pool being stronger than... I think 18 months ago, there were some real fears of depth. And of course, at the international level, you need your best players and the omissions don't include the key players, the match winning players. But there's a lot of depth and there's a lot of guys that if they were on this roster, you wouldn't be like, I have no idea how that happened. And so for a couple of those points, so there's 25 players in this camp. You can only dress 23 for a match day. And Pochettino was like, I wanted to bring 25 because if there's an injury, I'd rather just players be here than having to try to call somebody in from the cold. And then the players understand that two players won't be on the match day roster and that's okay. And I think that's good communication on Ricardo Pepe. Marisa Pochettino went out of his way to say, listen, Flo Balogun and Ricardo Pepe, neither of these players are a hundred percent. I did not want to bring both because I didn't want to have two center forwards who were injury concerns or minutes concerns or not totally fit. And he said, I thought it was important to bring Flo Balogun because of, the end of his summer and the failed move to Everton and the controversy, both at the world cup. And with that, he said, you know, I, we wanted to have flow here. And with Ricardo, we thought it was important for him to stay with PSV, keep training, uh, keep getting back into the rhythm so that he's 90 minutes fit and everything's good. So in Ricardo Pepe's case, it just happened to do with both his injury and the context there of the squad. Another thing that, that you said that I wanted to drive into as well about the, the surprise of Neil PR, not too many for me. Um, I want to be abundantly clear. I think Aji Mehmeti is maybe not quite the Calvin Sullivan level prospect, but to me, Aji Mehmeti is like a step below. I think that he is somebody that if he fulfills his potential, if his athleticism rounds out, his defensive reading of the game rounds out, he is somebody who can be an 80 cap player for this program. And I don't say that lightly. Neil Pierre can be the long-term solution as a partner for Chris Richards. 00:08:52 Speaker 4: He. 00:08:53 Speaker 3: I am expecting him to set a new MLS outbound record for a center back. And that was just set by Lucas Harrington. Seventeen million dollars plus add ons to go to whole city. These are two players that I would pencil in for the next World Cup starting level, which is obviously silly. A billion things will change by then. I say all that to say there's an Olympic camp that's going to be happening right now. I thought for sure Neil Pierre and Andre Medi were going to be there rather than within the senior team. Because to your point, like I thought Reigns outplayed Ajime Mehdi in the fall. I thought Neil Pierre showed like, OK, like he needs continues to have need more seasoning. Of course, he's an 18 year old center back who's got, I think, 25 first team appearances. Like these are not knocks on those players. And I think that these players will grow into crucial players for the national team. But when we did our projected squad, I didn't have either of them on it because, OK, they showed that, you know, maybe they'll be ready in the March or summer or whatever. 00:09:45 Speaker 4: Who cares? 00:09:46 Speaker 3: They probably would would benefit more from the Olympic camp or there are going to be other guys that they want to call to these spots. So I think it's interesting that Pochettino and maybe they were absolutely killers in training and maybe we just didn't see the best from the game. but i think that this shows pochettino is trying to juggle the short-term need for having the best squad at every camp but also long-term hey we're trying to build some of these guys and yeah i could call a 26 year old central midfielder but like ajumma medley i think is going to be a starter and however long pochettino and the staff sees it so we'd rather have him with us and bring. 00:10:17 Speaker 2: Him a Yeah, you know, there's a lot there of what you said. And I think, you

