Scuffed

England, Wales, Canada, Iran and Mexico, all struggling in one way or another. Plus "Americans," Pulisic getting snippy, bringing something to a party, Scally wars, 6 on 6 crime, maybe Gregg is good, Jesus at the 9, substitution-gate, actions not words, and repentance (or a lack thereof) toward Brenden Aaronson.

Another good friendly, this one in Kansas City against 13th-ranked Uruguay. Scally struggles, Ferreira against doesn't finish his chances, Musah shines, and we have a bunch of decent data heading into the softer back half of the international window.

A wrinkle in the shape, a fascinating night for Pulisic, Aaronson outstanding and Luca de la Torre at the 6. Lots to discuss from a free-flowing contest against a respectable World Cup-bound opponent.

Greg has his say on Berhalter's call-ups, plus a quick look at Morocco and Uruguay and how we might line up against them.

Prize money equalization, and a run through prospective call-ups for the USMNT's June matches.

Mikey Varas joins the pod to talk about the tournament he coached the week he was hired, how the youth national teams are integrated with the senior national team, the shortage of true No. 9s in the youth ranks, the federation's approach to dual nationals, and how yoga applies to soccer.

The goalkeeper situation, attacking reps and a backup left back. Greg and Belz talk through those and five other things on the to-do list for Berhalter, some more urgent than others.

Our once-a-month public episode of the Monday Review with Vince and Watke. A selective roundup of the player pool's activity over the weekend, Mark Pulisic's deleted tweet, striker watch, a forecast of dual national panic, and much more.

Greg and Belz answer a handful of listener questions, mostly about hypothetical USMNT lineups. Then Greg gives a modest proposal for a new offside rule, and runs down the list of promotions, relegations and battles for a European spot that Americans face at clubs in Europe.

The wheel keeps turning and we’ve got a new crop of male American soccer prospects emerging, especially at the U17 level. Marcus Chairez and Matt Hartman join the podcast to highlight the top players at the Generation Adidas Cup tournament, and we do a quick rundown of news in the men’s youth national teams.

The young cohort just blasted Uzbekistan, but now the US women's national team has to get ready for World Cup and Olympic qualification this summer. Greg and Belz check in on an exciting pool of young players and start to think about who might get the call in July.

Meg Swanick, who writes for the Guardian US and covered every away World Cup qualifier played by the USMNT in this cycle, joins to be interviewed by Chris Russell (Watke) and take questions from listeners live on the air in the Scuffed Discord. Binoculars, whether Berhalter holds grudges, the bus ride to the Cuscatlan, the camaraderie of Weah and Yedlin, the best coffee in Concacaf, and many other things were discussed.

This is a pilot for what I hope can be a regular episode with Jay Hernandez, a casual and briefer-than-normal conversation with an informed, opinionated fan of the US men's national team based in Los Angeles. The audio's pretty uneven but it's listenable, and it'll be better next time. We talked toxicity in the fanbase, Julian Araujo, Christian Pulisic, Gerson Perez's U20s, impressions of Orlando, and Berhalter. (Jay praised him twice.)

We talk Concacaf more broadly, Jon's journalism origin story, the U20 Concacaf Championship, Costa Rica's surge, Jon's favorite cereal and a lot more. Recorded live on the Scuffed Discord.

Breaking the Lines co-founder Zach Lowy joins to talk about Alex Mendez, Alejandro Alvarado, Vizela's chances of staying up and the incredible achievement that would be, Portuguese football in general, and whether the European market for young American talent is overheated.

Who's a lock for Qatar, who's not quite a lock, and who else is fighting for a spot on the plane?

A relaxing post-qualification stroll with Watke and Vince through the World Cup draw, Iran's best players, England's profound deficiencies, frostbite, and Watke's past life on the Arabian peninsula. First Monday Review of the month, so it's in the free feed. Usually these are for patrons only.

We're going back to the World Cup. Greg and Belz recap the game in San Jose and go on a ramble about the end of qualifying and tomorrow's World Cup draw.

A dreamy spring evening in Florida. Godoy gets handsy. Pulisic sinks the dagger. We have mostly qualified for the World Cup. Recap from Orlando, XIs v Costa Rica discussed at the end.

An in-depth show about the U.S. men's national soccer team, the players who could one day make it better, and American soccer in general.

Concacaf-in-general's most curious and prolific English-language journalist Jon Arnold joins to give us a sturdy look at the USA's opponents in the upcoming and final World Cup qualifying window. Will Julian Araujo start vs the USA? Can Costa Rica beat Canada at home? Will Panama rotate between Honduras and the USA? Those questions and many others addressed.

27 men called up for the final window of World Cup qualifying. Dest got hurt the day of the announcement. Brooks not called up. Erik Palmer-Brown back from the wilderness. We talk through all of that and then try to work out lineups for the Mexico and Panama games.

Romeijn was head of coaching education and chief sport development officer for U.S. Soccer before he left the federation to return to Holland in 2020. He spoke about the work he was involved in to revamp coaching education in the U.S., coaching philosophy, the challenges of growing the game in the U.S. and the way American soccer is viewed in the rest of the world.

A day ahead of the roster release for the final window of World Cup qualifying, Greg Velasquez walks through a pretty careful assessment of each player who’s gotten minutes in qualifying. Belz tags along.

