By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 8, 2021) US Soccer Players - Asked for an update on the course of preseason, Hernan Losada did not waste time nor mince words. "There's still a lot of work to do," said DC United's new head coach on Tuesday, speaking to media for the first time in several weeks. "I have to say that I didn't expect this progression after five weeks of preseason, not only on . . .
A new project in San Francisco, US pro soccer’s most elusive frontier
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 1, 2021) US Soccer Players - From its history and location to its name to the fact of its very existence, Treasure Island is a curiosity. Carved out of shallow water next to Yerba Buena Island in the mouth of San Francisco Bay to host the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition, it's a monument to the ambitions of the New Deal. Over the decades, the . . .
Four talking points following the USMNT’s win over Jamaica
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 25, 2021) US Soccer Players - The USMNT ran their unbeaten streak to eight games on Thursday with a confident 4-1 defeat of Jamaica in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, the first of their two friendlies in the March international window. Sergino Dest opened the scoring with a lovely long-range strike, the highlight of his eye-catching performance. Brenden Aaronson . . .
The complexities and opportunities of a European USMNT window
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 18, 2020) US Soccer Players - We now know the USMNT squad for this month's European friendlies vs Jamaica in Austria and Northern Ireland. It's just the second time coach Gregg Berhalter has been able to call on his full player pool since the start of 2020. It's also the last full international window he'll have for evaluation and experimentation before the . . .
The changing state of USMNT dual nationals
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 11, 2021) US Soccer Players - Tyler Boyd, Sergino Dest, Yunus Musah, Owen Otasowie, Andrés Perea, Jesus Ferreira, Daryl Dike, Ayo Akinola, Efra Alvarez, Julian Araujo, Frankie Amaya, David Ochoa, Marco Farfan. It's not quite a USMNT roster sheet, and not all of them have definitively committed to the program. It is a rundown of some of the dual-national . . .
Why the midfield three will be so crucial to the USMNT and U-23s in 2021
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 4, 2021) US Soccer Players - A massive year for the USMNT begins in earnest later this month with Under-23 Concacaf Olympic qualifying in Guadalajara, Mexico. It will mark the first competitive match for either team in 2021, which will include at least 17 games of consequence and possibly quite a few more, should the younger side book a place at the Tokyo . . .
Red Bulls’ Kaku saga and the murky matter of contract option years
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 25, 2021) US Soccer Players - It was the winter of 2017-18, and New York Red Bulls fans were abuzz. After slipping from 1st-place in the MLS Eastern Conference to 6th the previous season, their team seemed to need a jolt. A drumbeat of rumors and reports suggested that RBNY had found one in Argentina, setting the stage for a long-running transfer saga around . . .
American soccer at all levels still grappling with COVID-19
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 18, 2021) US Soccer Players - College soccer is finally getting underway from coast to coast this month. Many of the schools and conferences that pushed back their usual fall seasons to spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic are kicking off the truncated schedule that will lead up to the NCAA tournament in April and May. At least, that was the plan. This week . . .
What MLS is telling us in 2021
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 12, 2021) US Soccer Players - The 2021 MLS season is finally taking shape now that the league and its players union, the MLSPA, have ground through their third round of collective bargaining in 13 months. Instead of early March, this campaign will start on April 17. That's the latest opening day in the league's history and a drastic shift from the trend of . . .
What is the USMNT’s tactical identity for 2021?
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 4, 2021) US Soccer Players - In the lead-up to Sunday's friendly vs Trinidad & Tobago, the USMNT made no secret of one aspect of their ongoing tactical evolution. "I think what you're seeing this year, or will see a lot more this year, is our ability to high press and be really aggressive on the pressing front," center back Walker Zimmerman said last . . .