know, there's not many times where each one of us talks for a long period of time where we both completely agree with each other. But I have to say, you know, I completely agree with your assessment because there's no question, you know, that Audrey Mimetti and Pierre are both amazing prospects moving forward, right? But at the end of the day, you know, the number one priority of this camp, I think, for us looking from the outside is to win these games. I mean, I don't think we can be looking at it any other way, right? 00:10:56 Speaker 1: We have to. 00:10:58 Speaker 2: This is the first camp where we have some expectations again, right? And I know it's Haiti, but Haiti did go to the World Cup and we expect to win these games. The other thing that I would say is, you know, Mauricio Pochettino, when he was asked about this roster and in particular about his contact with Chirondolo and the Olympic team and the younger teams, because there's a U-20 camp going on also, he did say that there's a collaboration and that they're all working together. But at the end of the day, what's most important is the first team, which is this team. So he's going to call whatever is best for this team to get the results that he needs on this team. 00:11:34 Speaker 1: And that's the way to do it. There's no other way. 00:11:37 Speaker 2: And if that doesn't fit the Olympic team, well, the Olympic team will fix itself as the time goes by. with the guys that aren't going to be able to help as much on this team. And, and I, you know, I, I like that thought. I think that's the way it should be done. And if I think, you know, if, if Mauricio Pochettino is bringing Audrey Mimetti to this camp to not play them at all, instead of sending them to the Olympic team camp, where he would have played two games, I actually, I'm okay with that because I'm, I'm okay with Mauricio Pochettino, you know, doing whatever he can to figure out his way, on how this team is going to get better. 00:12:12 Speaker 1: And that's the bottom line. 00:12:14 Speaker 4: I love that view too. 00:12:16 Speaker 3: And like, not for nothing, if Ajay Mehmeti, if Matisse Albert, if Neil Pierre, if Julian Hall, if these Olympic age guys, if they don't spend a minute at Olympic age camps until the pre-tournament camp, I think they're all still going to start and be okay in that tournament. Like if they're released by their clubs, wherever they are in the summer of 2028, if it makes sense for everybody. I don't think that that would preclude any chemistry or any worries just because in November of 2026, they're not there. So I do think that's important too. So it's not as if they're not going to be doing anything. They'll be having high-level trainings. Though I will say Mameti and Hall, their seasons end with the Red Bulls this weekend. Justin Ellis' season will probably end after one more game for Orlando City in the wildcard game. So Matt Freeze, his season is already over. There will be a December camp for

mostly domestic-based guys, so they will play there. That's just a random thought. That's for another day. A couple other things around the squad. Talked about the omissions, snubs, whatever wordings. There's Tim Weah, Ricardo Pepe, who we mentioned. Matt Turner, who might win goalkeeper of the year. I think it's between him and Brian Schrock. He was included in this group. Aiden Morris, been one of the best players in the championship, still can't get in. Johnny Cardoso, who has missed a few games with Atletico Madrid. I don't know if he'll be fit or not, but he definitely won't be 100% fit. 00:13:36 Speaker 4: So he's not here. 00:13:37 Speaker 3: Tanner Tesson, Max Arfson, Jack McGlynn, who's lighting it up for Stoke City in the championship, and Yunus Musa, who returned from a year-and-a-half absence from the national team in the September window. So of any of those guys named, is there anyone that you would have particularly wanted to see in this camp? 00:13:55 Speaker 2: Well, let me start by saying that Tim Weah obviously has been captain for Marseille and is playing that right-back position, and that's one position that we talked about on our last podcast, and we said, you know what? 00:14:08 Speaker 1: Tim is a great player. He just doesn't fit into this team for some reason. 00:14:13 Speaker 4: Right. 00:14:14 Speaker 2: Because like we said, if you're playing a four, three, three, I think Tim way, I can help you on either side as a winger. 00:14:19 Speaker 1: Um, I think we have better outside back. 00:14:21 Speaker 2: So I don't think it would help as much as outside backs, you know, like we'd take Freeman and we'd take Robinson before, but. 00:14:28 Speaker 1: As a winger, I think Tim can help. Um, but we don't play with wingers. 00:14:32 Speaker 2: And so, and so I just don't think he's the You know, we talked about Mauricio Pochettino playing in that 4-2-3-1 and those three guys in that secondary line that would fall behind Balogun will be interchanging positions at times. And if you look at the players that we have, whether it's Solomon or Reina or Malik Tillman or Pulisic, they all can do that. 00:14:55 Speaker 1: They can play any position. 