Valpo

Honestly they should just skip everything and hold one game between the US and Mexico. It always comes down to those two teams anyway. The rest of the competition is just for show.

Also Nation's league So yeah he'll likely be playing this summer.

Yeah with meaningful games coming up and Berhalter eager to convince an extremely skeptical fan base that he's up to the task, there is no way he's going to leave his best player off the roster this summer.

As I said, Mount it he most consistently good field player. He does not have many bad games period nor is he injured. (Mendy is also consistently good.) I feel like Pulisic has a higher ceiling than anyone on the team but he is not reaching that ceiling when he does play and his nagging injury problems hold him back further. Right now I can't blame Tuchel for playing him as a sub. You can't rely upon him to play for 90.

Also I just realized, the CONCACAF Gold cup is this summer as well as the Nation's league. So CP will probably be active with USMNT for most of the summer. It won't be as bad as if World Cup qualifying was also in swing but it's still significant work.

I will thread these needle a little bit here in terms of the best player. Mount IMO is the most consistent player Chelsea has. Every game he delievers. CP has IMO one of the highest or the highest ceiling . . . that if he was at the top of his game he's better than just about anyone else on the pitch at the top of their games. Problem is he's not always at the top of his game. The hamstring injury is a part of it.

In a game like this I would start Giroud. I also don't like Havertz in this role.

Pulisic wouldn't have been on the Olympic squad anyways. The reason the US didn't qualify for the Olympics is that there during qualifying there were 16 players under the age of 23 who were on the senior squad and not on the Olympic squad. There was another player Weston McKennie who was under 23 who would have been with the senior squad but was injured. That Olympic squad was a B-team if not a C-team of US players under age 23. Most will probably never play meaningful games with the senior squad in their careers. However I will say that World Cup qualifying was suppose to be

Well to be fair he never really had a very long break due to COVID. So after his hamstring injury in the FA cup he was constantly trying to get back out on the field. So perhaps pushing it might have some effect. Fortunately for him it looks like World Cup qualifying was pushed back from the summer into the fall. So hopefully having almost a full summer off will help. But it is concerning because it seems to be a constant issue in his career which holds him back and it hasn't really been resolved.

We need a mercy rule.

Hopefully Tuchel gets this figured out for the match against Porto.

Sad.

Jorginho must have Tuchel's family tied up in a hole in his basement.

Wait Mount replaces Pulisic and Jorginiho stays in? Tuchel what is wrong with you man??

They were for the most part passing better and maintaining possession better. But they then made several terrible mistakes at the back. Down 2 to 1 with 10 men on the field.