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MLS Analysis

Neal returns and McGlynn's goalazo top weekly MLS Youth Report

As he does every week, ASN's Brian Sciaretta writes about young American players in the MLS youth report. With the U-20 and U-23 teams set for major tournaments, some players are surging while others are slumping. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
May 08, 2024
8:00 AM

THE PAST WEEK was generally a period for young American players in the domestic front. Some players like Jack McGlynn and Obed Vargas were solid while Jalen Neal returned to the filed for the Galaxy’s first team. But as always, there are ups and downs.

It’s also an important time to track the young domestic-based players as there are major youth tournaments approaching this summer and the player pools still have a significant number of players domestically based. With that, it becomes very important to track the form of these players.

 

Neal returns to Galaxy

 

On Sunday, Jalen Neal, 20, made his first appearance for the Galaxy since last July. Aside from a few signs of rust, it was a good outing for the young central defender who helped his team earn a 0-0 draw away in Seattle.

As I’ve said many times before, there is a generational gap right now in central defense and there are not enough young American central defenders playing at first team level in first divisions or top second divisions.

Will Neal make the Olympic team? Maybe. Central defense is likely to be filled by overage options but head coach Marko Mitrovic will still likely have to take at least one age-eligible option. With Greuther Furth’s Maximillian Dietz suffering an injury over the weekend, Neal could get into the mix but the next few weeks have to be big for him.

It also helps Neal’s case that George Campbell (another top U-23 option) had a tough outing for Montreal on Saturday in a 4-1 loss to Nashville. Neal might become the only option to take.

 

Vargas solid again

 

In that 0-0 draw between Seattle and the Galaxy, Obed Vargas got the start for Seattle playing almost a right-wing position. Despite being primarily a defensive midfielder, the Alaska native impressed. This comes on the heels of a very good outing in his previous game against Philadelphia where his goal was important to the Sounders in a 3-2 win.

Vargas is now in his third season as a starter for the Sounders and he seems like a veteran player. But he’s still U-20 eligible, and he’s also spent time with the U.S. U-23 team.

Vargas is a good example that development is not linear and there have been times when he looks like an elite prospect and times when he hasn’t. Right now, he’s doing well.

The big question for Vargas right now is where he fits into the summer for U.S. Soccer. My guess is that he’ll be with the U-20 team for World Cup qualifying but he could be the first in line to join the U-23 team if one of the midfielders isn’t released (likely if Tanner Tessmann secures a transfer and his new club doesn’t release him).

It’s also important to note that Josh Atencio deserves to be in the mix for the U-23 team and he had a very good outing for the Sounders as well against the Galaxy. He also probably only makes the team if there is an injury or a release issue.

 

Youth served in DC vs. Philly

 

The best game of the weekend for USYNT eligible players was DC United’s 2-2 draw with Philadelphia in the nation’s capital.

For one, you had this goal from Jack McGlynn to equalize the game at 2-2. It was one of the best goals of the season and it capped an overall very good game from McGlynn – who will be going to the Olympics.



McGlynn wasn’t the only good story. Nathan Harriel continued to boost his Olympic resume with a good performance at right back.

Former Georgetown Hoya, Jacob Murrell, 20, scored his first MLS goal for DC United and he’s the latest success story for the Georgetown program that has had many alumni doing well in recent months.  Murrell’s emergence is too late for the Olympic team, but he’s one to watch.



On the flip side, Quinn Sullivan has had a very good season but didn’t stand out favorably in this game. Leon Flach earned his first start since returning from injury and was very rusty.

 

Bassett’s big numbers

 

Cole Bassett continues to put up good numbers for Colorado – just like he’s done in his whole career. Bassett, 22, was MOTM on Sunday in a 2-0 over New York City where he had a hand in both goals – scoring one, assisting in the other.



Bassett now has 4 goals and two assists in 987 minutes to start the season. That’s impressive.

He is on the edge of the Olympic team right now. He might need release issues for others to come into place, but he’s not out of the mix based on the start to the season. He deserves to at least be in contention for Paris.

 

Other youth notes

 

You can tell that some young players are affected by their environment, both in positive and negative ways. There is no question Benja Cremaschi has and continues to benefit playing around Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets.

But on the flip side, it’s tough for a player like Brian Gutierrez these days. Chicago is all kinds of bad right now. With Saturday’s 1-0 loss to an almost equally bad New England Revolution, Chicago has now been shutout three straight games at home. Gutierrez wasn’t bad, but you can tell this is a situation where he’s getting pulled down by being on a bad team. This is not what the team needs.

On the other hand, as bad as things have been for New England, Esmir Bajarktarevic still as stretches where he shows his quality. While he is U-23 eligible, the likely bet is that he’s with the U-20 team for World Cup qualifying. Unfortunately, it’s been harder for Noel Buck to develop recently at the Revolution.

Duncan McGuire has still managed to put up decent numbers for Orlando, but that team is mentally off, and you could see that when it conceded a goal to Cincinnati 17 seconds into the game and then picked up a red card 20 minutes later. That led to a 1-0 loss at home with McGuire being starved for service. He’s a player I think will be sold after the Olympics.

Another example of a bad environment affecting a player is Bernard Kamungo. Dallas has been tremendously disappointing to start the season and they sit 13th in the West after a 3-1 loss to Toronto (that was the Federico Bernardeschi show). But this started to the season we expected out of Kamungo after he was on fire to end 2023.

On a happier note, Diego Luna had a tough start to the season but was good on Saturday as his Real Salt Lake team defeated a badly slumping Sporting KC at home 1-0. Luna replaced Fidel Barajas to start the second half and was an upgrade (where he was on the field for the winner and he created several chances). He’s another player on the edge of the Olympic team that needs to get hot ASAP.

Atlanta United lost another home game, this time a 2-1 decision at home to an impressive Minnesota United. Caleb Wiley was decent in the loss while U.S. U-20 central defender Noah Cobb continues to learn some tough lessons.

Wiley and John Tolkin (who was on the field for the Red Bulls in the ugly 6-2 loss) are neck and neck for the Olympic team left back spot. This is a spot that can go either way.

Finally, from a U-20 perspective, Reed Baker-Whiting made his first appearance of the season after dealing with an injury. He played the final four minutes for Seattle in the scoreless draw with the Galaxy.

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