00:14:57 Speaker 2: I just don't feel like Tim Weah is that type of player. And so you'd have to take him to a position that really doesn't exist for him other than outside back. 00:15:06 Speaker 1: And so I can see that one. 00:15:08 Speaker 2: Now, when I look at the other players, let's say omissions, am I surprised Cardozo's not here? Not really, because he hasn't really been part of the picture for a while. And maybe if he starts playing every game for Atletico Madrid, you're going to have. 00:15:20 Speaker 1: To call him, right? Because that's a huge club. 00:15:22 Speaker 2: You've played every game. You have to bring him. The Moussa thing, you know, it's puzzling. He continues to play for AC Milan. But when we bring him here, we play him like a right winger type. That doesn't fit either. Doesn't fit either. So I'm not totally surprised by that. But I am surprised that Morris is not here, for example. 00:15:40 Speaker 1: I really am. 00:15:41 Speaker 2: And, you know, Tessman, you and I pushed for Tessman going into the World Cup. Once he didn't even make the roster, now it doesn't surprise me that he doesn't get called. Maybe he's just not the type of player that Pochettino is excited about. And by the way, he's a great player. And I think Pochettino would likely agree with that, right? He's playing for Lyon. But maybe he doesn't fit into what he wants to do. If I were to look at those type of players who was left out, I have to say, I said those two guys, the one that surprises. 00:16:10 Speaker 1: Me maybe more not being here is Arfson. 00:16:14 Speaker 2: Because I think we just really, and I know Whiting is coming in and it's sort of we're trying a new player. But although I'm supportive of bringing younger players up, I think Arfson would have been a better substitute for Robinson for this camp. And he showed us that he could do well. leading into the world cup. And, and I just think very highly of him. 00:16:37 Speaker 1: And although I think he doesn't defend as well as whiting likely, although we haven't seen whiting in, in this particular type of game, I still think Arston would have been, would have been better in that position. 00:16:50 Speaker 3: That's just, and it's interesting because like Rebecca whiting, his qualities, the reason why he's excelling for that's from the reason why he's, he's made this camp. He's an attacking fullback. Like it's, it's, He doesn't play in the same way as Orfson. Orfson is a better dribbler. But Reed Baker Whiting, he both underlaps and overlaps. And with Nashville, it works very well because it helps with the unpredictability and they dominate the games of the ball. All that is to say is that, like, they are similar strengths when you look at it in the macro sense. Like, it's not as if, oh, like, he's got so much more pace or, oh, he's a much better 1v1 defender. Like, the question marks about Orfson are like the question marks about Baker Whiting. Orfson, like, He put up really good numbers in terms of production going forward for the national team in 2025. I'd be... I was surprised at that. If this was who they were going to bring, if it wasn't Peyton Miller being with the senior team, and Peyton Miller probably will be with the Olympic squad, with him not being with the senior team, I figured, oh, that means Arfson would be there, but it wasn't. And same thing without Aiden Morris. The poor guy's got to be thinking, what do I need to do to get a call-up? 00:18:00 Speaker 4: So I feel for him. 00:18:00 Speaker 3: I know that He was gutted like everybody else who missed the World Cup squad for that. And he's just been even better with Burrow this year. And it hasn't gotten him into the picture. Like Castaneda, I haven't seen a ton of him with Powderborn, but I know he's a

destroyer. Like that is his Aiden Morris, like his best skill set and how he would fit in the national team. Castaneda is who was preferred there. One quick aside before we take a break. 00:18:27 Speaker 4: Julian Hall. 00:18:29 Speaker 3: If, and he will, if when he makes an appearance against Haiti in the Nations League, he will be officially capsized to the U.S. There was some dual national panic. Poland have very publicly quoted him. Sources have told me all along, this is not something to worry about really at all. He is, he's a kid that wants to be here at the United States. But publicly, and I don't know the in-depth story, publicly Hall has been really gracious towards Poland. He said things like, you know, hey, like my future isn't totally settled, even after he got the call up in the fall. For me, I'm just assuming that's just a kid trying to be polite or maybe, you know, trying not to burn bridges. He's somebody who cares a lot about his Polish heritage. His Polish heritage is through his mother. Him and his mother are very close. He was raised by his mother. He wears Zagorski on the back of his shirt. That's his middle name. It's a variation of his. 00:19:17 Speaker 4: Mom's last name. 00:19:19 Speaker 3: So I think all of those things came together that he was going to be very respectful of Poland. Torsz has told me there was never anything to worry about. And now when he plays tab He will be kept tight. He cannot switch to Poland and we won't ever have to talk about it again. 