USMNT Nations League Semifinal vs Panama Preview

Now it's a real game, real competition, FIFA competition, trophy at stake. Now it gets real.
God, I'm so excited now for this. I can't wait for this weekend.
Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswagen. Volkswagen has long been a supporter of soccer in America and has proudly been a partner of U.S.
soccer for the past five years. LD, what's happening to my band? How's things with you? Yo, we just talked yesterday.

It is Tuesday, March 11th.

We recorded a pod yesterday, but we are doing a special recording today.

When this drops, we will have recorded this six days prior.

But just got off.

I listened to the press conference with Mauricio Pochettino for the Nations League.

Yesterday, I was really tired because I just finished my Vegas trip. Today, I feel great.
More energy today. Good.
What about you? I'm still sick of seeing you, but it's fine. I know.
I kind of like it. I was on, you and I were on a phone call as well earlier today.
So it's all happening. It's a bit too much of me.
I get it. That happens.
It happens. But I don't mind it.
More importantly, I don't think our, I don't think our listeners mind it. So it depends on who you ask.
So good. This can be a good episode.
Fun episode. We're going to preview the nation's league semis and hopefully finals with the U S in it.
U S plays Panama, Canada plays. As always, guys, please follow all of our social media at Unfiltered Soccer.
Subscribe to the show. It helps everybody

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at Unfiltered Soccer. And we try to get to as many of your questions every week as possible lots of good questions lots of good questions before we start yep this episode what t-shirt you got on oh yeah i showed you people for the people at home see if you can see this is my it's hard to say american outlaws american outlaws shirt there we are i'm officially a member although i think i need to renew is there a certain state chapter that you're just yeah i don't know what chapter it is you're not you don't um oh 2020 i'm a member i should probably renew it's been five years shout out to american outlaws i mean the amount of times that we uh we shared a lot of great moments with them uh in in stadium moments uh it's incredible get goosebumps thinking about all about all of them and the things we did.
Yep. And I spent, look, I've been here 10 years now in San Diego.
So I spent a lot of time with the Outlaws, different pubs around town, hanging out, watching games. It's fun.
It's fun just to be a fan. So shout out to them.
This is going to be a nice few weeks for them here. For those people who don't know who they are, they are the official supporters group of the U.S.
men's and women's national team. Who would not know who they are? I don't know.
Listen, I'm just plugging that just so in case someone's like, who? I bet you some of your English fans are like, who the hell is that? Well, now they know. All right.
All right. Nations League preview, Tim.
So Thursday, 7 p.m. Eastern.
It is the early game, I believe. I believe the other game's after it.
So 4 p.m. here on the West Coast in LA.
I may go up for that. I'll definitely go up for the final if the U.S.
is in it. Camp starts.
What's up? Sidebar, sidebar. When you go to a national team, you go to LA.

Yeah.

What's your seating arrangement?

I know it sounds like a stupid question, but are you director's box?

Are you wanting to sit with the people?

Where are you?

So if it's at Galaxy Games, it's in the owner's box with Dan Beckerman,

who owns the Galaxy, and the executives. It's really nice because it's got an outdoor seating area, but it's in the owner's box with dan beckerman who owns the galaxy and the executives it's really nice it's got an outdoor seating area but it's quiet it's got food inside so i can bring my kids and they can run around it's nice um i've never been to sofi so i you know i'm glad you asked because now maybe someone can reach out and give me a ticket to pay 400 bucks for it um i don't know i hadn't even thought about it all right i thought about it question that's good i think last u.s game i saw i was in the i was in the um in the owners well it was it was the director's box suite with where was it kansas city it was at it was at um child mercy park children's mercy children's mercy park Child Mercy.
It's the same difference. Yeah, so I was there, but I'm a man of the people.
But SoFi is big, dude. I saw this.
I was there for the Super Bowl. It was massive.
It's so big. Shocking.
Okay, so camp starts on Sunday. It's coming Sunday the 16th.
And interesting, I just want to help people understand this. So a lot of guys, I think there are nine players on this roster, and we're going to get into the roster in the next segment.
Nine of the guys on the roster will be flying in Monday because they have Sunday games. So I just want people to process that.
The roster is 23, so 40% of the roster is going to fly Monday, which means if you played Sunday, you are shattered on Monday, flying all day. Tuesdays, you're doing nothing.
You get to train Wednesday, and then the game's Thursday. So this is a piece of it that people don't understand because if you play basketball or hockey, they play every night.
Baseball, they baseball they play every night but in soccer this is a really big deal so i i'm curious and wondering if that went into pochettino's decisions but clearly not if you name nine of them well and well it's interesting let's let's pause there for a second right because what what that actually looks like to the outside world because you and i have you and i have lived this right it's always like high paid athletes shut up you're sitting first all that there's a sports science has become so massive data analytics has become so massive in the game right so to your point because I've I lived this for 13 years you know your game ends on Sunday right you've played 90 minutes as you said you're shattered what happens what happens then is because you're coming from europe you are there's a there's a there's a term in in soccer call or sports tired and wired so the night after the game you're completely drained and exhausted and you go lay in bed and your eyes are like can't sleep your body's like please shut down and your nervous system's so high you don't sleep yeah you don't sleep that night well you probably get to bed three o'clock most most of the time um and then you get up and you get you jump on a flight yes it's first class amazing flat beds but your body has has barely had time to start the recovery process from the game so now you're you're you're tight and you're cramped and that's a 10 hour 11 hour flight and you get off the flight so now now your sports scientists and the team are basically saying you're cramped and that's a 10 hour, 11 hour flight and you get off the flight. So now, now your sports scientists and the team are basically saying you're, you're useless to us on Tuesday.
We've got to get you on the grass and you're running shoes and we've got to get you moving. But by the way, we're already implementing game plan and strategy.
You kind of have to be paying attention to that and you have to be on the grass so that the manager can use you, but you're useless. You to get you know you're basically going to get what would not would in a normal week ld right you're two days post game on or three days post game you're basically starting to come back to training but in this scenario you're match day minus one right so it's a really difficult process for the players coming from europe to really get up to speed physically for that game on Thursday.

That's right. And again, just so people understand, just the sports science.

So after you play a 90-minute match, it takes your body, give or take a few hours, but 72 hours to fully recover.

