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Morning update

Morning update: Philadelphia downs Atlas, McGlynn's rise, U-20 roster conflicts, & more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta starts  your Monday talking about the Philadelphia Union, the U.S. U-20 team, the full national team, and a bunch of other news items in American soccer
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
April 13, 2023
6:50 AM

THE CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE took an exciting turn on Wednesday night as the Philadelphia Union advanced to the semifinal following a 2-2 draw with Atlas in Guadalajara after a 1-0 win in the first leg last week. Elsewhere, there were plenty of news items to talk about.

But let’s start with the top story South of the Border.

 

Philadelphia advances to CCL semi

 

Last week, the Philadelphia Union defeated Atlas 1-0 in Chester thanks to a late 89th minute penalty from Daniel Gazdag. But going to Guadalajara for the second leg was always going to be the definitive challenge.

But the Union prevailed via a 2-2 draw that was good enough for a 3-2 aggregate win. Atlas opened the scoring in the 11th minute via a goal from Colombian forward Julián Quiñones. But the Union responded on a goal from Julian Carranza in the 28th minute.

The goal came on a wonderful assist from Jack McGlynn who is left-footed but hit the looping pass with his right foot.



After Julio Furch put Atlas up 2-1 just before halftime, the Union found their final goal again from Carranza in the 78th minute. Given that the Union held the away goal tiebreaker, that essentially put the Union up by two goals.



For Jim Curtin, it was yet another big step in his coaching career. While he still is looking to add an MLS Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League is well within his reach.

It was also refreshing to see that he will prioritize these games over MLS play.

"These competitions are very difficult," Curtin said afterward. "But they are the competitions you want to play in. I think you have seen over the years it has played a toll on many MLS teams, on many Liga MX teams, because it is demanding. You play more games and they are high intensity and they cost you points in the league. But I will sign off to play in these games and learn about our group."

 

McGlynn steps up
From an American perspective, one of the big takeaways from this game was the rise of Jack McGlynn who looks to have taken the starting job from Leon Flach. Flach is a great defender, but McGlynn offers so much more on the ball. Maybe Flach finds a way to start as the true No. 6 over Martinez in the future?

McGlynn was excellent over both legs of the win over Atlas and Jim Curtin has been prioritizing CCL games in recent weeks. But McGlynn has been taking important strides in his development recently that it has been impressive to watch. It’s another feather in the cap for Philadelphia’s youth development.

 

LAFC rivalry
 

One of the fun aspects of the Union’s win over Atlas is that it sets up a semifinal with LAFC. The two teams have been among the best in their respective conferences and met last year in an iconic final which LAFC prevailed in a shootout. Some have argued that it was the best game in the history of MLS.

But LAFC and Philadelphia are very different teams that have achieved popularity due to different approaches in their philosophy. LAFC spends a lot, Philadelphia spends wisely and develops. Both have very popular American head coaches in Steve Cherundolo and Jim Curtin.

Now they get to meet again over two legs in an all-MLS semifinal of the Champions League. It’s one of the best natural rivalries in the league now.

 

Pukstas & Hajuk seek silverware

 

Hajduk Split defeated Slaven Belupo 1-0 away in the Croatian Cup semifinal. U.S. U-20 midfielder Rokas Pukstas,18, started and was involved in the game’s only goal when his close shot struck the arm of a defender for a penalty – which was converted by a teammate.



It’s been a breakthrough season for Pukstas who has earned a starting job at Hajduk Split and has been very important to their midfield. While Hajduk Split will not win the HNL as Dinamo Zagreb has a commanding nine point lead atop the table, the cup should offer Hajduk Split a chance to win a trophy.

The Croatian Cup final will take place on May 24th, and it will feature Hajduk Split taking on HNK Sibenik, who sit second to last in the HNL but have enjoyed an surprising Cup run. On Tuesday, HNK Sibenik defeated Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 in an upset.

