Via Football Shirt Culture (if you squint, you can make out the watermark on the images).

This is supposedly the new Nike USA home shirt, due out next year. What do you think? Good? Bad? Real? Fake?

I need to digest this for a bit before passing judgment. I think this was the site that leaked the last set of jerseys, and they turned out to be the real deal.

Check out our lengthy History of the Modern USA Kit to see how this version stacks up.

1.  We will see a starting lineup very similar to the one used against France.  The only differences will be Michael Orozco Fiscal for Clarence Goodson (please see prediction #3 vs.  France) and DaMarcus Beasley for Danny Williams.

2.  Timmy Chandler and Brek Shea will rebound well from off-games against France.  One of them will contribute to …

3.  …Jozy Altidore’s goal.  Jozy’s strong play will result in a tally on the score sheet, thus quieting (briefly) the crowd clamoring for Mike Grella to get his shot up top for the Nats.

4.  The Allstate Tim Howard brain-mic will make its debut today, and we’ll get to hear the internal thoughts of the USMNT’s hottest player.  This will mostly consist of musings on Brek Shea’s hair, Beckerman’s hygeine, and insurance quotes for the US back line.

5.  USA 1-1 Slovenia.  We learned our lesson last time and decided to keep this a low-scoring affair  (through six games under Klinsmann, no team (USA or opponent) has scored more than one goal in a game, and we see the trend continuing today).  The US will capitalize on some good early play, as Brek Shea finds Jozy Altidore for the Americans’ lone goal.  Slovenia will equalize before the half, then we’ll all have to endure a long, boring second half.  Man of the Match for the Americans — smart money’s on Howard (he’s got to be batting .500 under Klinsmann, right?), but we’ll, once again, go with our projected goal scorer, Jozy Altidore.

1.  Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Jermaine Jones, and Kyle Beckerman will hold down the  Sorry.  Forgot who was coaching.  Jurgen Klinsmann (obviously influenced by our latest P2010 Index) cools it on Beckerman and gives the nod to Edu and Bradley in central midfield.  The back line will look a bit of a throwback, with Cherundolo,Onyewu, and Bocanegra all starting – Timmy Chandler will hold down left back.  Shea and Williams will play the wings, and Dempsey will play as second striker. Altidore will get the nod up top.

Apparently Onyewu suffered a minor injury that kept him out of the squad.  Other than that, the only thing I got wrong (formation included) was Beckerman.  Should have known better.  GRADE: B

2.  The German influence will be more prevalent than ever today.  Between the coach and players, at least 1/3 of American participants will be German-born.  40% or more will have played in a German league at some point.

Almost.  By my count, coach included, 8/16 (50%) of participants played in Germany, but only 5/16 (31%) were born in Germany.  GRADE: A-

3.  Michael Orozco Fiscal will participate in his fourth “this has to be his last cap ever, right?” match in a row — the longest streak since Frankie Hejduk’s dream run of ’09.

Didn’t play, but this one’s still alive for the next game.  GRADE: F

4.  After the US is held scoreless in the first half, “Josh Gatt” will become the #9 trending topic on Twitter.  #givemeabreak

#TheyWereHeldScorelessAndIAssumeGattWasTrending  GRADE: A

5.  USA 1 – 3 France.  The USA will look in the game for the first 35 minutes or so, before France goes ahead 1-0 and takes the wind out of their sails.  They’ll score their second soon after the break.  Altidore will give the Americans their only goal and a bit of hope in the 61st minute, but France will put the game out of reach in the 80th.  Yet another game where individuals will have nice performances (Shea, Altidore, Dempsey, Chandler), but the team won’t be able to pull it together.  Man of the Match for the Americans will go to Jozy Altidore, for his contribution to the scoresheet.  Impatient fans are going to start asking (if they haven’t already), “When are we going to see some results?”  Maybe we will, too…

I should have known better.  The US has allowed one goal 5/6 games.  They have failed to score 4/6 games.  And they’ve lost 1-0 4/6 games.  Clearly, that was the scoreline to go with.  Altidore and Dempsey looked ok.  Shea and Chandler were hit-and-miss.  Jozy didn’t get on the scoresheet and didn’t get MoM — that went to Howard (again, I should be going with the obvious).  I don’t know about you all, but we’re itching to see some results.  GRADE: C

OVERALL GRADE: B-.  Mediocre predictions for a mediocre game.  Bring on Slovenia.

