Scuffed | USMNT, World Cup, Yanks Abroad, futbol in America

Vince and Belz talk through the 4-1 win, the 11 debuts, the young goal-scorers and Sebastian Berhalter's decisive cameo. Three more matches to go in this window, lots to think about.

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Ryan Richter coaches the hottest team in MLS, he’s got a front-row seat to the Cavan Sullivan experience, and he sat down to talk with Belz about the mid-season rebirth of the Philadelphia Union, how players need to know their coach is rooting for them, Neil Pierre’s development as a passer, and the influence of coach Iain Munro, among many other things.

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Vince, Sanjay and Belz talk about the roster and revisit the weekend.

https://open.spotify.com/track/1xaTREM89RbIxkcjlpf4Uw?si=cdd652c213b142c3

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Vince and Greg go through the player pool ahead of this fresh USMNT roster we're expecting this week, for games against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada.

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GOAL.com's Ryan Tolmich joins the show to run through some action from the weekend. Cavan keeps upping the stakes as we head into an international window, what an interesting kid. Musah has what Vince thinks is his best ever performance for club.

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Cavan scores again. His enthusiasm for playing for the USMNT, and his liquid jaw in media appearances, maybe edge over into cockiness a bit for Poch, and the coach (without directly naming him) warned that young players who haven't proved much should put their heads down and work. Fascinating stuff. Vince and Sanjay talk it over. Also Gio scored, Sanjay believes Tyler Adams played well because he saw it online (Vince notes he was preyed upon by Harvey Barnes on his way to a banger), and much more.

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U.S. Youth Soccer, the organization under which 2.5 million kids play across the country, will be integrated into U.S. Soccer. Doesn't seem too meaningful on its face but it's major news across the grassroots and development landscapes. Mike Woitalla, the executive editor of Soccer America, joins Belz to walk through it. J.T. Batson called it a "defining moment," but it turns out, as with many things, the defining moments will be the quiet ones, behind the scenes, over the next several years.

Woitalla's piece on the topic: https://www.socceramerica.com/can-u-s-soccer-tame-the-wild-west-of-american-youth-soccer/

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Charlie B, Vince and Belz try to make sense of the news. Maybe the Saudi league or Turkey? Maybe he stays and contributes at Monaco. But he's not going to the cloudy, working class streets of Liverpool.

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Vince, Sanjay and Belz explore the news of the weekend in the latest edition of the Monday Review.

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Yunus goes 90 and we ought to bring him in, Haji's badly hurt, Gozo getting the royal treatment at Palace. Vince, Tara and Sanjay run through the news of the weekend, and play Mudded or Nah.

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Charles Boehm joins Belz to talk through a few MLS things and think retrospectively about the World Cup.

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Vince, Sanjay and Belz cover the news of the week. High tempo. Let's go.

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He is a giant of American soccer, a trailblazer, a man who truly loves the game and has devoted his professional life to its growth. He gave us two hours to talk about what creates soccer hot spots, the coach's responsibility to lead good discussions, halftime of the Slovenia match in 2010, what the USA's performance at the World Cup told him, information literacy in the context of the Port Said massacre, preparing to beat Spain in 2009, the network of soccer mentors who powered the North Jersey scene, and much much more.

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Cavan the Playmaker is starting to impress even Vince. Gozo to Crystal Palace seems imminent. Mathis Albert getting preseason minutes with Dortmund but not going crazy yet. Justin Ellis playing well in tight space for Orlando City. Plus a rundown of a bunch of other news.

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Vince talks Belz into being excited about the decision. Sanjay wants him to play the kids. Cavan seems to have hit a bright patch. MLS gets a new commissioner who understands books. Gio to Strasbourg.

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The 17-year-old discusses his rise, soccer in his Staten Island home, playing for Michael Bradley, his national team future and more.

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The 17-year-old discusses his rise to MLS regular, soccer in his Staten Island home, playing for Michael Bradley, his national team future and more.

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He was head coach at West Virginia University for 14 seasons, coached the Philadelphia Union II from its 2022 debut in MLS Next Pro through 2024, coached the U18 USMNT for a year, his son is a legitimate prospect who was signed by Philly, and now LeBlanc’s navigating Brooklyn FC through its expansion season in USL. He talked about his impressions from the World Cup, Spain’s dominance AGAINST the ball, only having 13 players on his USL roster days ahead of the season, and lots more, including the Sullivan family, American soccer coaching education, Wyscout and Fotmob.

Skip the...

Vince, Sanjay and Marcus Chairez start off with the Union v Red Bull match, and work through a lot of the boxes the USMNT needs to check over the next four years. You know how it is. Let's get started now.

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Some exploration of what Spain's triumph means, who the US should emulate, rumination on by far the most-attended World Cup ever, Balogun to Klutch Sports, and a rundown of what's coming for the USMNT. Vince, Sanjay and Belz on the mics.

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New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill sits down with Sanjay Sujanthakumar to talk about the impact of the World Cup, the final in East Rutherford on Sunday, prices, FIFA, etc.

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How much is Belgium flat-out superior to us, and how much did we wilt? How much is this World Cup gonna grow the game in America? Did the overturned Balo suspension actually hurt us? How are we gonna develop players who can win a men's World Cup some day? Pulisic's legacy blah blah blah Poch's future, etc.