Now, when you throw in transatlantic travel, you can add another 24 hours to that so literally by game time they'll be recovered so this is a big challenge look all the teams will have players dealing with this probably none more than the u.s maybe canada um so this is a big deal um but i i referenced the press conference and mariso puts it much pochettino spoke about this earlier but this is a really big deal, right? This is his first opportunity in a real competition to show what the team is made of. And we'll get into the roster and it's clear he valued guys he knows versus guys he doesn't know because he doesn't want to take a chance right now.
Because what we just alluded to, they only have a couple of days to prepare. So this is, he said, it's a massive opportunity to win a trophy and that is our clear objective so he's not mincing words he's very clear um but there are good teams panama u.s panama panama's beat us two of the last three yeah i know um this is a big deal for us yeah and panama's one of those teams i think outside of Mexico, we have not played a team more than Panama in the last whatever decade or so.
It's a team that always causes us problems. They're always difficult to play against.
They will not have the crazy travel that some of our guys will. Our team, I saw this stat today.
Our roster has an average of 14 caps in international real competition. So I'm just going to repeat that.
I'm going to repeat that. 14 caps on average in FIFA real competition.
So not counting friendlies. So the average player has only stepped on the field 14 times in a real game.
Now, I don't know the exact number for Panama, but it's way higher than that. Those guys have been together a long time.
They are veterans. They are hardened.
They know how to play in these games. So if people turn it on and go, oh, it's Panama.
This is a walk in the park. Uh-uh.
Ain't going to happen. So this is a big moment for our team.
We've talked about this, Tim, for a long time. Outside of the Gold Cup in the summer, this is it for real competition.
This is it. I mean, look, the thing about Panama, which I'll start with, is when in our era, look, U.S., Mexico, and Costa Rica are the best teams traditionally year-on-year in CONCACAF.
why Panama started you know Panama started to creep up his number

one are the best teams traditionally year-on-year in CONCACAF. Why Panama started to creep up as number four, and here's why.
The U.S. is so dominant.
U.S. players, U.S.
men's national team players, are physically so superior to any other country that we play in CONCACAF. That's it.
Now, we might get out footballed by Mexico every now and again. Physically and athletically, we are the most dominant.
What Panama has done in the last decade is they've matched that. I mean, I've been in the tunnel against Panama multiple times and thought we're not going to necessarily be able to beat them physically.
And they come in and oftentimes, and they know this, they try and bully us because they know they're physically more imposing across the board oftentimes than a lot of our teams. And that's not something we're used to because we're so superior athletically as American footballers that we never have to worry about ticking that box.
And so Panama poses some real problems. Yeah.
They're, they're just, I've said this before when one of these countries beats you in America, the fear factor is gone and forever and ever and ever they get excited they would come you know el

salvador guatemala this is the time this time you score in the 12th minute and they just tank they go oh man here we go again but now panama's beat us and they've beat us on home soil so that fear factor is gone no longer there and that's that makes it challenging because they actually believe they are going to come in and win this game yeah i mean that's going to make it challenging they They do.

And for me, since we started this podcast but trust when i tell you from today forward like until the world cup everything that i say about the u.s men's national team is solely for one purpose is is for them to perform optimally in the world cup that's all Like that doesn't, nothing else matters. And so when I say they have to beat Panama,

it's simply, and I banged this drum, it's simply so that they can get another game on the calendar. Like, I'm not that concerned.
Right, right, right. Like, I'm not that concerned about like, I want them to win the CONCACAF Nations.
I do, I do, I do, I do. I'm more concerned that they're going to get another game.
That's meaningful. That means something that has to, they have to win that they're put in an uncomfortable situation, which finals are like, that's what I'm concerned about because of our lack of world cup qualifying.
And I keep saying that, but they have to beat Panama simply just to get to that next game. Look, I want them to win the final, but ultimately they lose in the final.
I still feel like there's value in it, right? Yeah. Okay.
Yeah. Yeah.
So, and by the way, just this, this tournament's new, it's novel for you and me. We never played in it, right? This, this nation's league, we have won all three additions so far, which is, is nothing to scoff at.
I mean, it's a version of a Gold Cup, essentially. And for you and me, the Gold Cup, so many incredible memories, lifting that trophy and playing in those games.
So this is meaningful for the players now, too. I think when it first started, everyone was kind of like, ah, another FIFA competition.
Now they're starting to gain meaning behind it. People will be there.
They will show up. This is another important.
It's become an important tournament. And FIFA has done a good job of tying Nations League into qualifying or qualifying for the Gold Cup.
They've made it meaningful. So it's not just another game.
So everybody understands that this is a big deal big deal and again the biggest thing is i i agree with you tim like i want them to play well i want them to win fans should be most excited about the opportunity to play games that matter before the gold cup and then before the world cup and individuals and we'll get into this in the roster have a big big opportunity yeah there are some who are in in the january camp who now got called here and then if they do well here they get called into the gold cup and if you do well and play for your mls team guess what you're playing in a world cup in front of your home fans yeah you're earning your stripes and and i think that that's how it should be you You know, that's kind of how the U.S. Men's National Team has been,

you know, certainly from the psychological standpoint,

structured over the last two decades.

And you have to earn that.

And I think it's important.

And Pochettino, again, because of the delicate balance of naming the roster

and roster construction, he's had to piece together some veterans with some guys who he has to give a chance to, because like you said, there's just not enough games for him to get a real good look at certain guys. But ultimately when you pull that shirt on and there's something on the line and there's something at stake, it means more.
And that's, and that's what, you know, these two games for me, hopefully two games are about. So let's – I'm not going to assume anything, but let's say we get through Panama.
In your opinion, Canada-Mexico, who's the more difficult matchup if we get there? And I have a clear choice, but you tell me. Okay.
The game in Kansas City that I said I was at, it was a U S Canada. It was that game.
And I love what Jesse Marsh is doing. I think, I think so highly of him as a manager, as a person.
And I love what he's doing with that generation of Canadian players. I still think we're the better team, but Mexico for me is always, it's's it will forever and always be the biggest challenge psychologically um and and and on the grass for the u.s men's national team there's just the the rivalry has has happened that you always even when even when the tide turns so you're always trying to beat the big bully right in our case and then when we turn that tide and we begin to be the dominant team in the region, you're so worried about them coming to a boil again and surpassing you that it still creates a fear factor inside you that can't be replicated at any other point in the region.
So for me, you know, probably would like to see Canada because I think we can beat them. But, you know, yeah.
So I think Canada are the better roster. Right now, better team.
The challenge is they're playing in LA against Mexico. And that stadium will be, you know, the U.S.
plays, we play first. So my guess is after the game, it's going to empty out with U.S.
fans gone, and it's going to be 98% Mexican fans.

And I just think that is a really tall task for this Canadian team.

And by the way, if they do it once,

then they're going to have to do it again with a sold-out American crowd

in the final, and that's just really tough.

I think Mexico sneaks by.

I don't think they're the better team.

I think Mexico sneaks by, and then everyone gets what they want. Everyone wants see us mexico and that would be the final i think that's gonna be fun i tell you who didn't get what they want the security guards who who organized this to get a double who organized i could tell you who organized they get a double header with us fans that are gonna leave as the mexicans are walking in.
With different turnstiles. I'm not sure that's an amazing idea.
Actually, maybe they sold. Maybe you had to buy tickets for both.
I think that's probably right. But also, not an amazing idea.
No. Well, by the way, tickets are going to be switching hands as people leave.
Here you go. I'm getting $300.
Here you go. That's something I want to make sure we stay across because that's an interesting concept.
It's going to be interesting to say. I believe it's on CBS.
I believe it's on CBS. So we will tune in.
Let's take a break, Tim. I want to really dig into the roster.
It just came out this morning. We saw the roster.
I listened to the presser. We talked about it a lot.
So we got lots and lots of comments, lots of interesting news on the roster. Let's take a break.
We'll be right back talking U.S. Men's National Team, CONCACAF Nations League, right here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim, presented by Volkswagen.
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Right. LD, the time that everyone's been waiting for is the roster announcement and the dissection of that roster.
It's always what excites us as as commentators

and fans right like like before the game it's like who's going to be in who can we look forward

to seeing what's the manager thinking so really really interested in uh some of these takes on

what this roster looks like and i you know having having read through it um very recently over the

last 24 hours it's kind of like some interesting omissions and additions which i guess it's