1.  Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Jermaine Jones, and Kyle Beckerman will hold down the  Sorry.  Forgot who was coaching.  Jurgen Klinsmann (obviously influenced by our latest P2010 Index) cools it on Beckerman and gives the nod to Edu and Bradley in central midfield.  The back line will look a bit of a throwback, with Cherundolo, Onyewu, and Bocanegra all starting — Timmy Chandler will hold down left back.  Shea and Williams will play the wings, and Dempsey will play as second striker.  Altidore will get the nod up top.

2.  The German influence will be more prevalent than ever today.  Between the coach and players, at least 1/3 of American participants will be German-born.  40% or more will have played in a German league at some point.

3.  Michael Orozco Fiscal will participate in his fourth “this has to be his last cap ever, right?” match in a row — the longest streak since Frankie Hejduk’s dream run of ’09.

4.  After the US is held scoreless in the first half, “Josh Gatt” will become the #9 trending topic on Twitter.  #givemeabreak

5.  USA 1 – 3 France.  The USA will look in the game for the first 35 minutes or so, before France goes ahead 1-0 and takes the wind out of their sails.  They’ll score their second soon after the break.  Altidore will give the Americans their only goal and a bit of hope in the 61st minute, but France will put the game out of reach in the 80th.  Yet another game where individuals will have nice performances (Shea, Altidore, Dempsey, Chandler), but the team won’t be able to pull it together.  Man of the Match for the Americans will go to Jozy Altidore, for his contribution to the scoresheet.  Impatient fans are going to start asking (if they haven’t already), “When are we going to see some results?”  Maybe we will, too…

[Via LiverpoolFC.tv] Liverpool Football Club have confirmed the signing of Marc Pelosi from the DeAnza Force Club in California.

The midfielder was captain of the United States U17 team who participated in this year’s FIFA World Cup tournament in Mexico.

Pelosi has featured 28 times for the U17s against other national sides, scoring eight goals.

Academy director Frank McParland said: “We’re determined to identify the best possible talent globally and I’m delighted we’ve been able to to bring Marc in to the club.”

The P2010 Index tracks every performance of every player who suits up for the National Team during the 2014 World Cup cycle, using match ratings from the country’s top soccer writers. The Index factors in recent form, strength of opponent, match type, and location, making it something like Power Rankings for the USMNT. (It’s all explained here.)

The last P2010 Index depth chart came out on July 27th, a few weeks after the post-Gold Cup hangover had dissipated (2-0 went to 2-4 so quickly…).  That makes this the first depth chart of the Jurgen Klinsmann era.  Has the disappointing string of results hurt players’ ratings?  Has the change in philosophy benefited some (or hurt others)?  Only one way to find out — let’s take a look:

PLAYER	SCORE	CHANGE
GK
HOWARD, Tim	.756
GUZAN, Brad	.559
RIMANDO, Nick	.510
JOHNSON, Sean	.508
YELLDELL, David	.508
HAHNEMANN, Marcus	.506
DEF
CHERUNDOLO, Steve	.701
GOODSON, Clarence	.698
BOCANEGRA, Carlos	.672
LICHAJ, Eric	.661
CHANDLER, Timothy	.643
ONYEWU, Oguchi	.602
REAM, Tim	.552
BORCHERS, Nat	.515
GONZALEZ, Omar	.515
AGBOSSOUMONDE, Gale	.514
DEMERIT, Jay	.512
OROZCO FISCAL, Michael	.511
SPECTOR, Jonathan	.510
LOYD, Zach	.506
WALLACE, Anthony	.503
FRANKLIN, Sean	.502
WYNN, Marvell	.495
BORNSTEIN, Jonathan	.478
CASTILLO, Edgar	.478
MID
DEMPSEY, Clint	.755
DONOVAN, Landon	.701
BRADLEY, Michael	.696
SHEA, Brek	.690
BEDOYA, Alejandro	.668
JONES, Jermaine	.662
KLJESTAN, Sacha	.655
EDU, Maurice	.622
ADU, Freddy	.612
TORRES, Jose Francisco	.585
BECKERMAN, Kyle	.569
ROGERS, Robbie	.556
BEASLEY, DaMarcus	.544
WILLIAMS, Danny	.532
LARENTOWICZ, Jeff	.530
DISKERUD, Mikkel	.529
CLARK, Ricardo	.515
GAVEN, Eddie	.515
MCCARTY, Dax	.513
ALEXANDER, Eric	.506
CARROLL, Brian	.505
PAUSE, Logan	.503
FWD
AGUDELO, Juan	.663
ALTIDORE, Jozy	.656
WONDOLOWSKI, Chris	.538
BUNBURY, Teal	.530
FINDLEY, Robbie	.500
BUDDLE, Edson	.497

If you asked me how Klinsmann’s hiring would affect the team’s ratings, before he coached a single game, I would have said: goalkeeper’s a wash, defense generally goes down, defensive midfielders go down, creative midfielders go up, strikers go up.

