El Diego

Yeah I'm mindful of the fact that national teams call up young players to these tournaments for promise rather than actually being one of the 23 best players. I hadn't heard of Albornoz but it looks like he was a Swedish youth international who switched to Chile to play in the World Cup. Julian Green of course we know was in a similar boat. Sayouba Mande was a third keeper so he barely counts, and Luke Shaw would certainly be more involved if it wasn't for that awful injury. Still, goes to show the unpredictability of players.

Fun exercise to look at 2014 World Cup squads... here's a list of the youngest members of each squad that hasn't been capped since 2018 (note this was very quick research and may not be fully accurate): Brazil (Bernard) USA (Julian Green) Chile (Miiko Albornoz) Colombia (Eder Balanta) Ivory Coast (Sayouba Mande) England (Luke Shaw) Uruguay (Gaston Ramirez) Ghana (Rashid Sumaila) Russia (Pavel Moglivets)

The reason this exercise is so silly is because the only "locks" you have are Davies and David, and honestly who knows even then. You could chop and change the other nine guys from my line up and I wouldn't argue.

Who am I playing? I guess in this exercise I don't know, it's just at the World Cup. Gun to my head: -------------------------Borjan----------------------- ZBG---------Henry-----Cornelius----Laryea -----------------------Eustaquio--------------------- --------------Osorio----------Kaye------------------ Davies------------------------------------------Millar ------------------------David---------------------------- Weird hypothetical though.

I thought Henry did well for the most part. Almost had a couple of signature brain farts but didn't in the end. He had three absolute laser beam long balls that found their man (and one that didn't), and I thought his decision making with the ball was mostly good. Thought being in the middle of a back 3 suited him, but one of those centre backs needed to step into midfield more. Suwon had no answers (even before going a man down).

1. Alphonso Davies 2. Jonathan David 3. Zachary Brault-Guillard 4. Liam Millar 5. Jayden Nelson 6. Tristan Borges 7. Theo Bair 8. Ballou Tabla 9. Noble Okello 10. Jacob Shaffelburg 11. Noah Verhoeven Guys I haven't watched enough to rank but considered: Zorhan Bassong, Mathieu Choiniere, Charles-Andres Brym, Kamron Habibullah, Antoine Coupland, Julian Dunn-Johnson, Michael Baldisimo I give a lot of weight to players who have already succeeded at the pro level. I see people listing Liam Fraser, but he is over 21. If he was eligible I'd have him fifth.

Fraser at center back could work, and is extremely progressive. We've seen Busquets and De Rossi play there. The skill set works for a side that dominates the ball. I don't think it's as crazy as y'all make it out to be, but I don't think it would work unless we're the favourites in the match.

Raph Honigstein picked him for the Bundesliga team of the season for The Athletic. Listed as a left mid because the formation is a 3-4-3 (Hakimi was on the right, for reference) Have to pay for access, but I think a blurb is ok? If not I can remove: Left midfield: Alphonso Davies (Bayern) Goalimpact, devised by German engineer Jorg Seidel, is an algorithm for scouting players. In early 2018, Goalimpact predicted that Davies, a 17-year-old then playing for Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps, would be a world-beater. It’s unclear whether Bayern were convinced by that verdict when they bought the Ghanaian-born son of Liberian refugees for $22 million that summer, but Davies has certainly exceeded all expectations. In the space of five months, he has gone from fringe player with a habit of overhitting his crosses to the first-choice left-back, deputising so well for David Alaba that the Austrian might never return to his usual berth. “His development has been great,” coach Flick said. Davies, the fastest player in Bayern’s squad, has grown so quickly he must be considered not just the best left-back in the Bundesliga but a one of the most effective players in his position world-wide. It’s a bit of a football fairytale, and it’s only the beginning — he recently signed a contract extension keeping him in Munich until 2025.

His passing itself is ok, but I was looking at overall so I couldn't discount decision making. He makes you scratch your head a lot. James isn't all that bad but nowadays the average CB is a much better passer than before.

Yes, I believe he would. People like to rip Herdman for the way he talks, but OZ strikes me as unprofessional and a bit of a snake oil salesman.

I disagree. I'd say that Cornelius, Jakovic, Vitoria, and Hutch (if he is played there) are pretty good passers as CBs, Miller is average, and Henry and James are below average.

A summer move seems inevitable, and I think he is more than ready for a step up. That being said, I think a loan back for a year could make sense for all parties.

Yeah that story makes zero sense

Tyler Pasher is a name that just keeps popping up. Wonder if he'll ever get a chance at a higher level.

You could probably give him the assist on Achara's goal as well, but it is your list and of course it is your decision. Either way, an impressive start in limited minutes.