Originally Posted by
CDu
I thought we were talking about the next 20 months, not 2026. If 2026, then it's a bit of "who knows?" on some of these guys. Central defenders aren't typically ready at age 20, so it shouldn't surprise that we don't yet know who will be relevant for 2026.
As for the current squad, my differences of opinion are as follows:
Steffen: no, he's not going to supplant arguably the best in the world on one of the very best teams in the world. But he's obviously of starter quality for most Euro squads. He just has the current misfortune of being the #2 for a team at the top of the food chain. Hopefully he gets loaned out next year to another Premier League side.
Brooks: he's the centerpiece of one of the best defensive sides in the Bundesliga. I'd say that's better than "serviceable." He's very very good, and will still be very very good by 2022. But yes, he hopefully won't be there in 2026. Hopefully some of the younger players develop over the next 5 years.
Richards: A 21 year old who got some (albeit limited) playing time for Bayern Munich? Yeah, I'll take that. I'd expect him to continue to be loaned out over the next 20 months, but I think he'll be pretty darn good.
McKennie: he does a little of everything but isn't polished at anything. Which, given his work rate, is why I see him as a defensive or box-to-box midfielder for the national team. He's a bit more offensive minded than Adams, but he can grind. And that's where Reyna and (hopefully) Aaronson are key: they are the more creative players.
Reyna: totally agree. His development is potentially the difference between us topping out where we topped out in the Donovan/Dempsey era or becoming more of a contender. He's got all the tools, it's a matter of time to mature and opportunity. It will be interesting to see where he goes next, assuming Dortmund will sell as they did with Pulisic and are likely to do with Haaland.
Adams: a classic defensive midfielder, and I feel quite good about him over the next two WC campaigns.
Miazga: Being owned by Chelsea has not done him a ton of favors in terms of stability, as he's not nearly of Chelsea quality. But I'd consider him serviceable for 2022. I do hope that by 2026 he's not in the picture. But again, with central defenders its often hard to tell who will be relevant 5 years from now.
As for the team as a whole, I don't expect them to do damage in the 2022 World Cup. I just expect them to make it, and they should do so fairly easily. Maybe they get through the group stage if they get a favorable draw. But I certainly don't see them as a threat for a deep run in 2022 barring some things going really well over the next 20 months.
If we're talking about 2026? It's hard to say, as some of our best prospects beyond the guys above are still so young and just scratching the surface. Do guys like Aaronson, De La Torre, Musah, Weah, Reynolds, De La Fuente, Llanez, etc. emerge? Do any of the age 20-22 strikers (Dike, Sargent, Soto, Gioacchini, Hoppe) make a jump in play and establish themselves in Europe? And do any current 15 or 16 year olds emerge in the next couple of years as prodigies like Reyna and Pulisic have?