Rog's Thoughts on the USMNT World Cup Roster

HAIL GFOP!

I type with fingers swirling with World Cup fever. We are 10 days away from the kick off of World Cup 2022. Both the United States and England dropped their rosters this week. US manager Gregg Berhalter was generous enough to spend an hour with me and the Men In Blazers community on a Do It Live! On Amp, right after he announced the 26 gents who will represent our nation. I found the conversation between us and the GFOPs who came on to ask questions really fascinating. First of all, you could sense the relief rolling off Gregg in waves. The conjecture, the debate, the decision making is now over. What is, is. This is a man eager to pivot, relocate, and do this. Whatever this may turn out to be. But I also found Gregg to be open, undefensive, and generous of spirit – not just taking time to attempt to articulate his feelings and reasoning, but also diving into the online Amp conversation to type out responses in the side chat. It is really worth a listen. 🇺🇸🦅

In terms of the roster. Big picture, it feels like a statement that after disconcertingly stale displays against Japan and Saudi Arabia in the last window, change was needed. The surprise decision was Zack Steffen’s omission. To fall from No. 1 to No. 2 is understandable. To fall out of the top three entirely, after being the man who started every big US qualifying game – and then seeking out regular football at Middlesbrough (16 starts, shakily at first, but with resilience over the last month) is confounding. For Gregg to have stood by his bloke in tough times, then discard him just as he finds a streak of form is confusing. I feel for Zack, who has had a grinding journey with occasional Mane-fuelled nightmares. This will hurt so very much.

The same goes for Ricardo Pepi. A player who saved our cycle, and Gregg’s job, with his big goals in big moments. He has suddenly erupted for five goals and two assists in his last 9 games in the Dutch Eredivisie, but cannot find a place in a squad said to be picked for form. What the Pefoks!?! If ever a kid could do with a vote of confidence so that he can soar at the 2026 World Cup with the experience of a tournament already under his belt, it is he.

However, there was also surprise news of the loveliest kind. Tim Ream out of exile, aged 35. Just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in for the first time since October 2021. Listening to Gregg on the Amp, I gleaned the feeling that on the basis of his relationship with Antonee Robinson, he might well be starting. I am so happy for that gent, as a footballer and as a human being. To see a gent so ferocious and tenacious and yet, remaining such a good bloke, be rewarded for all three is magnificent.

Gregg and the MLS players are now in the Gulf. One more weekend of European football to go, then the rest of the squad will Avenger Assemble. Pray for bubble-wrapped American players and no injuries. Once the squad is together, there will be no practice games. Little time to train. This World Cup is just going to erupt out of nowhere. I loved Gregg’s spin that this short runway will favor his team. “A bunch of 20-somethings in camp will ‘lose their stuff’ if there is nothing to do for a month.” AKA to hell with practice. Let’s Roll. A manager embracing the World Cup O’Chaos. Let’s try and do the same. Draw a line under our dark fears, and sense of yearning and self-loathing. The debate is done. We head slam bang into tournament play. Let’s drown out the noise. Hold our collective breath. Pray to the Gods of Football. And Do This.

The England Squad was announced yesterday. It is a mix of experience and youth, stacked with attacking potential, including surprise choice James Maddison. Is his selection a suggestion that the caution-first manager is willing to play bolder football? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

More: Barney Ronay on England’s squad. Gareth Southgate has picked an England squad to recapture happy-ship energy.

Also: Gareth Southgate. “We will speak out.” A sense European football powers are furious with FIFA’s letter attempting to stifle dissent ahead of the World Cup.

