USMNT Friendly preview vs Canada | Gio Reyna suffers injury in camp | Can Marsch topple US?

biggest storyline around this match right now? The imminent announcement of Pochettino is probably still the biggest announcement because it now I feel like we're really close. I think we all understood that Pochettino, the reason why he couldn't sign, they couldn't come to an agreement in August is because he's waiting for this big payment from Chelsea. And so once that was cleared he moved into September. Now you know he can move forward with with signing with the US and I think we're going to get it in the next three days. So, we all took bets. Yeah. But also underlying is Jesse Marsch trying to take Canada to the next level as a former US international, and someone who wanted the job for the US men's national team, I think that adds a little bit fuel to the fire for a game like this, a friendly that doesn't necessarily feel like a friendly, because you have players who are looking to try and show Pochettino like, I want this job, I want to be a part of this process into the World Cup on home soil versus Jesse Marsch kind of reinvigorated side. It feels like this game, a win would would mean more for Canada than it would for the US at this stage. Yes, I agree with that. Let's not forget though, was that call it what you want? That Jesse was pretty bold. You don't usually see a Canadian manager do this. Not even Jon Herdman did this. He predicted a Canada win two one. Yeah. So this is personal. It has that personal feel for Jesse. This is also you know when Jesse Marsch took this job he had this friendly circled on his calendar about a million times because this is obviously this was the job I think he wanted. He did want it. He wanted this job and he didn't get it. They didn't get the job. Yeah. And they didn't give it to him. So I think that there is certainly a chip that he is wearing on his shoulder as he faces the United States tomorrow. And to yeah, I think I do. I do think this this matters to him for many, many reasons. And the US are kind of right now Michael in this we keep calling it this like limbo phase because we were waiting for this announcement of Pochettino to become official. We're not quite sure what we're looking for in these two upcoming friendlies. So what are what are you hoping to see from the US like what's the most that they can get out of these two matches coming up? Well for sure two wins you expect to win and you expect to kind of give more of a statement win, especially against a Canada, because I said this on scoreline after Copa America, that the gap is closed. Now with what Jesse has done with Canada at Copa America. So you want to push the distance, the gap is closed. Chuck the gap was already closed with Jon Herdman, Jon Herdman got the best of the US in World Cup, but the gap opened up with Nations League Gap. The gap opened up with Nations League. The performance they put in at Nations League in that match, it opened up a bit of a gap squad. It opened up a gap squad, same squad and now you're having a US team with no direction at the moment. So going into Copa America, of the two sides, right, who here on planet Earth was saying, you know what, Canada is within touching distance. The US men's national team I didn't hear anyone say that they had a favorable group setting to get to a semifinals where the US, we all knew they were going to los. If they did get out of the group, they had to play Colombia or Brazil and we all thought the scenario was going to be they they qualify second in the group behind Uruguay and then they lose to Brazil or Colombia. That was kind of what we all thought was going to happen. And it didn't even get to that stage. Canada. They had a easier way to get to a semifinal and for Jesse Marsch, it's exactly what he needed to kind of get everyone believing it, believing galvanize the group and the get the spirit of this team towards where they want to go. But I kind of sit in between you guys, the work that Canada and Jesse Marsch needs to do to Frei the fish that the U.S also wants to Frei is much greater. I think the talent discrepancy, that gap isn't bridged yet. Does Canada have the best team they've had in their history? Yeah, absolutely. Did they beat the US? Of course they beat the US. But there's infrastructure in place and we have had a history of being able to compete with the biggest of nations. And now with Pochettino, the reportedly the US is heading in a in in a strong direction. Not that Canada isn't, but the US on home soil should beat Canada even if they don't have a manager. If they have an interim manager. Right. And that's what an interim manager did in the Nations League and Nations League. The US, the US should win this game, should win this game. Okay. Well they're going to have to do it though without one of their strongest players in Gio Reyna, who was announced yesterday, left camp with a groin injury. This was a we talked about it this week about this being an opportunity for certain players to kind of showcase themselves, especially for a Mauricio Pochettino, who is very likely watching these friendlies, but for the US and for Gio, this just feels like really unfortunate timing. Charlie Yeah, I'd say it's more unfortunate for Gio than it is the US men's national team. Gio needed this whereas the US they're going to the US men's team is going to go on and on with with or without you. That's just how it works. So for Gio Reyna who's not playing who has kind of had to overcome a lot of these these bouts of long spells out with injuries. Now here he is again injured at a time where he can't be injured. This is your moment to try and still show that you're you're in. You want to build a rhythm now that you're injured. It sets you back with Dortmund even further. Yeah. So it's really disappointing to see that he is not even involved in this. And I didn't even think he was going to start in this because he's not playing. How disappointing is it that it's not not just this. Let's see the bird's eye view from his entire career, the constant injuries and the constant setbacks. Yeah Well, I liken this to moving players from different categories. So we've always highlighted Jiraiya's potential and how we see glimpses of it. We saw it in the Nations League final against this very Canadian national team. We see it in little spurts here, but at what point? I know he's still young, but at what point do we start putting him in a category of a player that we can't depend on? Because if you're a player that's on the fringe right now and you're getting an opportunity to start, this is your chance to get locked into this national team and put a player like Gio on the fringe. Michelle Pochettino, he's looking. It's a clean slate right now, but this is a big opportunity missed. I think we've been we've been at this point for the last couple of years. I don't think we've ever said we depend on Gio. Maybe for that one Nations League game, the semifinal and final, the semifinal and final where he played his best. And other than that, it's not been ultimately, oh wow. Gio can really put this team on his back. But I think I think going into this Copa America was the first time that I truly felt that the conversation was starting to happen, that this US team, in order for them to move forward, needs a Gio Reyna. I heard it here on morning footy itself of what does life with Gio Reyna look like? Well, the only reason that that conversation came up is because the midfield of Yunus Musah Tyler Adams and Wes McKinney, no one was necessarily supporting underneath the striker and there was loads of space in between the attacking three in the midfield. And so how do you fix that with the style that Gregg Berhalter is playing? Well, you need somebody higher up, someone who's a ten because, you know, early on Gregg Berhalter talked about playing with two tens and Weston McKinney is not a ten. So or Yunus Musah. But when Gio Reyna was there you could start to see him connecting passes and opening space for people. And we saw that glimpse in the Nations League in Las Vegas, and he looked incredible. But then you don't play, you get injured, he gets injured against Canada, goes into his club form. And then we saw last season was was a wash for him. Now you want to start this next year. This next semester as as Nico would say on on a better path. And there is no path now, what path does he have at Dortmund? You got to wait for a couple of injuries and bad form for you to get your opportunity and recover from your own injury. Yeah, yeah I know. Oh, yeah. I'm, I'm, it's this is. I know this Travis doesn't like using the word doesn't like us using the word sucks. But this is one of these situations that for a career that's so young and he just keeps on getting injured. It's not a pity. It's not a shame. It's just blatantly sucks for a guy that has so much potential. And we see it on the US and how much that can be fulfilled. And we understand his ceiling. For him to not be playing at his club,