Sanjay's piece for the Guardian on development:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/23/usmnt-player-development-youth

Colin Cowherd on the growth of soccer: https://x.com/TheHerd/status/2075639696852496842?s=20

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We wilted in the first truly difficult match of our World Cup, and now we're out. Greg doesn't think this was inevitable, but also doesn't think it's down to tactics. The team turtled immediately against Belgium's quality, everyone got spooked and we were lucky to go to the half down only a goal. We found a little footing early in the 2nd half, and then Matt Freese sealed our fate.

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Folarin Balogun gets an 11th-hour reprieve from FIFA's vaunted judicial system, he'll play against Belgium. Vince, Sanjay and Belz talk through that bombshell news, its impact on the game, and how we might stop Doku.

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Belz, Sanjay and Charlie Boehm recap the big win from Wednesday night. Full timeline, Malik and Wes once again shine bright, everybody's bought in, the TV audiences are massive. Now we look to Monday.

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Mike Guardabascio in southern California, of the Jenkins and Jonez podcast and one of the founders of of 562.org, joins Vince and Belz to talk about how the USMNT is hitting in Long Beach during this home-soil World Cup, what stands in the way of soccer becoming America's "thing," and other matters of that nature.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jenkins-jonez-podcast/id1018701693

https://www.the562.org/

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Vince and Belz recap the dead rubber, buzzer beater loss to Türkiye, and Sanjay comes on for the last 20 minutes to talk about what Poch said after the game.

Clip Notes for patrons: https://www.patreon.com/scuffed/posts/clipnotes-wc-162197059?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_fan&utm_content=web_share

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World Cup standout Sergiño Dest joins Sanjay and Charlie from USMNT camp in Orange County, Calif., for a brief chat.

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Velasquez and Belz recap the 2-0 win in Seattle. A vibesy, workmanlike victory. Without Pulisic, and with an off night from Balo, we still got a comfortable win, a "Country Roads" serenade, and thanks to Turkiye's loss to Paraguay, we've won the group.

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Vince and Belz are joined by Andrew Jones, the New York-based sports reporter who writes for several outlets and covers the USMNT (and USWNT) faithfully, often providing the best moments in press conferences with his questions. We talk about the cultural impact of the World Cup, the songs, his approach to asking players questions, how people are feeling about the USMNT, things like that.

Follow Mr. Jones on X: https://x.com/sluggahjells

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We have a squad! Full recap and timeline of the 4-1 drubbing we dished out against Paraguay, a quite solid Conmebol team. Belz and Velasquez revel in it all and look ahead to Australia.

Pickup: 6/18, at noon, at Lower Woodland Soccer Field #2

Night before: 6p-10pm, Media Mixer hosted by Sounder at Heart, Project 9 brewing, 1409 NE 80th St. RSVP here: https://partiful.com/e/BY6NPWAb0JVUagYN2q4y?c=sF2c_4mR

Pre/Post match @ Fast Fashion brewing, 1723 1st ave s. Doors open at 8am sharp, 1723 1st Ave S

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Hard to see anybody beating us, just real difficult to see that happening right now. What a night. This is the first part of our coast-to-coast call-in show after the 4-1 win over Paraguay. For the full episode, join the Patreon. We will record a proper recap on Monday.

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Sure, we lost. But what should we worry about headed into the World Cup? And what should give us confidence? Greg V joins to break it all down.

Details about next week

Media Mixer hosted by Sounder at Heart at Project 9 in Seattle, evening of Thursday, June 18: https://partiful.com/e/BY6NPWAb0JVUagYN2q4y?c=sF2c_4mR

Matchday bash at Fast Fashion, 1723 1st Ave S, Seattle, doors open at 8 a.m. local time. Hosted by Scuffed and Sounder at Heart.

Oh and check out the World Cup edition...

Seven or eight things you might want to know about this team and its chances at the World Cup, which kicks off later this week. Sanjay Sujanthakumar, Vince Irvin, and Adam Belz on the mics.

Details about next week:

Media Mixer hosted by Sounder at Heart at Project 9 in Seattle, evening of Thursday, June 18: https://partiful.com/e/BY6NPWAb0JVUagYN2q4y?c=sF2c_4mR

Matchday bash at Fast Fashion, 1723 1st Ave S, Seattle, doors open at 8 a.m. local time. Hosted by Scuffed and Sounder at Heart.

Oh...

Vince and Belz go for 90+ minutes on the cathartic victory in Charlotte. Brilliance in the attack from us, some of our centerback candidates were less than brilliant, Dest is a winger, Pepi integral in both first half goals, Tillman provides a moment of transcendence, it's on to Germany.

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Vince and Belz talk through the official roster release, which is exactly the same as Saturday's leak. Vince makes a strong case that Tanner Tessmann is a miss from Poch, and we agree we have too many centerbacks, but we're backing this 26 all the way!

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Sanjay, Belz, Charlie Boehm and Greg V compete for the strongest teams, with all U.S. men's national team World Cup players from '94 to '22 on the draft board. You decide who did the best.

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Greg joins Belz to give his 26 for the World Cup, his starting XI, and acknowledge that in both cases it could go several acceptable ways.

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The CEO and secretary general of US Soccer himself, hailing from Augusta and stationed south of Atlanta, joins Vince and Belz to discuss World Cup impact, the state of the game in America, the fateful train station run-in with Sunil Gulati, fundraising as one of the keys to USSF success, how Matt Crocker will be replaced, and much more.

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Noahkai Banks is back on the field and rumors are flying. Gio says he "hopes to get the call." Dest looks hungry in a dead rubber in the Netherlands. Jedi scores on a penalty. Pulisic assist. Youngsters keep balling in MLS.

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