2. COME AND RAISE A GLASS WITH US AND MAKE WORLD CUP MEMORIES

Four. More. Sleeps. Until our Men in Blazers "This Cup's For You Tour" kicks off Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Terminal Five right here in our adopted hometown of NYC. And what a night of nights we have for you. We have John Oliver to talk England, Welsh King Matthew Rhys of "The Americans" to talk up the Gareth Bale challenge. Those of you worried I will be outnumbered, fear not. I have enlisted one of our own for the evening. That is right, we will be joined by a two-time American World Cup Winner. Tickets for NYC, and our entire tour, are available HERE. And if you're coming to the show, we know you're coming to All Stars Sports Bar & Grill on 57th Street to join Rog and Davo in raising a glass to the start of this magical time of year. No Sleep Till the Wales. 🍻

🍺 Last weekend for Premier League beers for a while. Order Budweiser via Drizly and get $5 off your first order when you use the code: BUDXMIB Courtesy of Drizly. New Drizly users only. Must be 21+. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Per applicable law, value may be applied towards order total or shipping or delivery fees. Includes orders of non-alcoholic items. Void where prohibited. Expires on 12/31/22 at 11:59 EDT 🍺

3. To the Football

i. Manchester City vs. Brentford (Saturday, 7.30 AM ET, USA)

Pep has spent the week warning that Erling Haaland is still not fit. Prob just two goals off the bench then. Come for Jack Grealish’s calves. Stick around for Julian Alvarez stealthily adding to his in-the-shadows-yet-incredible seven goals in 19 appearances all comps.

ii. Liverpool vs. Southampton (Saturday, 10 AM ET, USA)

Which Liverpool will we see this weekend? The heavyweight willing to clip Manchester City, Napoli, and Tottenham? Or the dire mob who play down and get slapped by Nottingham Forest and the Mighty Leeds? Here, they must beware of the dreaded new manager bounce. Southampton are under bright young tattooed innovator, Nathan Jones, whom they prised from Championship overachievers Luton Town.

More: Meet Nathan Jones. Fire, Faith and Fastidiousness.

Also: Klopp committed to Liverpool no matter whom owner is, but plays down news of sale.

iii. Tottenham vs. Leeds (Saturday, 10 AM ET, P’Cock)

The last time these two teams met, Spurs romped 4-0, and Marcelo Bielsa and his bucket were never seen at Elland Road again. The only pail Jesse Marsch possesses are those buckets full of swagger. After back-to-back insanely unpredictable wins, Racine, Wisconsin’s finest will relish the opportunity to face an exhausted Spurs who have suffered three defeats in their past five league games but have Richarlison and Kulu back. The only thing I am praying for harder than “no injuries to Brenden or Tyler” is that Jesse does not lose himself for a mo’ and square up to that coaching Anton Chigurh, Conte, on the sideline.

iv. Newcastle vs. Chelsea (Saturday, 12.30 PM ET, NBC Proper)

One of these teams is playing like a bona fide European power. And it is not Chelsea, who travel North, winless in their last four games and six points behind the third place Toon. Fear not. Boehly is ferreting around for revenue lines.

A group of Newcastle fans “NUFC against Sportswashing” are planning a protest against the team’s Saudi owners pre-game. The group has chosen Saturday’s fixture for a reason: A day before the sides last met at Stamford Bridge in March, 81 people were executed in Saudi Arabia – the largest number in the country’s modern history.

v. Wolves vs. Arsenal (Saturday, 2.45 PM ET, USA)

Julen Lopetegui has made his first wise coaching decision. He will not take over Wolves officially until after this weekend’s clash with league-leading Arsenal. The Gunners will strive to finish the opening nine holes of the season as your leader in the clubhouse. Expect Molineux under the floodlights to be a bearpit.

vi. Fulham vs. Manchester United (Sunday, 11.30 AM ET, USA)

TWO GOATS RUMBLE. Ream vs. Ronaldo. There can only be one winner.

MORE: Entire Premier League broadcast schedule here.

