Christian Pulisic scored at Leeds midweek and will look to win the FA Cup on Saturday (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
It’s another busy soccer weekend ahead with the men’s FA Cup final (Liverpool-Chelsea) and women’s FA Cup final (Chelsea-Manchester City), title races in the Premier League (West Ham-Man City) and Serie A (Milan-Atalanta and Cagliari-Inter), the Premier League relegation battle, the Liga MX playoffs and a full slate of MLS and NWSL games.But first we’ll have our Friday Newsletter. Feel free below to ask your probing, thoughtful and/or amusing questions about any soccer topic, and I’ll answer the best ones tomorrow. Thank you!
What happens to Jesse Marsch if Leeds goes down and any sense of how US youth national teams are doing and is there any relationship to future performance of full national teams
Are there any injury updates and prognoses for Reyna, McKennie, Aaronson, Dest, Richards, Robertson, et al.? I starting to worry about how depleted the roster will be in November.
If Leeds gets relegated, has Jesse Marsch failed? Or does he fail if he cannot get back to the Premiership within a year? Two? Isn't it odd he's literally following the trajectory of Richmond in Ted Lasso Season 1?
Thoughts on the case FIFA has opened about the ineligible Ecuador player in CONMEBOL qualifiers? and how this all could affect intercontinental playoffs? also is any US network going to play the world cup intercontinental playoffs?
Why a proven veteran Bundesliga defender like John Brooks is not being consider anymore for the Usmnt. I know he had a tough year but he is being a starter at a top flight league. I wonder why a Joe Scally is not considered as well even though he is being playing regularly for Gladbach. But at the same time, they are considering a young prospect like Malik tillman as a 9 but who plays mainly for the Bayern's reserves team at 3-4 division. (I know he has played some games with the first team. I wonder if this isn't another Julian Green case).
Read your piece on the Barcelona women's juggernaut of a club. Their record is mind boggling and not possible to imagine in the NWSL due to rules about parity. My question is whether it's healthier in the long run to create the women's version of super teams in Europe? Or is the American version of salary cap and parity preferable. The measurement of course would be the competitiveness of the respective women's national teams. My uninformed bias is that more competition is always better...steel whets steel so to speak.....I would be interested in any discussion of that topic. Maybe a panel discussion of women in the sport?
How much coordination takes place between a player’s club team and national team to manage the player’s development trajectory, considering potentially conflicting needs, short term and long term, between the teams? Any interesting anecdotes on this topic?
Miles Robinson's injury is another reminder how much a factor injuries will play in the upcoming World Cup. Who would you rank, 1-10, as the ten most important players on the roster for the WC in November? And where would Robinson fit into your ranking?
There is talk of Sounders getting additional GAM or another DP to help make competitive for Club World Cup. As a Sounders fan, wondering if this is fair to rest of league, given carryover to 2023 season?
Hello Mr. Grant Wahl, this is Jaymes from Spitting Fire! Finding extra time is rare but if you ever had a few spare minutes, would you be willing to hop on our Chicago Fire-focused YouTube Livestream to discuss Chicago Fire Soccer? Thank you, either way!! Keep up the great work!
Is Seattle’s win over Pumas now the Biggest Game in American Club Soccer History? The only competition I can think of are San Jose vs DC in April 1996 to kick off the league, and then maybe some of Pele’s games in the NASL.
What do you think has made some US cities better "soccer towns" and some less so? As a Boston-area resident, I think I'm resigned to never getting a WC qualifier and now (according to you) possibly not even a WC group stage match.
With Erling Haaland going to Man City, what move(s) can other Premier League teams (i.e. Liverpool) make to stay at the same level competitively? The world's top young striker is basically the only thing Pep has been missing with City. I know we can't just write other teams off, but this puts City so far over the top.
How do players, more specifically Keepers, balance financial/career benefits of signing with big team and sitting vs match time and preparation for WC competition? What goes into their decisions?
