Chelsea will have a few interesting things to look for in a rare England versus United States match. Scouts should pay close attention to this one.
England versus the United States is really a match that should be played far more frequently. The two nations are tied together in almost every way but football matches against one another. The Special Relationship Derby (make it a thing) will offer Chelsea scouts some interesting fodder both for the current players and for potential ones in the future.
Ruben Loftus Cheek v. Ross Barkley v. the 3-5-2
Gareth Southgate and Steve Holland opted to put England in a 3-5-2 for the World Cup primarily because England lacked a creative midfielder at the time while having an abundance of center back and strong attacking fullbacks.
But Loftus-Cheek and Barkley, as they gained fitness and time under Maurizio Sarri, have given England the option of playing with a more creative midfielder. Neither is necessarily the player to build around, but both can create and attack from the center in their own ways.
Sarri has improved both players quickly and now their battle at club level goes into a battle at the national level. This is a good match for Southgate to experiment with one or both players. How they do could lead to more chances later in the break.
Is Matt Miazga really as bad as Nantes thinks he is?
The quick answer is “no he is not as bad as Nantes think he is”. The long answer is a bit more complicated.
Miazga was doing just fine with a poor Nantes team until Miguel Cardoso was sacked. The match immediately afterwards, then managed by Vahid Halilhodzic, was a disaster for Miazga. He was then dropped by the new manager and nothing has changed since.
Now, it is not all that unusual to see a new manger come in, find someone to blame (especially a player on loan), and change things around. This seems a classic case of just that.
Miazga is the United States’ best defender and, if he were younger, would likely catch Sarri’s eye with his ability to play the ball from the back. But Miazga is not younger and at the moment needs to show Nantes’ new management that they are making a mistake. A test against Harry Kane could do just that.
Scout out the young American stars
The United States is undergoing an essential crisis. Failing to qualify for the World Cup left US soccer A: in search of someone/something to blame and B: unwilling to blame themselves or change those most responsible. So the team has had a (frankly terrible) interim manager for over a year now whose only contribution has been to pick young players over the older veterans that failed.
And given reports that Chelsea leads the race for Christian Pulisic, the US players are worth watching because of how many scoutable targets there could be for Premier League clubs.
In addition to Pulisic, fans may want to watch out for Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie. Adams is likely to stay under the Red Bulls umbrella as a move to Leipzig is heavily rumored, but not a guarantee. Both are incredibly talented, but also incredibly young and raw, players. The right manager could quickly clean them up because they do possess a great deal of unrefined ability.
Even younger, yet of note, would be Josh Sargent and Timothy Weah. Sargent has only just joined Werder Bremen but is seen as one of the brightest US prospects. But few will compare to Tim Weah, son of former Chelsea player George Weah. Timothy Weah plays for Paris Saint Germain currently, but a lack of opportunity could see him move elsewhere sooner rather than later. Chelsea may not be the ideal club for him, but he is packed with talent and could very well replicate his father’s exploits given enough time.
What will you be looking for in England versus the United States? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!