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4. Men In Blazers USMNT World Cup Fever Up to 11

I. Go! Go! USA!

i. This weekend, it's the big one(s). The final two episodes of Go! Go! USA! with Brendan Hunt. And the last two installments of this beauty are not to be missed. Episode 5, which drops Saturday, is less a Pod and more a therapy session as we ruminate on the 2018 World Cup cycle, when, if you'll recall, we didn't actually qualify for the World Cup. And the final episode, dropping Sunday, is a look at the current cycle, a temperature check as we stand on the precipice of the World Cup for the first time in eight long years. Brendan and I go deep on Nike Sneakers, Starbucks Mugs, and in-game selfies. If you missed the first four episodes, they are all available HERE. I love this podcast. It made me roar with laughter to tape. Keep sending me your United States Memories. I love to read them. 🇺🇸

ii. Give Episode 7 of Tyler Adams: Road to the Cup, Powered by Volkswagen a listen. The USMNT hero joined me to discuss Leeds' delirious wins against Liverpool and Bournemouth, the challenges presented by a mid-season World Cup, and, of course, his order at Five Guys. And, as if we weren't already aware, Tyler loves a 50/50 tackle.

iii. We will be taping Group-by-Group World Cup previews next week with Davo and Rory Smith. Make some time for these. One of the weird aspects of this tournament is we have almost no time to revel in the pre-tournament storylines. Brace yourselves…

iv. Now is the time to get caught up on all of our boys’ backstories heading into what is the tournament of their lives. We’ve compiled a landing page for our entire USMNT back catalog HERE.

🚨Save The Date: Nov. 15. MiB x Todd Snyder. We've partnered with New York City-based designer Todd Snyder to create new Men in Blazers casual apparel. We like to think of it as Scotty Parker-chic. Todd is a gent whom we admire greatly and whose joyous designs helped Rog survive the darkest days of lockdown. Stay tuned to our social for more and visit Todd Snyder's website or newsletter to purchase these. This is a limited-edition, so once they're gone, they're gone. For more on why we revere Todd so much, and the tenacity it took for him to get from Iowa to the highest rungs of global fashion, you can listen to our three-part Pod series, "MiB x Todd Snyder: Conversations on Creativity." 🚨

5. This Week in FIFA’s Brazen Corruption and Criming

i. Plot twist: this week, out of nowhere, former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, the man who actually made the announcement of Qatar’s glorious bid victory back in Zurich in 2010, admitted it was a mistake and talked openly about the $14.6 billion dollars of fighter jets Qatar then purchased from France, whose rep in the FIFA executive committee, coincidentally cast his vote for Qatar. If only someone could've done something about it, Sepp…

ii. FIFA has rejected Denmark's request to wear training shirts advocating for human rights. As you'll recall, Denmark and Hummel also plan to wear match jerseys with the nation’s badge and all sponsor marks muted. Hummel has said, "We don't wish to be visible during a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives.” 🇩🇰

iii. For more on how the football world, teams, countries, managers and players are confronting the World Cup in Qatar, listen to our World Corrupt Pod series with Crooked Media's Tommy Vietor. The first five episodes are available HERE. We will record a sixth episode during the tournament. Stay tuned to our Pod feed for that.

More: Lovely bit in New York Magazine on World Corrupt and I enjoyed joining CBC’s Front Burner podcast to talk about the issue and our show. Big Love to all our friends in Canada and all hail the CBC!!!

6. More Football, Did Ya Say?

i. The excellent Simon Kuper on why middle-aged Messi and Modrić are still the world’s best. The most talented players heading to this tournament are in their mid-to-late 30s. What’s going on?

ii. Sadio Mane fights for World Cup fitness as Senegal holds its breath. “We are going to use witch doctors… I don't know (if they're effective) but in this instance, we're going to use them anyway.” UPDATE: he’s in the squad.

iii. Academy Award for best World Cup Roster Reveal goes to Uruguay. I am not Uruguayan. I have sadly never been to Uruguay. But I cried as I watched this beauty.

7. USWNT Warning Signs or Real Panic Button Moment?

Last night, our US Women kicked off their November friendlies by playing another European powerhouse, Euro 2022 runner-up Germany, and losing 2-1 – the first time our finest have lost three in a row since 1993. This was a frustrating match to watch. The US dominated for long spells, finished poorly, and were unlucky to go behind when a German shot cruelly rebounded off goalkeeper Casey Murphy and into the net in the 52nd minute. Megan Rapinoe leveled the game in the 85th minute after tenacious work by Alex Morgan to win the ball back high up the pitch. But as the US pushed for a late winner, Germany hit them on the break to snatch a winning goal at the death. American players frozen almost all over the field. The post mortem is underway – tactically and mentally, our cloak of invisibility is no longer. Our US Women have one more game in this round of international fixtures, as they get another chance against Germany Sunday at 5 PM ET, live on ESPN.