Thank you. Having read through it very recently over the last 24 hours, it's kind of like some interesting omissions and additions, which I guess it's probably not surprising for any sort of roster, but this one in particular.
Well, I think what's interesting is the January Kemp roster, everybody was like, okay, which kind of mostly MLS guys is Mauricio Pochettino interested in? Yeah. Just as a.
So then we get past that, and it's like, okay, now it's a real game, real competition, FIFA competition, trophy at stake. Now it gets real, right? And so let's walk through this, Tim, and we'll just talk through all of these.
Let's start with the goalkeepers. So Schulte, Patrick Schulte from Columbus, Zach Steffen from the Rapids, and Matt Turner with now Crystal Palace.
Here's the long and the short of the goalkeeping debate. These are the three goalkeepers that are most likely going to go to the World Cup.
You think so? Yeah, I think so. There's always shocks and surprises, but this is who I think.
The only person that will play is either Zach Steffen or Matt Turner. Patrick Schulte, he can't play at a World Cup.
And again, remember, I keep projecting to the World Cup. He can't play at a World Cup in the summer of 2026 because right now he has three caps, senior caps for the men's national team, okay? In between there, at best, at best, he'd get that number three to 13.
That's in the, that's in the most amazing world ever. Right.
He won't, he won't be able to have enough experience to play in a world cup. I like him.
I covered him in the Olympics. Obviously plays really well for a very good MLS side and the Columbus crew.
There's not enough. There's not enough hours in the day for him to get enough experience.
Zach Steffen and Matt Turner. Zach Steffen is the number one for me right now.
I, I, you know, Pochettino has said it's an open race. It's not an open race.
Zach Steffen right now is the number one. Matt Turner after August can put him, put his name back in the running for that.
And it's simply going to down they have to perform when given the opportunity when they pull on the u.s shirt no doubt it's going to happen over the course of the 12 months well 10 months between august and june or whatever uh whenever the world cup kicks off and where does matt turner go he has to make a strategic move in the summer away from Crystal Palace to be a number one. And what I would say is he's left Arsenal.
Okay. So here's why his gets interesting.
He left Arsenal, right, to go to Forest to be the number one. They hedged their bets and made him like one, one and a half.
Right. And then when the team didn't perform well, he lost his spot.
Happens. He then had a couple different moves where he probably would have been the out-and-out starter.
And I think one of those moves was to Germany. Forrest blocked it.
So he ends up going to Palace. He's out-and-out the number two at Palace.
His move in August, if he wants to play in the World Cup, has to be a nailed-on on starter when I left when I left Manchester United I went to Everton I was guaranteed basically to be a starter my contract was structured won't get into it enough time was basically structured that I was going to be the starting goalkeeper so it was nailed on and he has to make a move in August that's going to basically say I'm I'm so far the number one at this new club that the other guy is just there to carry my boots. And do you think, can he do that at a Premier League club? Is there a club that he could go to where he would be the nailed on number one? In the Premier League, it's a copycat league.
Everyone does the same thing. So no one, I don't know if anyone's going to sign him to be the out and out number one in the Premier League because they're going to, whatever team it is, is going to go, well, Forrest didn't think so.

Right.

And Palace didn't think so.

So, well, they don't think for themselves very often.

So, I tend to think it will be away from England, but it could be the championship.

You know, it could be a team in the championship.

So, possibly.

Can I ask you a quick question about Schulte before we move on?

Why then, if that's the case, one, do you think he is the third best goalkeeper that America has? And if not, why would they bring him? Right? Like, why would you say, why bring him to a world cup? Because knock on wood, something crazy happens and he's playing. You have to think someone has more experience is more prepared for that.
Well, here's what I would say. Yeah.
I mean, I think we've done that down the years. Tony Miola went to the 2002 world Cup with you guys, right? Yeah.
Basically because. Yeah, but he had played in 98 or 94, didn't he? Yeah, no, no.
I'm saying, yeah. And so you bring a senior goalkeeper.
We've had Marcus Hanneman down the years through our World Cups, right? Senior goalkeeper. Was the last, in 2022, I think Sean Johnson went? Yeah, I think that's right.
Like a senior. I think your senior goalkeeper to play that spot is too old.
It's Brad Guzan, right? Right. I think Brad's slightly too old.
He won't mind me saying that. He actually will, but I don't care.
Brad, you're old. But, you know, so I don't know if there's one there.
So I think you have, I don't. Right.
And what'd you say? Since 98, 94, we've had that, right? We've had a veteran presence. So, look, I just don't know if there's one there.
So I think you, I don't. Right.
And, and yeah, that's fair. What'd you say since 98, 94, we've had that, right.
We've had a veteran presence. So look, I just don't think, yeah.
And to answer your question, I do think he's a third best goalkeeper. You know, certainly, you know, you factor into that potential and so forth.
And look, the bottom line is the other part of that argument is, um, uh, our research team can probably do this, but, um, name me a time in a world cup where the third goalkeeper on the roster is played. I just, that scenario doesn't work.
You just have to prepare for, yeah. Okay.
Well, we'll see. We'll, we'll follow it and see how it goes.
Okay. Center backs, Cameron Carter, Vickers, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Marlon Fossey, he finds his way on the roster.
Anthony Jedi Robinson and Joe Scali. Oh, and Austin trustee.
Sorry. My guess is, pretty strong guess is Robinson and Scali are the outside backs.
Chris Richards is going to play. And then who is going to pair with Chris Richards? If you're asking me right this second, okay, I think the back four for Panama is Anthony Robinson left, left side center back Tim Ream, right side center back, Chris Richards.
And right fullback, Joe Scott.

Here's why.

Well, we have the numbers in front of us.

67 caps for Tim Ream.

Like this is, you have to win.

We keep talking about you have to win.

I think if Cameron Carter-Vickers and Austin Truster listen to this,

they're going to feel hard done by.

Because like I said, they play together at Celtic.