00:19:32 Speaker 1: Yeah, no. And it's a good thing. 00:19:34 Speaker 2: You know, I think he did the right thing by being gracious to both countries. Obviously, you know, you want to be gracious if somebody has that type of interest in you. And in particular, you talk about Poland. You know, this is a big soccer country over the years, a lot of history there and. 00:19:49 Speaker 1: Not an easy decision. for him either. But this is a decision he's made. And obviously anyone who's at this camp. 00:19:55 Speaker 2: Who may have a double citizenship, you know, that once you play a game in this camp, which is an official game, you can't switch. 00:20:02 Speaker 1: And so that's. 00:20:03 Speaker 3: Where we are. 00:20:03 Speaker 2: But, you know, and here's the thing. I think if Julian Hall was our third or fourth forward And we're trying to get him to come to camp and convince him so that he can sort of pad our team and reinforce the fact that we have so many forwards. 00:20:20 Speaker 1: It would be one thing. 00:20:22 Speaker 2: But I think Julian Hull, over the next couple of years, I think the goal here is for Julian Hull to be playing to be the starter on this team. And so I have, I mean, if I'm Julian Hull now, I'm feeling pretty good about being in this camp and about fighting with Balogun for a spot over the next couple of years. 00:20:40 Speaker 4: Exactly. 00:20:41 Speaker 3: And just analysis. He's got Uruguayan citizenship. Diego Forlan came to Orlando to have dinner with him before the first fall camp. The rules for teenagers are you have to play more than three games. And one of those games has to be an official competition. So Julian Hall played four times in the fall. I think Ellis did too. Ellis at least played three times. So when the both of them play this, this window, if they do, they will both be captied because for teenagers, it's different for, for, Castaneda, who has Colombian heritage, and he's publicly said, whoever calls me up first is where I'm going. I think if he plays at all, because he turns 22 next week, for players 21 and younger, there's more leniency. For players, like senior players, 22 and over, I believe it's just one competitive match. These are all things that are besides the point, particularly with Hall. It's not something to worry about. 00:21:30 Speaker 4: It's time for a break. 00:21:31 Speaker 3: Up next, we're going to give you the three biggest things we're looking forward to seeing for the USMNT against Haiti. Please rate, review, and subscribe to Inside American Soccer. Tom Bogren, Todd Ramos, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to Inside American Soccer. Let's dive into USMNT versus Haiti for the Nations League coming up later this month. Tab, we broke down the roster, the snubs, and all else. Let's talk about these games in this window. What are the three things that you're most looking forward to for this November window? 00:22:04 Speaker 4: Start with number one. 00:22:06 Speaker 2: Okay, so three things I would have to say. Number one, I will look for a result. You know, really important for us to get a result and to develop, start developing, you know... start seeing our our starting lineup uh that's going to be moving forward so combining those the result starting lineup seeing our strongest guys on the field for for a long period of time without all of the changes that that we've been seeing that would be number one for me. 00:22:33 Speaker 3: It will be nice to have a game where there's not nine subs 11 subs or whatever like friendlies happen and And listen, it's a Nations League quarterfinal. 00:22:40 Speaker 4: It's not quite a do-or-die World Cup qualifier. 00:22:43 Speaker 3: It's not quite a final for the Gold Cup or a knockout game in the World Cup. 00:22:47 Speaker 4: But it's not a friendly. 00:22:48 Speaker 3: So I think that having all these combinations and patterns and everything be tested where it truly does matter if you don't pick up a result, I think that's big. 00:22:59 Speaker 2: I think the next thing, Tom, is developing that center-back partnership. You know, we've struggled there. We went through the World Cup. We struggled in the World Cup. We struggled before the World Cup. And I think we need to develop a partnership there that's going to be solid. You know, over the years, you know, you look at our teams that have been successful. They always had good defensive players. 00:23:21 Speaker 1: And we weren't