8. “Paul Carr Blows Your Mind… Said Paul Carr Blows Your Mind”

Our weekly stats section in which Paul Carr, my numbers loving friend who is TruMedia’s Senior Director of Content, crunches his calculator.

🤯 Two USMNT players (Yunus Musah and Joe Scally) will be 19 years old when the World Cup begins. In the USMNT’s eight previous appearances, only two players were 19 or younger at the beginning of the World Cup: Julian Green (Good Julian!) and Chris Henderson.

🤯 At 35 years old, Tim Ream is the third-oldest player to make a USMNT World Cup team since 1950, behind only 37-year-olds Fernando Clavijo (1994) and Thomas Dooley (1998).

🤯 Matt Turner will likely be the fourth New Jersey-born keeper to start for the USMNT at the World Cup. He’ll join Tim Howard (2010 & 2014), Tony Meola (1990 & 1994) and James Douglas (1934), who have combined for 18 of the 33 World Cup starts by USMNT keepers.

9. Not Football, and All the Better for It

i. English megastore John Lewis is famous for its epically emotional Holiday commercials. This one about an old skateboarder is really, really lovely and worth 90 seconds.

ii. Stormzy: “This album is me holding a mirror up to myself” "When you are making something, you have to consider the audience last."

iii. The Radical Optimism of Mike Davis (1946–2022). Rest in peace to a fascinating once-in-a-generation thinker.

iii. How Fred Again.. Turns Digital Bricolage Into Dance-Floor Weepers. If I'm being honest I'm never sure whether Fred Again.. is a visionary or just has very fast fingers, but I could watch him for hours.

iv. Stop licking psychedelic Sonoran Desert toads, National Park Service says. Start microlicking them and thank us later.

v. TSA: Handgun found inside raw chicken in luggage at airport. Potentially unpopular opinion but I really don't think we should be allowing people to bring raw chickens on planes either. Makes the vibes weird.

vi. Speaking of chickens: An Internet Sensation Counts His Rotisserie Chickens. I love everything about this interview. Not the hero we wanted, but the hero we desperately needed.

vii. The Self-Inflicted Demise of Kyrie Irving. "Irving has been a mercurial, exasperating, wildly popular NBA player for years. He has a humongous platform and undeniable influence. What he chooses to do with it often has been discouraging, to say the least."

viii. Oldest known sentence written in first alphabet discovered – on a head-lice comb. If it didn't say "wash before reusing" they missed a real educational opportunity there.

ix. What? Huh? Why your favorite shows and films sound worse than ever. To all the homies out there protesting the demise of competent sound mixing at the risk of being accused of film snobbery: you are seen, you are loved, you are doing the lord's work.

x. Zosia Mamet Shares Swedish Fish With Her Horse. Every so often I have this recurring nightmare where all the celebrity horse girls gang up and start hunting me down like Cossacks (on horseback obvs). I am reassured by the knowledge that Zosia's horse is on a diet of gummy candy, and therefore cannot possibly run very fast.

xi. I love this song so much: Gary Ashby by Dry Cleaning. A song about a Lost Tortoise.

xii. A Book: I Wouldn't Do That If I Were Me: Modern Blunders and Modest Triumphs (but Mostly Blunders) by Jason Gay. My friend Jason, the remarkable WSJ Sports Columnist, is a man with a wicked sense of humor, who tries to laugh at life. Yet, buried in that laughter are profound life truths, and I admire his ability to fuse the two more than I can say.

That is it for today. I am writing from Indianapolis, where I have come to eat all the Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches and worship at whatever Rik Smits Statues I can find in the city. I am thrilled to be out in the midwest and revel in the wonders of this area I have never spent time in before. The smell of John Green’s cologne wafts everywhere.

Big Love.

Let’s Make Great Memories Together by Watching Football.

Courage.

ROG

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