We've talked about it on the podcast. I want to see them play together for the US.
They have a really good partnership. Look, it's going to be one from three.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Austin Trusty, or Tim Ream play in one of those center back spots. But I definitely think it's Chris Richards is nailed on.
You know what? So just to your point. So obviously Tim Ream and Jedi Robinson have played together a lot.
So there's a connection there. Also, Tim Rehm is left-footed, and he's really good on the ball.
So depending on how Mauricio Pochettino thinks at least the first game, we're just talking about the first game, is going to play out, that can make a lot of sense. If you're going to dominate the ball, then Tim Rehm's a good guy to have because he's a really good he's the best passer of all of them so yeah okay i mean i think so i think so i you know the i think if it's not tim reams probably cam and carter vickers but again we'll see but i i think that back four that i that i said will probably be the ones that end up playing the first game but overall look it's not it's not would you say it's an incredibly strong defensive unit i'm not sure no no no um serginio dust did not get called in he's just coming back from injury so that would have certainly strengthened it but we'll see i mean chris richard's playing at a really really high level so maybe it's enough to to get by both games okay let's move into uh the midfield tyler Adams.
Welcome back. Thank God.
Really happy for him. Bournemouth player of the month playing.
That team is playing so well. And he is just one of those guys, Tim.
You almost can't put data on it or stats on it. He just helps you win.
He just helps you win. So welcome back.
Johnny Cardoso at Batiste. Diego Luna gets a call back in.
Weston McKinney. Gio Reyna called in.
And Tanner Tessman, who's been playing and playing well now at Lyon. I like – I do really like Tanner Tessman.
Get to him in a second. Look, let me just say, Tyler Adams is brilliant.
And I often talk about talk about players football players having that dog in them and they ask me what that means and it's just like that that i'm gonna i'm gonna take your head off i don't care and i was watching this weekend and he was he was effing somebody off after a foul and i just thought he's brilliant he's absolutely brilliant diago luna is an interesting one you know three caps still young you, right, in San Diego? Didn't have him, but played against him. Played against him, yeah.
Yeah, and so it's interesting. So this is what I was thinking about with Diego.
So we talked about earlier guys who were in January camp, and there were six of them. Diego was one of them.
And if you remember in January camp, he broke his nose, stayed in the game, made a play. And I want to remind people, Pochettino's Uruguayan? Argentinian? argentinian or the way they love that dude because you talk about dogs and like argentinians and uruguayans they are nasty yeah and they have a lot of that in them and when i i bet you when he saw that it was like oh i like that that's my guy and diego luna is he grew up in a tough tough neighborhood yeah he's a tough so I bet he said, look, even if he doesn't step on the field,

I want to show everybody else in this camp that you do that and you got a chance here.

Yeah, of course.

And he is a good player.

But I mean, yeah, he played well when he performed.

Mariso Pochettino was asked about Tyler Adams today on the call.

And the phrasing of the question was, you know, with Tyler there,

are you going to play Weston higher?

Are you going to, who else are you going to play? You have Eunice Musa listed as a forward in this roster. Are you going to play Eunice Musa there? And he said, well, it's an open competition and there's a lot of guys who have played.
I mean, he basically said, Tyler's not guaranteed to start. Remember, he's never seen Tyler.
And I, my takeaway from watching the press conference was he really values people. He has seen in the flesh and can trust.
He really does, and so Tyler's going to have to prove it to him. Now, was that just bluff? I don't know, but I'm trying to figure out how this midfield is going to get put together, because he also really likes Tanner Tessman, and he trusts him.
He does. He's seen him in the flesh.
So you've got to think Wes is playing. You would guess Tyler's playing.
And then after that, what does it look like? Don't really listen to a lot of what managers say in press conferences. It's good.
It's good. You know why I do, Tim? Let me just stop you there.
You know why I listen to him, why I take it more at face value? Because English isn't his first language. so it's hard i remember speaking spanish or speaking german and you can't really skirt around things or be clever when it's not your first language yeah right and so he i give him so much credit because he just takes all the questions he knows his english isn't perfect but he answers them and he's honest about it and he's he's trying clearly to to say what he means but I understand what you're saying.
Yeah. No disrespect to the managers.
I just, I've, I've heard enough of them to know, you know, you know, the old days when, when Sir Alex Ferguson called me on summer holidays and said, you know, he's signing Edwin van der Sar and just keep my head down and keep working. And I can win a spot.
No, I can't. I need to leave.
Keep your head up. Watch him play.
So him play. So anyway, look, I think Tyler Adams, I don't think you could keep Tyler Adams off a football pitch for the U.S.
Men's National Team if you tried. He's just that good.
He's ultimately going to, I know he hasn't seen him. He's going to win him over like Tyler's won every other coach over in the world.
Weston, of course. I like Tanner Testament.
I yeah, me too. I think he's smooth on the ball.
I think he's got a good body. He runs well.
You know, can he, can he translate that consistently to the next level? I think he can, but obviously that's a challenge. And then Gio Reyna, you know, that's a player he hasn't seen either.
And I think this is going to be a really good opportunity for Gio to get in there and shine. Massive, massive opportunity.
Just real quick, we'll get into Gio, but three of these guys, I just realized, are playing Sunday. Yep.
So that is what we were just talking about in the first segment. The travel, I mean, they might not even recover well, so that might make his decision for him.
So Johnny Cardoso, Weston plays Sunday, and so does Tanner Tessman. I think that's to your point.
And when we're obviously talking to, obviously talking to so many of our followers on Unfiltered Soccer are massive, massive U.S. Men's National Team fans, right? And so I think we have to be mindful that this roster construction isn't about who are my best 22 players and stick them on there, right? We wish that was the case.
It's about balance and who's good for the team and who has a good attitude and has enough maturity who plays on Sunday.

Like maybe a defender playing on Sunday isn't as vital as a attacking midfielder playing on Sunday, right?

So because they're probably not going to log as many high intensity sprints, that type of thing.

And so you have to be mindful of that when you want to construct a roster and to pick the starting 11.

So it's not always as simple as what's on the piece of paper.

And so to that point, so he was asked a lot about Gio, right?

When you leave other people up, Brendan Aronson was left off,

Alejandro Zendejas left off, guys who are playing consistently,

performing well, so why do you bring Gio, who hasn't played?