What happens to Jesse Marsch if Leeds goes down and any sense of how US youth national teams are doing and is there any relationship to future performance of full national teams
Are there any injury updates and prognoses for Reyna, McKennie, Aaronson, Dest, Richards, Robertson, et al.? I starting to worry about how depleted the roster will be in November.
If Leeds gets relegated, has Jesse Marsch failed? Or does he fail if he cannot get back to the Premiership within a year? Two? Isn't it odd he's literally following the trajectory of Richmond in Ted Lasso Season 1?
Thoughts on the case FIFA has opened about the ineligible Ecuador player in CONMEBOL qualifiers? and how this all could affect intercontinental playoffs? also is any US network going to play the world cup intercontinental playoffs?
Would a WSL or WUefa CL winner vs the NWSL all star team match up make sense ?
Why a proven veteran Bundesliga defender like John Brooks is not being consider anymore for the Usmnt. I know he had a tough year but he is being a starter at a top flight league. I wonder why a Joe Scally is not considered as well even though he is being playing regularly for Gladbach. But at the same time, they are considering a young prospect like Malik tillman as a 9 but who plays mainly for the Bayern's reserves team at 3-4 division. (I know he has played some games with the first team. I wonder if this isn't another Julian Green case).
Read your piece on the Barcelona women's juggernaut of a club. Their record is mind boggling and not possible to imagine in the NWSL due to rules about parity. My question is whether it's healthier in the long run to create the women's version of super teams in Europe? Or is the American version of salary cap and parity preferable. The measurement of course would be the competitiveness of the respective women's national teams. My uninformed bias is that more competition is always better...steel whets steel so to speak.....I would be interested in any discussion of that topic. Maybe a panel discussion of women in the sport?
How much coordination takes place between a player’s club team and national team to manage the player’s development trajectory, considering potentially conflicting needs, short term and long term, between the teams? Any interesting anecdotes on this topic?
Miles Robinson's injury is another reminder how much a factor injuries will play in the upcoming World Cup. Who would you rank, 1-10, as the ten most important players on the roster for the WC in November? And where would Robinson fit into your ranking?
There is talk of Sounders getting additional GAM or another DP to help make competitive for Club World Cup. As a Sounders fan, wondering if this is fair to rest of league, given carryover to 2023 season?
As we near the end of the Premier League season, which team's performance has surprised you the most, both favorably and unfavorably?
Open Cup
The best non-MLS team left in the Open Cup?
The best USL v MLS looming matchup?
If Leeds go down, what team becomes the front runner for Aaronson? And what EPL team would be the best fit for him? (Assuming they aren’t the same)
Is Adams in the doghouse with RBL? Will Marsch coach Leeds if they drop down?
Hello Mr. Grant Wahl, this is Jaymes from Spitting Fire! Finding extra time is rare but if you ever had a few spare minutes, would you be willing to hop on our Chicago Fire-focused YouTube Livestream to discuss Chicago Fire Soccer? Thank you, either way!! Keep up the great work!
Is Seattle’s win over Pumas now the Biggest Game in American Club Soccer History? The only competition I can think of are San Jose vs DC in April 1996 to kick off the league, and then maybe some of Pele’s games in the NASL.
Thoughts on front-runner to host WC 2030?
What do you think has made some US cities better "soccer towns" and some less so? As a Boston-area resident, I think I'm resigned to never getting a WC qualifier and now (according to you) possibly not even a WC group stage match.
With Erling Haaland going to Man City, what move(s) can other Premier League teams (i.e. Liverpool) make to stay at the same level competitively? The world's top young striker is basically the only thing Pep has been missing with City. I know we can't just write other teams off, but this puts City so far over the top.
How do players, more specifically Keepers, balance financial/career benefits of signing with big team and sitting vs match time and preparation for WC competition? What goes into their decisions?
What do US WC Roster candidates need to do this summer to improve their chances of getting on the roster?