 

U-20 Roster Conflicts emerge

 

Speaking of the U.S. U-20 World Cup team. We assume that FIFA will name Argentina as the new hosts of the 2023 U-20 World Cup soon, despite the country’s economic woes (102.5% inflation in March). But keeping the same dates (May 20 through June 11) could present a huge problem for U.S. head coach Mikey Varas to get his core group of players. Clubs are never required to release players for youth tournaments.

We’ve known that Ricardo Pepi is focused on the full national team and that’s been consistent all U-20 cycle. Kevin Paredes has always been in doubt since he started getting regular minutes with Wolfsburg (with the final Bundesliga rounds taking place on May 19 and May 27). Wolfsburg would have to agree to allow Paredes to miss Bundesliga games.

But there are more problems for Varas now. Rokas Pukstas is slated to start the Croatian Cup final on May 24th, and it seems far-fetched that Hajduk Split would allow him to miss a Cup final.

But the Concacaf Champions League could present an enormous challenge if Philadelphia advances past LAFC. Jack McGlynn, Quinn Sullivan, and Brandan Craig are all regulars with the U.S. U-20 team. McGlynn is a starter and important player to the Union. Sullivan is seeing more time off the bench. Craig hasn’t played first team minutes this season but is still there for depth. Philadelphia advancing to the final essentially rules McGlynn out of the U-20 World Cup and probably Sullivan as well. Craig is a tossup.  

It would not be a surprise if Varas is pulling for LAFC in the CCL semifinal. The good news for him is that LAFC is the favorite over Philadelphia.

But Varas will need to also convince several other MLS teams to release starters for the U-20 World Cup. While missing MLS games is not at the same level of asking them to miss a CCL final, he is going to need a majority of the following to have success at the World Cup: Caleb Wiley at Atlanta United, Jalen Neal at the Galaxy, Brian Gutierrez at Chicago, Owen Wolff at Austin FC, Daniel Edelman at the New York Red Bulls, and Cade Cowell at San Jose. He then might have to dip into the younger pool of 2005-born players slated for next cycle: Obed Vargas at Seattle, Noel Buck at New England, etc.

 

Hudson talks U-20 players

 

United States national team interim head coach Anthony Hudson spoke to the media about the three U.S. U-20 players he called up for next week’s friendly against Mexico: Louisville City’s Josh Wynder, Atlanta United’s Caleb Wiley, and San Jose’s Cade Cowell. For Wiley and Wynder, they are looking for their first caps.

"He's a player that we've known for a while now," Hudson said of Wiley. "And he's been doing well and, who knows, he could play a part in this game. But just the fact that he's coming in and he's going to be around experienced players and to experience a game like this is going to help him immensely going forward."

“We rate this player," Hudson added of Wynder. "He's getting a lot of interest from Europe. And without saying too much about him, he's a high potential, but he's also got a lot of work to do. So we're glad he's coming in and will experience the men's national team environment, experience a game like this. That will help him going forward. And potentially he could be in over the summer beyond the U-20 World Cup."

 

Games in Europe

 

The Champions League rolled on with the first leg of the quarterfinals and it doesn’t look great for Americans. Christian Pulisic was an unused substitute for Chelsea (likely due to a 59th minute red card to Ben Chilwell), as it lost to Real Madrid 2-0. Meanwhile, Sergino Dest wasn’t in AC Milan’s lineup for a 1-0 win over Napoli.

Anthony Hudson addressed the fact Dest will be with the U.S. national team next week outside of the window. 



"We love having him around the team," Hudson said. "And not only that, he wants to come and he wants to play in the game. And so we've had some really good conversations with Sergino, and again, the club have been great to allow him to come. So there's all these unique one-off situations where, with relationships, with conversations, we're able to get players outside of a window like this."

Dest won’t be back with Milan next year and it remains to be seen what happens with Pulisic. A lot will come down to the direction the team takes under a new manager. But this season has been a disaster for the Blues.

 One American who can be involved on Thursday is Djordje Mihailovic as his AZ Alkmaar team visits Anderlecht in the quarterfinals of the Conference League. 

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