And he said, I mean, he basically said,

and I'm also reading between the lines,

but he is not going to get to see Gio in the Gold Cup. Right.
So Gio's playing in the Club World Cup with Dortmund, potentially, unless he moves, right? But in his calculation, he didn't see him in January camp. He's not planning on seeing him in the Gold Cup.
He needs to see him, right? This is the only real game competition he can see him. So to that point, be surprised if you see geo on the field getting minutes even though he's not playing like every basically everyone else on the roster don't be surprised because he needs to see him and so that to your point this roster was not made purely 100 on the best soccer decision for this game he is thinking just like we're talking about big picture and yeah and that's why geo's there.
Yeah, totally. He said it.
And Gio's in a precarious position, right? Because he doesn't get a ton of time. If he stays at Dortmund, goes to the FIFA Club World Cup, then he's out of the plans for the summer.
And by the way, if he moves, which I tend to think he might move, then he needs to impress his new club. right he might also be out right right and they're going to mandate what his summer looks like well they're going to have pre-season which is best for him probably to be in pre-season and yeah so it's yeah it's a it's a tough situation but big moments big opportunity for him to you know if he can play let's say he plays 90 minutes over the course of uh you know in both, right? Like two times 90 minutes is a really good indicator.
Yeah. You know, certainly for a player that you haven't seen.
So let's move on to the strikers, the forwards. Some interesting ones.
So Patrick Ajiman made it. Congrats to him.
He had a fantastic January camp. And we said it, there's going to be a player or two in that camp or coming in the coming January who's going to make make the world cup roster keep your eye on him unis musa here listed as a forward pochettino was also asked why did you list him as a forward and he basically said i think what he was saying is i didn't do it someone else did it like but he said i could see him play as a 10 i could you know he said don't pay attention to that whatever it is yeah christian josh sargent timothy weah and brian white from vancouver whitecaps who also was in january camp so congrats to him so not a ton of surprises there the only one is brandon vasquez now wasn't in january camp not getting called in here we talked about making a move but you got to play and you got to perform he's no goals now in three games for austin right it's a big miss for him because he needs these chances if he wants to play in a World Cup.
And they're dwindling. One, they're scarce.
And two, they're dwindling. Again, in the grand scheme of things, going scoreless in your first three games isn't the worst thing in the world, but for him, it's not ideal.
I like the forwards. Adjumang, fantastic.
Really good January camp. Offers a little bit of something different off the shoulder that I like.
I think you have to have, you know, the great word in soccer now is verticality. You do have to stretch because particularly in this team, I mean, you look at so many good footballers underneath the ball for the U.S.
team that you do need a striker who can stretch. And he's happy to just be in front of the goal, be in the ball.
Brian White's like that too. Totally.
You don't need to combine and play, just in front of the goal. Yeah, and Josh Sargent is scoring goals at Norwich, and at the championship level he's shown he can do that.
So, again, we've often talked about strikers. Strikers are in a class by themselves.
You want them to be in form, fit and hungry. Like, and look, when I, when I see this midfield, I get excited about the combination of the midfield forwards for, for the U S I mean, bare minimum, Tyler Adams, Weston McKinney, Gio Reyna, Tanner Tessman, Musa, Christian Pulisic, Timothy Way.
I mean, that's seven players that I get really excited about. That I'm almost, which is strange for the U.S.
I could check that box off. Boom.
They're good. Like they're good.
They're going to perform. They put in consistent performances at a high level.
Maybe not Tanner Tessman quite yet, but I think he's's going to get there and so i feel really good about that group and and more than anything you're gonna you're gonna have who's to come back you got ricardo pepe to come back happy ballagun flow to come back so just like so you start to look at the roster construction like oh yeah yeah we've got some really solid pieces right and so that that makes me feel good about us moving forward, this roster in particular, but also, and the other point to what Poch said, like someone obviously put Moose as a forward, not him, but like some of these guys are interchangeable. Like what does the game ask for? Well, the game asks for Weston to sit.
Cool, great. This game asks him to be a number eight and drive forward.
Great. He can do that, you know? And so.
Can also get in the box and be on the end of the box. And, you know, Christian can play wide and play underneath as a 10.
So there's like a lot of different bit of flexibility with this group, which I really like. And by the way, if Tanner Chessman starts to boss it in like the number six role, that then goes, we don't necessarily have to play double pivot and two sixes.
You go, you we don't know that yet but maybe he has the legs to do it yeah i mean maybe then you don't have to play tyler twice too right you still i mean he's working

his way still back in because he's been out for so long so all right let's do this so you said

zach stefan robinson ream richards and scally yeah okay give me your midfield three and give

me your three strike what you think will be the lineup i guess not what you want but what you

Thank you. Richards and Scali.
Okay, give me your midfield three and give me your three strike. What you think will be the lineup.
I guess not what you want, but what you think will be the lineup against Panama. I think Tessman in the six.
You think he's going to start? Yeah, I do. I kind of do too.
It's crazy to say, but I think he is. Maybe you question me.
I mean, assuming he comes into camp, he plays Sunday, he comes in, he's good, he's healthy, he feels good. I think he plays Tyler and Weston.
That's the easy answer, but I think he plays on the other side. Christian on one side up front, Weah on the other side.
Is there a world where you play a 4-1-4-1? Tessman has to hold it, because I still think Gio Arena needs to be on the field. So then you put someone still misses out.
Jesus. Someone still misses out.
Because then you're two.

Because you have to play Sargent, right?

You have to play Sargent or Adjumang, but I don't think Adjumang starts.

So Sargent's up top.

My point is if Sargent's up top and Tessman's in the hole, then who's your four?

Christian's one.

Yeah, I mean, I think it's Christian, Wes, Tyler Adams, and Timothy White.

I think Tyler can play in a double pivot like that.

Yeah, they can.

But then Gio misses out.

He's got to play.

He doesn't have to play.

He doesn't play.

He has to play.

He has to play.

Well, I don't know if he's going to start him.

I think he'll bring him on and see some minutes.

He's also not fit.

He hasn't played a 90-minute match in I don't know when.

Here's the other thing. When I look at this team, his talent suggests he has to play.
No, and I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm just saying, like, he needs to be in a position where he's starting for the national team because he's that good.
Okay, but, I mean, there's, like, form matters. And being fit and playing matters, right? And he's not.
okay but you i mean there's like form matters and being fit and playing matters right and he's not so like you can be very talented but you know this you come back from preseason or you come back from the offseason and you're crap like dude i took me three weeks to score a goal after being off for a while i'm arguing hypothetically i'm not i'm not i'm not opposing you i did yeah i'm with you you just want geo to play i do i do mean, I think the world of him. But I think we're going to agree on our starting 11.
No, you said Gio. I said no.
I'm not agreeing. No, I didn't.
In the starting 11, he missed out. Okay, so I think it's Tanner and Tyler together, Wes ahead of him, Christian on one side, way on the other, and Sargent.
I think that's the safe. Tanner Tessman is going to be the one, if they see him they're going to go people go what the hell but he was really good in january and i just have a feeling pochettino likes him totally agree with that from this group before we take a break and get to questions from the fans and the fan connection give me like two or three players who this is most crucial for i think we can both agree on geo yep yep okay give me two or three others who you would say this is critical moment it depends who he plays in goal i tend to think he's gonna play zach stefan because he's playing i think for zach yeah um i think you can't he can't be bad in this game no and zach impressed him in in january the thing about zach is he is a beautiful specimen when he's in that goal and he's making saves.

He just looks the part.

Hypothetically, they go on to lift the Gold Cup.

Excuse me, the Nations League, right?

They go on to win that.

He's had two really solid games.

I think he walks away from that going, I dare you.

I dare you.

Yeah.

