The second part of the youth review is here and this one will be taking a look at the midfielders and forwards in the USMNT player pool that deserve their shot at the senior national team. The review of the goalkeepers and defenders showed glimpses of hope for the future, and the midfielders and forwards show possibly even more.
USMNT Player Pool: Give The Kids A Chance, Part Two
Midfielders
Wil Trapp
You will be hard-pressed to find anyone who follows the USMNT that is going to argue with the statement that Wil Trapp will soon be making regular appearances for the senior national team, and for good reason. Trapp is truly one of the most impressive prospects the USA player pool currently has, and has even made two appearances for the senior national team already at 23 years old. He has played an integral role in the recent success that Columbus Crew SC have been experiencing, including their appearance in MLS Cup 2015. For this reason, he should be getting serious consideration for a call-up for the World Cup Qualifying matches against Trinidad and Tobago as well as St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
In 86 appearances for Columbus since the start of the 2013 season, Trapp has been a solid piece to their midfield and has displayed a very sound passing game, as he has completed 86.7% of his passes since coming into MLS. This is something that the USMNT has been missing over the past few years, a central midfielder who is an exceptional passer, something Trapp seems to be. Despite being a smart passing midfielder, he will generally not score very many goals, nor will he assist in many of them. Rather, he will be the midfielder to sit in behind the back four and win the ball back in the defensive third to start possession from there. With all due respect to players like Kyle Beckerman, Trapp needs to be brought in with immediate effect to give the USMNT the defensive midfielder they’ve been missing the last few years.
Emerson Hyndman
Hyndman truly is a very exciting prospect for the future of the USMNT midfield, and could very well be paired with Trapp sitting in behind him to make for a U.S. team that is strong in possession, something that can’t be said of the team recently. Hyndman has come through the youth system in the London-based club Fulham FC, where he has made his name as a midfielder who is very strong in possession, and a more than adequate passer of the ball. He recently has made the move from the Championship side to English Premier League club, AFC Bournemouth, showing his intention to play at the top level and to challenge himself.
Hyndman made 17 appearances for Fulham last season, eight of them where he came off the bench, and was able to show glimpses of what he’s truly capable of. The one downside to this past season for him is that his former manager chose to employ him as a left midfielder, a position he never seemed to get comfortable in. Despite being played out of position on a more than regular basis, he was able to have a pass success rate of 83.6% in the Championship, a competition of respectable strength. He has shown that he is very good at holding onto the ball, cannot be dispossessed easily, and likes to take shots from distance to test the goalkeeper. One of his main weaknesses as a player, and one of the major reasons he should be playing in the center of midfield, is that he isn’t known for his crossing ability. He also, at times, has had a tendency to lose concentration and lose his positional awareness, something that will likely get better with age and maturity.
Gedion Zelalem
Zelalem is a player who needs no introduction to most fans of soccer in the United States, and is yet another reason why the future of U.S. soccer looks so bright. Taking a look objectively, a midfield with the likes of Zelalem, Hyndman, and Trapp in it is a midfield capable of doing very special things for a country known for its inconsistencies in the center of the field.
The fact that Arsenal, a club known for spotting top young talent, has heaped praise on the 19-year old Zelalem is something that shouldn’t be overlooked. The Gunners, knowing he wasn’t going to get much time with the first team, sent Zelalem out on loan this season to Rangers in Scotland, where he was a first team regular and did himself justice in the argument that needs to be brought up come the next USMNT call-ups. He is an exciting prospect, to say the least, and will most likely continue the new tradition of German-born Americans making their impact for the national team.
Forwards
Jeremy Ebobisse
Ebobisse, for those of you who don’t follow U.S. soccer any lower than the U-23 national side, is one of the most promising young forwards the nation currently has. When trying to explain the way Ebobisse plays it would be best to take the words from the forward himself on who he emulates and who he tries to play like.
A forward that tries to emulate Mario Balotelli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic? That’s something truly exciting for the future of soccer in the United States. He has also, in seven games for the U-20 national side this year, scored four goals and assisted on two more. Six goals created in seven matches is a return that anyone can get excited about, and Ebobisse is definitely a name to be on the look-out for in the future.
Midfielders: Danny Acosta, Christian Pulisic, Sebastian Saucedo, Brooks Lennon, Matt Polster, Luis Gil, and Julian Green
Forwards: Mario Rodriguez, Victor Mansaray, Jordan Morris, and Bobby Wood
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