maybe in the past. Now I'm not talking about my teams. I'm talking about after also is the fact that, you know, attacking wise, you could miss, you could not be consistent, but defensively, you always stayed in the game. 00:23:37 Speaker 2: And I always feel like the center back positions here, we're one long ball away from our center backs going to fight for it and a rebound falling to someone that's going to score a goal. 00:23:48 Speaker 4: We really are. 00:23:49 Speaker 2: And I think we have to work much harder in that position, and I'm hoping to see that start to develop, some sort of partnership between Richards and someone. 00:24:01 Speaker 4: So who do you want? 00:24:02 Speaker 3: So I will say George Campbell was removed at halftime for West Brom over the weekend, and Pochettino was asked, and he said, did the initial data that we have, we expect him to be fit and ready, but if he's not, we have a contingency plan. But let's just assume that he's healthy. Who would you like to see partnering Richards in these games? 00:24:19 Speaker 2: If he's healthy, that would be my preferred partnership. I think he has the experience. I like his demeanor on the field. 00:24:26 Speaker 1: I like his seriousness. I think he's a leader. Obviously, he's captain with his team. You know, that tells you a lot. But I think he would be the right type of partner for Richards. 00:24:39 Speaker 2: So I'd like to see that. I'd like to see those guys sort of develop together over time. 00:24:44 Speaker 4: I like that. 00:24:45 Speaker 1: All right, number three. 00:24:46 Speaker 2: And so if I have to go to number three, I'm going to have to say to develop a style of play. As much as we've seen, you know, and we've, of course, talked about our team in the World Cup doing as well as it did in particular games The first game against Paraguay and maybe the first game in the second round. And I think against Paraguay, we showed likely to play the best soccer that we've ever played in this country with the team. I think we have not developed a way to play out of. 00:25:14 Speaker 1: The back at all yet. And we find it difficult anytime we're pressed high to be able to play out. 00:25:21 Speaker 2: We had difficulty even in this past window when we played Peru. We had difficulty the first 15, 20 minutes against Mexico with Mexico presses hard. 00:25:30 Speaker 1: We couldn't get out. And I'd like to see a little bit more, although I'm not a big patterns guy, I'd like to see a little bit more pattern type play where we, where we can see that our team is finding solutions that they're all on the same page with. And having said that, then obviously the rest of the team, right? 00:25:49 Speaker 2: Developing a style of play where you and I can sit here, you know, week to week and we can talk about, such and such player can fit into our roster because we know that this is the way we play. Sort of what we were saying about Weah before. We're like, okay, well, we don't play

with wingers, so maybe Weah is not the right fit for us. I'd like for us to be able to fit players into all the positions on the field. 00:26:13 Speaker 4: Right, and those will evolve over time. 00:26:15 Speaker 3: But even to your point, the best soccer that they played and had been playing at the World Cup, those were the best moments. It was the 3-5-2, however you want to phrase it. It was that midfield trio of McKinney, Adams, and Tillman, particularly McKinney and Tillman. Their freedom of movement and intelligence of movement, they were creating wide overloads on both touchlines, and that was with the wingbacks getting forward and interchanging because Dest is somebody that could overlap or underlap. That was how they were overwhelming teams, and we hadn't seen that from the team. Even when they looked good in the back three, that specific kind of wrinkle. And that felt like something that was repeatable. And then in the fall, we didn't see that system. So we didn't see that ability or that kind of look, which I will say, I generally agreed with just given the talent and the evolution. But if they change the system again for this or a lack of system or change the ideals and the principles and the formation, the way that the team is set up, even the freedoms they're in, it makes it difficult because they don't play with wingers, but like they could this window, right? Like