So I tend to think, LD, whoever, if it's not Tim Ring. So here's my caveat.
If that back four is Robinson, Ream, Chris Richards, and Scali, I think if it's not Tim Ream, let's say it's Cameron Carter, Vickers, or Austin Trustee as one of the center backs. Or McKenzie.
Or McKenzie. I think it's massive for whoever partners Chris Richards in the heart of the defense.
Okay, so with Tim Ream, though, I keep saying this about him. God bless him.
What a career. Yeah.
There's no way he's starting in 14 months, 15 months in the world. There's no way.
So why would you play him here? That's a good point. That's a good point.
Right? Yeah. So maybe he doesn't.
Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he will.
Like, maybe I'm the idiot and maybe he will be playing. No.
I think when I said that or when I say it, I'm thinking with my, we have to win a trophy cap as opposed to my, hey, how do we build this? How do we create? That's the question for Pochettino is like, do you really, really deep down, are you willing to forego something in the future to win this tournament right now? And like in front of the mirror at night, I'd love to know in his mind how he feels about it. Because you don't listen to what managers say, remember? Yeah.
Publicly. By the way, just speaking of Tim Ream, 67 times he's put on the jersey for our national team.
Yeah. What a phenomenal career dude.
Phenomenal. because by the way just speaking of Tim Rehm 67 times he's put on the jersey for our national team yeah what a phenomenal career phenomenal because by the way that hasn't that hasn't been like ultra consistent not that he hasn't been a consistent performer but he's been dropped by some coaches had to earn his way back in so huge and by the way when you're a center back you're not subbing into games that's probably close to 60 plus starts for the national team.
Like what a career he's had. Okay.
I think the one other guy, one other guy has to be Josh Sargent because Balagan will be back. Pepe will be back.
If they start playing well, doing well, he needs, we've said it over and over Pochettino and listening to the press conference today, he values guys he's seen in person, been around and can trust. Josh comes in and really plays well, scores a goal or two or three.
It's going to be hard to take the job, to take the spot from him. It will be.
And so it's a really important camp for him. Really important.
Yeah. I agree with that.
The challenge though is for a goalkeeper, right? Or forget it. You can be anybody, really.
Like take a defender or a goalkeeper. You win a game like 2-1, you can see the goal.
No big deal. You win the game.
Everybody makes plays, heading, kicking, saving, all that stuff. It lives in the manager's mind.
To your point, he's got two games virtually. He has to score.
He has if he comes away if he comes away with that with no goals and saying like i played well and we all think he played well i still i still don't think you do yourself yeah you're right a ton of like that's the that's the hard part about being a striker is you got so it's hard part about being a striker for a good team that that should win definitely this game. It's like, great, you played well, but it doesn't matter.
Everyone else is going to play well, too. Sure.
Everyone else is going to do that. You need to do your job.
Yeah. It's a big moment for him.
Good point, though. All right.
On the other side of the break, we'll get into your questions and the AT&T fan connection. God, I'm so excited now for this.
I can't wait for this weekend. We'll be right back here on Unfiltered Soccer with Landon and Tim.
We are, as always, presented by Volkswagen. Stay right there.
There's a lot in life that feels like it should be guaranteed that just isn't. Your team winning the championship, the weather being good on game day, your friends remembering who has the tickets.
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It's time for the fan connection presented by AT&T.

Every week we invite you,

the listener to connect with us by submitting your questions.

The best way to grow the game of soccer in the U S is to keep asking

questions and keep talking about the sport.

We all love at AT&T connecting changes everything.

And on USLNT,

our connections with you will help grow the game.

It's that time again,

LD time to connect the AT&T fan connection.

It's where you all get to ask us,

you get to yell at us kind of,

there's some good ones last week,

by the way,

great England stuff. It's good.
Yeah, it's good. We we love we love all of the good the bad and the ugly um speaking of the good jordan jordan how are you the bad that was that was i bet you're calling me ugly i didn't know that's about to happen ugly is me folks um are you not wearing a football jersey what are you doing well i'm i'm waiting for my vintage donovan and howard us men's national team jerseys to come in the mail so what was your what would be well by the way we have some real vintage we got the johnny cash going to all black well our our listeners don't know that a couple weeks ago i wore that yellow uh umbro new order crossover shirt um and uh we were talking about the everton shirt and i found one on ebay i've been sitting on it yeah how cool is that you know what i'm gonna do i'm actually gonna go into my it's in my garage i have a few big cartons of jerseys i know and i'm gonna grab that one i think i have it and i'm gonna bring out old vintage i mean vintage like you know do you remember the jerseys

Tim like late 90s

how big and baggy

they were

oh yeah

dude I have one

that's

it's gnarly

what's

what's your

my

the one you need to find

which is

like a cult classic

is the army green

camo

it's when I scored the goal

land and you were playing

oh I remember that

people love it

people love it

I don't have one

I literally don't have one

you never kept one

I think I might have kept

the black one

I remember that

I have one

Well, I remember that. People love it.
I don't have one. You never kept one? I think I might have kept the black one.
I remember that. Well, I'll add it to my list of things I'm looking for.
I really like all of the old, like the long sleeve, really baggy ones. That's my jam.
Wait till you see this. Jordan, what's your favorite US Men's National Shirt? Oh, I don't know if I could pick.
I like the Where's Waldo was fun Atlanta you had I like the red with the is it with the blue sash or the white sash that one's cool yeah that's nice oh yeah I don't know if I could pick a favorite I don't know the US Men's National Team ones can be pretty good so agreed alright should we jump into some questions. So our first one is from an anonymous person via email, but it's a good question.

So don't worry about them being anonymous.

Is Nations League increasing the competitive level or should the big teams of CONCACAF consider merging with Commieball?

Oh, Commieball is South America, the South America Confederation for what the people don't know. I actually don't hate that.
The problem is the travel. The problem is the travel.
I wonder if they're saying merge, fully merge, meaning qualifying would be together too? No, I don't think so. Okay.
Are they just saying for Gold Cup, Cop america i'm saying for nations league that's all i got in the email i mean for nations league and go and uh like instead of having gold cup and copa america you combine them which they're starting to do because everyone's getting invited to everything now um i actually love it because it's just i just like more competition against different teams i hate playing the same teams over and over so i I don hate it at all i don't hate it i don't hate it at all why not my my initial inclination would be like that's impossible never going to happen but we know now that that nothing is impossible when it comes to these tournaments so like yeah i i'm with i'm with ld and anonymous that like i i'd like to see look this is going to sound very high on my horse, but the results speak for themselves. The US doesn't get enough good games in CONCACAF.
They just don't. And you start to create these headlines of like, oh, so-and-so is chasing the US and they're still not competitive games.
And guess what? What do CONCACAF and FIFA care about? Money. Totally.s and they could like still not competitive games and guess what what do conca calf and fifa care about money totally right and so when copa america has the u.s and mexico in it and when the gold cup has mexico and whoever else in it and brazil and argentina it's a whole different story totally different yeah right i like to see i like to see us but because when you look at the european countries first and foremost they they know, you know, I, I, so many of my teammates were English national play for England national team.
And it's like, I would be shocked. I'm like, they're like, who are you playing? I'm like, Oh, we're going, we're going back.
We're playing Kazakhstan or El Salvador. And they're like, I'm like, who are you guys playing? It's a friendly.
Like, Oh, we got it. We got Italy at Wembley.
And then we got to go for the second like i'm saying kazakhstan yeah i think we played them before the world cup or something you did i never played kazakhstan i want to go there we played somebody somebody fact check we played before the no it was um it was in california it was in uzbekistan okay all right my bad i apologize i don't i That's my geography there. It's not great.
But yeah, these European teams, they play so many big games. There's never a game off.
So I'd like to see it. It's true.
They would have to expand though, right? Like how the – if you're adding more countries, then you have to expand how the tournament works. Sure.
Well, FIFA said they had an idea that was brought up in the meeting from somebody. Anonymous, I think.
I think Anonymous said. By the way, can we just talk? Why do you put anonymous when you're asking a question? You could make up a name.
Just make up a name. You don't say anonymous.
Unless your name is anonymous. In this person's defense, I'm just going to defend this person.
Elon Musk's kid. Their email did not indicate their name.
Like their email address didn't indicate a name. And they didn't sign.
Yeah, they didn't sign. Can I make a rule? Can I make a rule for unfiltered soccer? Sure.
You're not allowed to send a comment in without some sort of name. Make it up.
Make it funny. That's right.
You have to have a name. Bit of banter.
Give us something to work with. Okay.
How about something from Ben via email? Is that good? There we go. What are your hypothetical score predictions if the current U.S.
men's national team played against the best 11 from before 2018? Wait a minute. The best U.S.
11? Yeah. In one game? Against who? The current team? Yes.
He loves this. Ben, are you kidding me? But that's carte blanche to name anybody before 2018.
Anybody. Correct.
Yes. That's what he's asking.
This is what the problem with people who just started watching soccer six years ago is they think everyone else used to suck. One guy asked me the other day, he goes, it was about basketball.
He goes, do you think Michael Jordan would have been as good in the NBA today? I was like, bro, do you have no idea? These guys who score 35 a night now because nobody defends them wouldn't have scored 12 in the NBA in the 90s because they would have got beaten into the ground by these guys. Joe Dumars and Isaiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman would have beat the crap out these guys yeah i'm like this is crazy hang on hang on so let's do the 11 let's go yeah we have to do best 11 i think that's the real question wait has anybody ever has ben have you ever seen a young eddie pope what that looks like because we're talking about defenders we're talking about defenders in this current group it's so true they.
It's so true. God bless the defenders in this current group.

