This afternoon, the U.S. men’s national soccer team took to the field in a friendly against Venezuela in a game played in Miami, Fla.
The game served as a test of depth for head coach Mauricio Pochettino. A lot of the American star players like Christian Pulisic, Serginio Dest, and Weston McKinney were not in the callup for this game. It might, however, serve as a blueprint for the kinds of players likely to be on the World Cup team in the summer of 2026.
The American pool of players are a scattered lot, with players which have had some success, but also some journeymen. One story that could come from this game is forward Matko Miljevic. He is a player who has been on (and off) several teams in the last three years, moving from Argentinos Junior to C.F. Montreal to Newell’s Old Boys, with a rather unfortunate (and unauthorized) stint with an amateur indoor team in Quebec which saw him dismissed from the team he was playing for as well as from C.F. Montreal.
Miljevic had himself a very up-and-down match. He flubbed a penalty kick in the opening minutes of the match, only to score a golazo in the 64th minute to stake the States to a 3-0 lead.
So, why are we going over the notes from this game when we are mostly a field hockey and lacrosse site?
I find it interesting that this weekend, both the men’s soccer team and the women’s field hockey team are building towards a major competition using much the same tactics — get a lot of as-yet uncapped players into action and get them experience together and see what happens against a quality opponent.
This evening, the United Eagles take on New Zealand under similar circumstances, as head coach David Passmore is using a lot of uncapped talent in this monthlong tour, which culminates in a two-game series. More about that later.