US Soccer Players

The official site of the USMNT Soccer Players with soccer news, schedule, statistics, players, interviews, and exclusive stories.


Next Opponent

Jan 31, 2021 7pm ET on FS1
  • Rankings
  • Schedule
  • Results
  • Home
  • Roster
  • USMNT News
  • MLS
  • Americans Abroad
  • Alumni
  • USNSTPA
  • Archive

The November window highlights club vs country

November 18, 2020 by US Soccer Players

mls balls avaya stadium

Wednesday’s soccer news starts with the November 2020 version of club vs country. FIFA altered the release rules for clubs, but that option to keep players out of international duty only applied in specific circumstances. Games that count was the biggest decider, with UEFA scheduling Euro qualifiers and Nations League games, Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, and South America playing World Cup qualifiers. That left MLS clubs able to say no to Concacaf clubs, but not much else.

The issues in play are plan. Potential quarantines and a heightened risk of infection due to moving to and from other parts of the world.

ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle reports that some MLS clubs would be using charter flights to bring back their players and potentially avoid lengthy quarantines. The MLS playoffs begin on Friday, with some clubs pushing to get their full squads together in time.

That grew more complicated for LAFC, with coronavirus spreading through Uruguay’s national team. Local outlets reporting that Rossi has tested positive for the virus. Until official confirmation and a timeline of what that means for his healthy return to the LAFC lineup, there’s no point in speculation other than the obvious. LAFC is likely once again without its best player.

For any MLS team that sent players on international duty during this window, that’s the dread inducing scenario. How LAFC navigates it on and off the field can’t take focus off of the next game on the schedule. That’s at Seattle on Tuesday, a game that could be further impacted by the ability to get other national team players back in the lineup in time.

This is far from an MLS problem, though the playoffs exacerbate this particular situation. The Independent’s Miguel Delaney picks up on club vs country in England where the issue is the number of games and player fatigue. Premier League champions Liverpool also are facing that worst case scenario, with Mohamed Salah testing positive while on international duty with Egypt. During the last window, it was Cristiano Ronaldo with Portugual. UEFA itself has had to cancel Nations League games due to positive tests and border controls.

With FIFA announcing that the Club World Cup would happen in February, it’s compounding a basic issue. Logistics and overuse of players need to be the primary concern, not something to work around. Instead, there’s a feeling that what we’re really seeing is the same problems the game faced this time last year. It’s that push for importance for whatever a governing body decides needs to happen. That includes the silliness of attempting a regular club and cup schedule alongside pushing ahead with packing international windows with games that require significant travel. There’s no winners here, especially if you’re team common sense.

MLSsoccer’s Charles Boehm talks to Houston personnel about the Dynamo rebrand. DW looks at the situation with Germany’s national team under Joachim Low following that 6-0 loss to Spain.

Congratulations to Walker Zimmerman on being named MLS Defender of the Year! Walker was one of the great stories of our league in 2020 — joining @NashvilleSC for their inaugural season, scoring the first goal in club history, and leading an outstanding defense. pic.twitter.com/uXWvVZwHgg

— Don Garber (@thesoccerdon) November 18, 2020

All links are provided as a courtesy. US Soccer Players nor its authors are responsible for the content of third-party links or sites. For comments, questions, and concerns please contact us at editor@usnstpa.com

Photo by Maciek Gudrymowicz – ISIPhotos.com

Like Google +1 Retweet 1

Filed Under: Featured, MLS, News Update, Soccer News Tagged With: 2020 mls season, lafc

Weston McKennie’s numbers

Weston McKennie’s numbers

By Clemente Lisi

In his first season with Serie A giants Juventus, Weston McKennie is already putting up the kind of numbers that show a complete midfielder.

Chris Armas takes over Toronto in transition

Chris Armas takes over Toronto in transition

By Jason Davis

Chris Armas takes over at Toronto FC with the club looking for its next Designated Player and figuring out how to stay in contention.

The winding road back to the Olympics

The winding road back to the Olympics

By Charles Boehm

The USMNT U-23s now know that the Olympic qualifying tournament is set to start in March with another set of issues for building a squad.

More from our writers

US Soccer Players

USMNT player Josh Sargent.

Josh Sargent - USMNT

Position Forward
Pro Team Werder Bremen
Read more about Josh Sargent - USMNT

Players Tweets

A Twitter List by ussoccerplayers
Follow US Soccer Players

UNITED STATES NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM PLAYERS ASSOCIATION

Players

  • Squad
  • Results
  • Schedule
  • FIFA Ranking
  • Match Reports

Soccer News

  • National Team
  • Major League Soccer
  • Americans Abroad
  • Featured
  • Soccer History

About USNSTPA

  • About US Soccer Players
  • USNSTPA FAQ
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe to our Newsletter

Copyright © 2021 All Rights Reserved - US Soccer Players.