Yeah.

They look at Eddie Pope.

Wow. They ain't Eddie Pope.

Okay.

Anyway, keep going.

Okay.

Name the other 10.

I think in fairness.

Okay.

Well, let's name the 11, and then we'll see where the advantage is in every instance.

Yeah.

So you're in goal.

Obviously.

So let's say Trundle on the right. Let's say B is in his prime left back.
And then we'll go Eddie Pope and what do you think? Goose? Pope and Agra? Lowe's. Probably Lowe's.
Yeah. Probably Lowe's.
Then midfield Claudio. Michael Bradley, I guess, in his prime.
Mm-hmm. Right? Yeah.
Me and Clint. Claudio.
Striker, striker. Josie or McBride? We can play them both together.
That's eight. We can play them both together.
Is there anyone else we're missing? Like, Tab in his prime? Oh, Jesus Christ. Or Hugo Perez in his prime.
Like, who in their prime?

I tell you what.

Tab, wow.

Tab in his prime.

Nice.

Who's missing out here?

To be honest, you could make a case for Kobe in his prime, too.

Kobe in his prime.

Kobe was nice in his prime.

Then you could put Miracle in up top with Josie or Brian.

All right, let's just go with some version of that.

Okay.

All right, so the pre-2018 goalkeeper is for sure on our side.

Yeah.

Left back, I love B's, but Robinson right now is so good.

They might get to tilt with Robinson, yeah.

Yeah, but B's in the midfield would have been better.

Eddie Pope is better than Chris Richards.

Lowe's and Tim Ream, push-ish? No, I'm not sure it's a push. No, it's Lowe's.
Yeah, it's Lowe's and Tim Ream push-ish? I'm not sure it's a push no it's Lowe's yeah it's Lowe's Chirondolo versus what Serginio Dest? yeah I mean the problem with Chirondolo is he had major injuries right before World Cup so people didn't get there he was he was he was so good alright we'll say whatever. Me and Clint are the top two scores of all time,

so it's hard to get outside of that.

Christian has to be for the post-2018 in there.

Wes and Tyler versus Michael Bradley and Claudio.

Claudio was so good, dude.

Okay.

Even if we said push-ish, and then the strikers pre-18 are better than they are now. Totally.
People are going to go crazy probably listening to this. Just go to YouTube and watch a few games, guys.
Listen, Claudio and Michael Bradley together in midfield, and they have Wes and Tyler. It's one and one.
That's a split. That's a split.
Clinton, you, no question. Josie Stryker, no question.
Goalkeeper, no question. Christian, absolutely, right? Robinson, if you want to make a case that, again, the thing about Bees is he was world-class at two positions, right? Correct.
Which is very difficult to do. But Anthony Robinson, absolutely brilliant.

So let's say they get that one.

Maybe three or four for the post-18 group.

Yeah, which basically means they don't win the game.

They don't win the game.

Yeah, Ben, there you go.

Also way more experience in the pre-18 group.

Claudio and Michael Bradley had like 700 caps between them.

What, Jordan?

In Ben's defense, he did ask you for a score prediction. Oh, Jesus.
We got deep. We got deep down that rabbit hole.
It's going to be tough for them to score. They might sneak a goal, but it would be tough for them to score.
Very tough for them to score. I say, and against the, I fancy myself against that back line a bit.
So I'm going to say two-0 probably. Dos a zero.
Dos a zero. I'm saying 3-1.
Good guys. All right.
This next question is from Alex via email. Alex, this is your lucky day because this question starts off.
I love hearing about your days with the national team. So here we go.
We could talk all day about it. Perfect.
How much time we got in this segment? No problem. The early 2000s were an era that really opened my eyes to U.S.
soccer, and I'm proud of where it is now thanks to the effort and sacrifices you guys have made throughout your careers. With that said, what's been your most intimidating away game with the national team? I got mine.
I want to hear yours. Go.
Okay, so mine is not even close. Costa Rica, Asaprisa.
Oh. We played a game there.
I mean, we played a few times there. We played a game there.
When you show up to the stadium, two hours before the game, it's packed. Completely packed.
And it's bouncing. They are jumping and partying, and there's music.
The whole stadium's shaking. We get into the locker room, and they put our locker room strategically right underneath their supporters section.
So the whole locker room shakes. The whole time you're in there, you can't hear each other.
It's just shaking. And it's not a nice stadium, by the way.
It's old, and you're a little bit worried that walls are going to come in. And then walking on that pitch and it was turf a cage around did it have cage around yeah like like fencing cage yep it was dark always dark the lighting was terrible yeah yeah yeah and you would be like warming up and i swear to god tim like if i'm lying lightning strike me there'd be bugs the size of like like bigger than tennis, like big with wings and whiskers.
Like you didn't, you've never seen anything. Like they'd just be chilling on the field as you roll one over them as you're passing.
It was gnarly, dude. And you, that was the only time even more than Azteca or anywhere else we played.
I was like, dude, just get me out of here. I, I don't even care what the score is.
Just get me out of i do not want to be here you know what's funny that's great because i i i almost want to say and again i we need our facts checkers i almost want to say i didn't play at saprisa because they remember they moved from saprisa to the national stadium which is much nicer and i think most of my games against costa rica were in the national stadium i know know. I might've been on the bench or something.
So interestingly enough, the easy answer is Azteca. And here's why it's not because as formidable as it is, I enjoyed that challenge so much.
Like that, that was like, there was some sort of like sadistic fun in playing there because it's Mexico. The one game for me, and it's, it's a, it's a similar vibe, the San Pedro Sula in Honduras.
Oh, yeah. That sucks.
I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it. And the reason there's a road, there's this long, desolate road, right? And it's hazy, and it's a bit like brown and gray.
And off in the distance, you can see San Pedro Sula, and it feels a million miles away. And on this road, right, it's filled with cars and pickup trucks and people walking.
I'm talking about four miles, right? And they're just walking. And you know where they're going.
This is a pilgrimage to the game. And you get there.
It's like a Mecca. It's a Mecca.
And you have to show up two hours before the game. And the bus pulls in.
And as long as I live, I will never forget it. Someone can tell me how many San Pedro Sula holds.
I don't know, 50,000, 60,000, whatever it is. It's this big concrete structure.
The bus pulls in down a tunnel and it opens up. The locker room's here and it opens up.
And all you see is the stadium filled with people and music and horns and loud. And you get off the bus and you go again.
It's a tunnel. It's just like concrete tunnel.
And you go in the dressing room. And I remember thinking, I'm not going to enjoy this.
What I said about Azteca, like, I'm nervous, but I'm going to enjoy this. I just kept thinking, I ain't going to enjoy this.
This is like, this is horrific. The second we come out, because goalkeepers come out first, they're going to boo and whistle and throw things.
And that, by the way, does not stop for the next two hours. And as the LD say, you just cannot wait to get on the bus home.

