The Scuffed Podcast | USMNT, Yanks Abroad, MLS, soccer in America

We take a closer look at the league that has become the destination of choice for young American players by interviewing people who regularly talk or write about Werder Bremen, Hannover 96, Schalke and Dortmund. Josh Sargent, Bobby Wood, Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic are the main events in this episode, but each guest gave a good sense of each club’s overall situation and addressed the rising population of Americans in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga academies. Greg and I had planned to talk about Frankfurt, Wolfsburg and Gladbach but we ran out of time, as you’ll see.

European preseason is always a time of inflated hopes and dreams. Players getting chances, and fresh starts, and new contracts. We run down of a lot of the action, and then Greg breaks out some half-assed high school math as we try to sort out whether the player pool is taking a step forward. (It is.)

Joey Anthone (aka @USAProspects) joined the pod to comb through the U-20 player pool and we didn’t stop. Who will be available for November qualifying? We projected that. What are the biggest challenges for Tab Ramos? We explained them. What are the areas of strength in the pool? We pointed them out. Who will be the 6? Who will be the 9? Who will be the centerbacks? Check, check, check. And then we each gave a 20-man roster and answered several listener questions. Carve out time over multiple days because you won’t be able to handle this in one sitting.

18-year-old DC United holding midfielder talks through how he thinks about his job on the pitch, his development as a player, and his assessment of the USMNT's World Cup qualifying failure, among other things. Greg and I get into Jesse Marsh's move and the large number of American players on the move in Europe.

A vacation-truncated mini-episode acknowledging the end of Concacaf's time at the World Cup.

U.S. men’s soccer doesn’t need a savior. It needs savior by committee. We take the metaphor to within an inch of its life and run down the USMNT depth chart as we go. Later in the episode we talk briefly about Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama at the World Cup.

Mexico beat Germany 1-0 and we break it down from a U.S. perspective, and then talk about the game, which was really good. Later in the episode, USYNT striker Sebastian Soto joins for an interview. Don't miss that.

Former USMNT striker and ESPN analyst Herc Gomez gets on the phone to discuss El Tri ahead of Sunday's showdown with Germany, then Greg and I talk Mexico, make quick work of Costa Rica and Panama and take a few short corners.

Has American fight been restored? Greg thinks that's "garbage narrative stuff." Did Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie play well? Hmm, not really. But the kids got a result in France, we got a few standout performances and we broke it all down.

Long episode alert: we talk about the 2-1 loss to Ireland. It was a real test for a young American side, and yet our veteran fullbacks were the biggest problem on the field. Hmmm. We try to break it down player by player, and then look ahead to France.

Pulisic didn't show up and neither did Bolivia, but everyone else did. Debut goal for Sargent. A goal for Weah in his first start. Strong stuff from Robinson at left back. McKennie was a man among boys.

We try to rough out a lineup for the Memorial Day friendly in Pennsylvania, and then discuss Efrain Alvarez, Tyler Adams to RB Leipzig, Peter Vermes' contention that U.S. Soccer doesn't have a plan, and Chris Durkin's progress at holding midfielder.

We go down the list, and give our locks, our hopefuls, and the somewhat longer list of those we are ambivalent about getting called-up for the friendlies with Bolivia, Ireland and France.

Buck up, America. It's time to root for Concacaf. With no USMNT to talk about in the World Cup, we're going to follow Mexico and Costa Rica, because a better Concacaf is better for us in the long term. We explain ourselves and talk about the Mexican player pool, their chances of getting to the quarterfinals, and Costa Rica's prospects. (We don't talk much about Panama.) Then we run down the latest on young Yanks at home and abroad.

Klopp's gegenpressing Liverpool is a game away from the biggest crown in club soccer, so naturally we discuss whether the USMNT should adopt a full-throttle pressing style. Then we get into the virtues and drawbacks of USL versus going to Europe and joining an academy, and round up some of the past weekend action.