they've got Pulisic, Albert, Cabin Sullivan, are guys that can be comfortable as natural wingers, though all three of them, more so Sullivan and Pulisic, are very comfortable kind of on the inside channels. But like it is difficult when you're trying to project and look out and build the repetitions and the knowledge that, all right, this is how we play when we're with the national team or these are how these combinations of players play. Um, so I am very curious as to how they'll set up it and what those principles will be. 00:27:54 Speaker 2: And by the way, you don't always have to be married to one system, right? You can change it according to your opponent as well. 00:27:59 Speaker 1: It's just that we haven't seen the consistency within a system because no, if you, you know, if we remember back, let's go back a year now, right? And we're, we're about, you know, eight months from the world cup. 00:28:10 Speaker 2: And we were thinking at that time, I remember we were talking about on this show, we were talking about Okay, well, now we clearly play three in the back with the two wingbacks. And then the next camp, it was, I think we're three in the back, but it kind of looks like. 00:28:24 Speaker 1: Four at times, or really four. So we're not sure. So we went from, we're definitely playing three in the back to... We're actually not sure if it's three or four. 00:28:33 Speaker 4: We finally found something that, that is repeatable. 00:28:35 Speaker 3: There was so much time of, of, all right, it's a new coaching staff, new pool, so many different players, so many. 00:28:40 Speaker 4: Okay. Oh, they figured out what's optimal for this group. That's awesome. 00:28:44 Speaker 3: We'll think about it over the winter and then we'll go into March when they play really good teams in Portugal, Belgium. 00:28:48 Speaker 4: And then we get there and they don't play like that. 00:28:51 Speaker 1: Yeah. 00:28:51 Speaker 2: And then we took those two really bad results in that March window and it seemed like everything changed and we went back to four in the back, you know, and it, you know, it turned out well, to be honest, you know, we, cause we did have, we had a good world cup and, and I think, I think more important than that, I think, I think American people are seeing that American players are good players and, you know, and, you know, some, and I'm going to, I'm. 00:29:15 Speaker 1: Going to go off subject a little bit. 00:29:18 Speaker 2: But, but the, the bottom line is, you know, we talk about youth development and we talk about how we're going to get here and how we're going to improve U12 and U13 and what league they're. 00:29:27 Speaker 1: Going to play in. And, And to be fair, the players that we're developing, they're good players. They're good players. 00:29:33 Speaker 2: I think what we need is maybe a little bit of a better soccer culture in the country, but we have good players. When I look at the quality and I look at what we did this World Cup, I think that's what makes me more proud is to see the quality of the players that we have on the field. 00:29:51 Speaker 3: Me too, Tab, and particularly how exciting the next generation is. The pool is in a, I believe, to be a very good spot right now. Sure, some of it is projecting what guys will be in the future. And that's always a perilous route. And, you know, potential isn't always fulfilled. But I'd be very confident betting on a lot of these guys. 00:30:10 Speaker 4: And so your three things are macro. 00:30:13 Speaker 3: If I go on a micro side, it's the first time that Pulisic and Gavin Sullivan are on the field together. Pulisic was the youngest goal scorer in USMNT history. He easily has the most caps of anybody in the group at this camp. He is still viewed as the best attacking player, the best player in this pool, though there are a lot of other options now and emerging options, and we'll see what it looks like in 2030. 00:30:35 Speaker 4: But Pulisic will still be here then. 00:30:37 Speaker 3: And for this camp, the first one after a World Cup that started with great promise and ended with disappointment personally for Pulisic and obviously with the team the way that that last game went. But he had one of his best, probably his best performance, his most high-profile performance, 45 minutes against Paraguay. And then we didn't see him for a few games because of injury. comes back and then gets injured as well against Belgium. But that's the present and the future of this group. This is Kevin Sullivan is coming for, again, the youngest goal