Hey, you know what I didn't realize, by the way?

But I don't know if it was San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa,

one of those two places in Honduras.

It's the second most dangerous airport

in the world to fly into.

Like the most difficult landing or whatever.

And I thank God I never knew that during,

I mean, as if it wasn't bad enough.

Appreciate you not telling that until 2025.

Oh, just for the record, I did play it. It's a pre-so.
It wasn't that difficult. Appreciate you not telling that until 2025.
Jesus.

Oh, just for the record, I did play at Saprissa.

It wasn't that difficult.

1-3-1.

We didn't win.

We never won at Saprissa.

Oh, no. That might have been.

You know what?

That might have been a game where I scored.

Never mind.

It was terrible.

I might have scored a penalty right at the end.

How the hell did they give us a penalty, by the way?

That was pre-VAR.

They weren't giving us any.

Oh, I kind of remember that. I got pumped that game.
Never mind. We got destroyed.
Destroyed. Pre-VAR.
Good question. This one's from Dave via email.
Curious as players, what goes through your mind during the national anthem at the start of a match? Especially with your national team games. Are you in the moment enough to even hear it? Do you like to sing along? Can you feel the camera panning down the line? I'm getting goosebumps.
That's a great question. So one, yes, you do feel the camera.
It changed a little as I went through my career. Depending on the game, it's not like every single national team game was like the crazy goosebumps crazy pride swelling whatever however there was always a sense of like immense pride but if we were playing a january game at then home depot center and you know it was half full and whatever it was against denmark it's not the same as in a world cup but i would close my eyes and almost meditate I didn't sing, but you're singing it in your head.
But that feeling is hard to describe and you'll never recreate it ever, ever. Great.
Great answer. A great question.
I mean, look, what I would say is I've told people often, one of the greatest loves of my life was playing for my country. I've played 121 times.
And it was honestly my first game at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. My mom was there.
It meant just as much as my last game, which was horrific, losing to Trinidad and Tobago. It meant every game meant the world to me.
And as Landon said, some highs are really, really high prior to the game. And it's hard to hit those heights all the time.
But the national anthem was the moment where it was all consuming. The training was done.
The battle was to come. But that was like a singular moment in time.
And what I would say, because I think it's such a great question, and we just talked about Saprissa and San Pedro Sula, when I would stand there with 10 other of my brothers away from home, we were hated. It's hard to illustrate that to people.
You're standing there, and you have landed in that country, and pretty much for 48 hours, you've been looked at with disgust and you've been hated.

And by the way,

when they play our amazing national anthem away from home and CONCACAF,

it's blared through,

it's never words and it's,

it's,

it's blared through some rickety PA system.

And so the pride that we felt singing it as loud as we,

we could try to get above the whistles and the booze and all the noise noise because they don't respect our national anthem in a lot of these places. That filled me with more pride than anything else.
Just out of curiosity, since you've heard a lot of them besides the U.S. national anthem, which national anthem could you pick out no matter what? Which one's the most memorable? Well, for me, because I'm Canadian too, the Canadian national, but the one that comes to mind right away is Jamaica.

Jamaica land.

We love it.

When the whole,

when the whole stadium's singing,

it's so they go,

Jamaica,

Jamaica,

Jamaica.

And I played them like 12 times in my career.

So I just,

it's a cool national.

It's good.

I don't even,

I don't even know.

I don't even know that the certain national,

Thank you. Jamaica.
And I played them like 12 times in my career. So I just, it's a cool national anthem.
It's good. I don't even know the certain national anthems because I didn't pay attention that much to them.

But for any world football fan, do yourself a favor and watch Italy, the players, during the Italian national anthem whenever they play.

There's tears.

There's tears.

There's like gyration and they're gripping you. They start hugging.
By the end of the song, they've got a grip of each other's warm-up top and they're singing and some of them are crying. And you're like, whoa, I think there's a soccer game or something, but I'm not really sure.
It's crazy. It's amazing.
Do yourself one other favor. The Euros last year, we did the Scotland-Germany game, the opening game of the Euros.
Go listen to Flower of Scotland for that game. I'm going to do it right after we get off here.
Go YouTube it, and there were like 40,000 Scots there singing. It was incredible.
Awesome question. Okay, last one.
This one's from DJ via email. So these are the same question, but they're asking you both separately under different circumstances.
So Landon, who was your underrated performer in the 2002 World Cup and why?

And Tim, same question for you, but the 2014 World Cup and why?

Wow, what a great question.

Oh, I know mine.

John O'Brien.

John O'Brien in 2002. So John's struggle was staying healthy during his career but when he played and he was at his best people will tell you who played with him he was the most talented player they ever played with definitely and he was he was so nice yeah he was so good um i think someone correct me again in research.
Did Kyle Beckerman play or start in the Belgian game in 2014? One of those games, I think. I would say this about Kyle, and it's not a disrespect.
Like Kyle was a really good player player he he was reliable and you can count on him and and i know landon you have the utmost respect for him playing against him and and with him and with him and then you get to the 2014 world cup and you and you start to ask yourself for a guy like kyle is this a step too far is this a bridge too far far? Like, is this level maybe not for you? And he just silenced any critics, any doubters. He was the glue for that team, for all the big names.
And Kyle Beckman did not play in a Belgian game. And I thought that was a massive miss from Juergen Klinsmann because he was just, he was the glue.
He allowed all the players to go, you know, the players that you know, the household names to go do their thing. And he was incredible during that tournament.
So yeah, it'd be Kyle Beckerman. Awesome.
Those are great answers. This was really fun.
I'm glad that we got to do this. I'm glad you enjoyed it more importantly, Jordan.
That's what's really important. As long as the producer's happy, you know what I mean? It's all that matters.
Right. what i mean right thanks guys thanks thanks jerry happy producer happy life to me that's true all right that was fun nation's league coming up this week hopefully thursday and sunday for the u.s team uh tune in i believe it's on cbs i don't want to say that for sure if it's not but i believe it's on cbs so thank you all for being with us today great questions again and during the AT&T Fan Connection.
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