In Part 1, Greg and Belz went through the first two World Cup qualifying windows. In this episode, Part 2, they go through the third and fourth windows as a refresher ahead of the final, decisive set of three matches coming at the end of this month. Less time given to the most recent window than the first three, to be quite honest. These two episodes are perfect for anyone newly paying attention to the men's national team, or anyone who wants to go back and try to understand a little better how we got where we are.

An in-depth show about the U.S. men's national soccer team, the players who could one day make it better, and American soccer in general.

Vince is back with Watke and Belz for a full recap of the week's action, including Jesse Marsch's glorious victory in the xG battle in his Leeds debut, Vince seeing the North London light on our striker situation, and Weston's confirmed season-ended status. Also, is Balogun the solution?

The striker grab bag, the Philly and Dallas projects and the Fourth Eight race are among the national team-related storylines we're tracking in Major League Soccer. Caveats from Velasquez abound, but it's a pretty good discussion and we took a few listener questions at the end.

Muller patiently explains what he thinks are the most interesting metrics in soccer right now, the basics of how data is collected and used and sold, and some of the limitations of even advanced stats. Belz plays the data-inattentive everyman, which is, after all, what he is. They also discussed and assessed Gregg Berhalter's tenure and adaptability, the US men's player pool, and what John is working on next. Then he turned a few questions on Belz.

On the brink of his return from an ACL injury last August that sidelined him for all of World Cup qualifying, Portland Timbers midfielder Eryk Williamson joins the pod to talk about cold showers in the Azores and his breakout 2020 season, what he's learned from Diego Chara, why he was left off the Olympic qualifying roster and how he overcame that setback to win a trophy against Mexico in the Gold Cup.

Greg and Belz got a pretty detailed look into Canada's tactical approach from a couple of private video presentations conducted by John Herdman, which were leaked to us. We talk through those and try to relate them to the USMNT, and then talk through Gregg Berhalter's latest interview with Bobby Warshaw for U.S. Soccer's house podcast.

Jay Hernandez, low-key one of the easier-on-the-ears pundits in this U.S. men's national team niche of ours, joins the pod to talk about the upcoming window, his path to USMNT fandom, his experience in Columbus at the USA-El Salvador match, Christian Pulisic's struggles, and a lot more.

An in-depth show about the U.S. men's national soccer team, the players who could one day make it better, and American soccer in general.

Greg and Belz talk their way through the transfers of the past window, everything from George Bello to Arminia Bielefeld to Kobe Hernandez-Foster to HamKam, with a special focus on the players who are battling for a spot on a World Cup roster.

An in-depth show about the U.S. men's national soccer team, the players who could one day make it better, and American soccer in general.

A crazy night in St. Paul. Luca gets his shot. Striker position remains unsettled. Set pieces carry the day.

Belz from Minneapolis, Vince from Louisville, Watke from New York wind their way through an extended discussion of Pulisic, the striker position, Canada, Miles Robinson, Alberth Elis's baffling presence in the Twin Cities, and a lot of other stuff.

The rollercoaster ride continues, and it's gonna continue through at least the middle of the next window.

An in-depth show about the U.S. men's national soccer team, the players who could one day make it better, and American soccer in general.

Jon Arnold gives us a closer look at how things look from the El Salvador, Canada and Honduras points of view, and also a quick update on Panama.

The Brooks omission, Weah's blessed return, Dest getting scraps from Xavi, and Sargent's move on the parabola with Watke and Vince, all in the context of El Salvador on Thursday to kick off what Belz believes can and should be a 9 point window.

The pivotal window of World Cup qualifying is upon us and Gregg Berhalter announced his roster today. Greg and Belz get into it. Don't worry, we don't spend much time kvetching.

Vince, Watke and Belz walk through the weekend of the inconclusive American striker, plus McKennie's continued excellent form, a question about whether Pulisic should be considered an elite talent, an earnestly joyful look ahead to the upcoming window, and much more.

Heracles Almelo midfielder Luca de la Torre, hoping for a USA call-up this week, talks about the evolution of his game under Frank Wormuth, the Fulham years, the key to ball security, and his ability to operate on the half-turn between the lines. A cerebral guy, obviously passionate about the game.

El Salvador, Canada and Honduras await, and about half the USMNT player pool hasn't seen a ton of action lately. Greg and Belz talk through it all, with Greg diving into how the spreadsheets on how many minutes each player has played, how recently.

A rundown of the action from the weekend with Vince, Watke and Belz. McKennie plays a key role in a huge win for Juventus, Pepi debuts for Augsburg, Dest's camp signals he wants to stay in Barcelona, and lots of other things to discuss.

Vince Ganzberg, the associate director of coaching education for United Soccer Coaches, talks youth soccer coaching, coaching philosophy, and the place of college sports in American soccer.

A transfer window and listener question-heavy episode with Watke and Vince and Belz.

Vince, Belz and Watke convene to run through some winter break news, hand out annual awards for the USMNT in 18 categories, and spotlight the top 5 moments of 2021. Happy New Year!

Jonathan Gómez, the 18-year-old left back who played for Louisville City in 2021, joins the podcast. He discusses his USMNT debut vs Bosnia, his pending move to La Liga club Real Sociedad, his conversation with Xabi Alonso, his choice of a USL development path, and his future national team decision. Sharp guy.