scorer record. He's somebody that Pulisic won a Champions League at Dortmund. Pulisic broke through with Dortmund in his teenage years. What Sullivan is doing for the Philadelphia Union and MLS, obviously the level is lesser than what Pulisic was doing at Dortmund in the Bundesliga for Champions League club. But Sullivan is rewriting the record books for teenagers in MLS. And then he's going to try to break into Manchester City or somewhere else high level in Europe when he gets to Europe when he turns 18. So getting the first glimpse of those two players on the field together in particular, and Matisse Albert somewhere in there, and Julian Hall, and Andre Medin, whoever. First and foremost, I hope to see Pulisic and Sullivan share the field together. 00:31:41 Speaker 2: No, and I can see that because they're similar in a way, right, in the way they play. 00:31:45 Speaker 1: They take people on. That's their top priority. They're not afraid to take people on. 00:31:50 Speaker 2: But I tell you what I like about Sullivan, and I've said this in the past, is I like his mentality because he has the type of mentality that the American fan loves. And that's, I think, where likely the difference is going to be because he's a player that people will pull for. And sometimes he's going to play great games, and sometimes he's not going to get it all right. And I can guarantee you that the times he doesn't get it all right with the national team, he's going to walk off the field all pissed off, and everyone's going to see it. And at the end, that's what fans want to see. They want to see that you feel your colors. And I'm willing to guarantee that, you know, Kevin Sullivan feels the colors. 00:32:27 Speaker 1: No doubt. 00:32:28 Speaker 4: For sure, Tab. For sure, Tab. 00:32:31 Speaker 3: Just following his youth career as breaking pro, like, I've got a lot of people that are close to him, that have worked with him, that have played with him, played against him. Like, the one thing you'd hear from 13, 14 on is just like, this dude is competitive as hell. 00:32:45 Speaker 1: He cares. 00:32:46 Speaker 3: And Yeah, sometimes he can play with too much flair. Sometimes he can be too much of an asshole like anybody. Dude, I couldn't possibly imagine what my mentality would be like if I was as talented as he was at 14. I think that the vast majority of people can understand being a little confident. But even when things felt like they went a little too far, you never, ever question where this kid's head was. You never question whether he cared about the team or himself. He was always desperate to win. He was always, you know, in training. He would never back down. There was a story when he was, I think, 15, 14 or 15, the Philadelphia Union. He's with first team, first team preseason. And they have a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. The Tampa Bay Rowdies are a very good USL championship team. That's second tier, but that's not a U23 team. Those are grown ass men fighting for putting food on the table for the families, fighting for the next contract because nothing's going to be in USL. And the game was getting chippy. And Sullivan is not a big guy as it was. He was 14. And, like, he's going forehead to chin probably, whatever the height difference would be. But 28-year-old dudes who are kicking the shit out of him in a game. And he's getting right up, getting in their face. Like, I've heard that from so many. And that's just indicative of who he is. So, Tab, to your point, he feels the badge. He feels the colors. And, man, like, that's a mentality you root for. 00:33:58 Speaker 1: Yeah, without a doubt. And that part is exciting. 00:34:02 Speaker 2: And as you mentioned earlier, You know, seeing him play with Pulisic and potentially either Tillman or Reina is the other complement. And then you have Balogun up front or Julian Hall. And, you know, I mean, these are all very good players, Tom. I mean, nothing but good soccer can come out of that if these guys are tuned in. 00:34:22 Speaker 4: It's an exciting time. 00:34:23 Speaker 3: Haiti will be a good opponent, but one that the United States will expect to be moving on from as they've won this tournament plenty of times. And, you know, the Final Four, the final is the bare minimum, but we all want to win this tournament. And that's what they'll be thinking inside the group. So we're very looking forward to competitive matches for the USMNT. So that'll be it for our show today. We will be back with some more previews for USMNT versus Haiti in the November window. We'll be back with game reactions, camp reactions, everything. So please rate, review, subscribe to Inside American Soccer wherever you get your podcasts. 00:34:51 Speaker 4: We'll be back very, very soon.