It’s amazing how true that’s been.  Tim Howard’s (.756) numbers have remained steadily spectacular, holding down the top spot on the team.  (While the overall trend for goalkeepers is down, that’s simply because Tim’s getting all the playing time.  We’re still waiting for that first Bill Hamid cap — Klinsmann’s clear #2.)

On the whole, defense has been down, with the notable exception of Clarence Goodson (.698), who is inching closer the .700 Club, and Oguchi Onyewu (.602), who appears to be rising from the dead.

In the midfield, Clint Dempsey (.755), arguably our most creative midfielder, is a mere .001 short of Tim Howard’s top mark.  Maurice Edu (.622) has seen a nice bump in the new system.  And Brek Shea (.690) is clearly flourishing under the new coach — all the way up to #4 in the midfield and #7 overall.  Jermaine Jones (.662) and Michael Bradley (.696) have both suffered setbacks, though both are still well within the Cup Zone (top eight) in the midfield.

Unlike the other positions, forwards haven’t really moved the way you’d expect under Klinsmann (although, they’ve done exactly what you’d expect after two goals in five games).  Three have gone down, while three have stayed the same.  Jozy Altidore (.656) is getting closer to his rightful place atop the strikers, as Juan Agudelo (.663) continues his regression toward the mean.

A few newcomers have entered the fray, as well.  The top new guy?  None other than World Cup veteran, Jose Torres (.585).  Based on what we’ve seen, he has been inconsistent, but the numbers are indicating he’s been a little more hit than miss.  Another notable is Kyle Beckerman (.569), who is probably a few caps away from making a jump over .600.

General note: We are only displaying players who have played in the past 12 months.  We still track their numbers, so if/when they get their next cap, they’ll reappear on the Index, with their full body of work accounted for.  The exception to this rule: if, somehow, after 12 consecutive months of not playing for the Nats, a player remains in the Cup Zone (top eight defenders, eight midfielders, four forwards, or three goalkeepers), they remain on the depth chart. We’re not really sure if that will ever come up, but it seems possible with a long term injury to a star player.

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard, Bill Hamid

Defenders: Steve Cherundolo, Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, Timmy Chandler, Clarence Goodson, Michael Orozco Fiscal, Alfredo Morales

Midfielders: Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Clint Dempsey, Brek Shea, Danny Williams, Fabian Johnson, Kyle Beckerman, Jermaine Jones, Robbie Rogers

Forwards: Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle

Thirty-one players were called in for the combined U-20/U-23 training camp in Duisburg, Germany, from Nov. 7-16.

GOALKEEPERS – David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes; Pleasanton, Calif.), Cody Cropper (Ipswich Town; Athens, Ga.), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire, Lilburn, Ga.), Jon Kempin (Sporting KC; Leawood, Kan.).

DEFENDERS - Gale Agbossoumonde (Eintracht Frankfurt; Syracuse, N.Y.), Anthony Brooks (Hertha Berlin; Berlin, Germany), Sean Cunningham (Molde; Troy, Mich.), Royal-Dominique Fennell (Stuttgarter Kickers; Göppingen, Germany), Greg Garza (Out of Contract; Grapevine, Texas), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United; Indianapolis, Ind.), Will Packwood (Birmingham City; Concord, Mass.), Zarek Valentin (Chivas USA; Lancaster, Pa.), Ethan White (D.C. United; Kensington, Md.)

MIDFIELDERS - Joe Corona (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Mixx Diskerud (Stabæk; Oslo, Norway), Dilly Duka (Columbus Crew; Montville, N.J.), Jared Jeffrey (Mainz; Richardson, Texas), Sebastian Lletget (West Ham United; San Francisco, Calif.), Tyrone McCargo (Nürnberg; Nürnberg, Germany), Charles Renken (Hoffenheim; Edwardsville, Ill.), Caleb Stanko (Freiburg: Holly, Mich.), Jose Villarreal (LA Galaxy; Inglewood, Calif.).

FORWARDS - Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund; Berlin, Germany), Conor Doyle (Derby County; McKinney, Texas), Josh Gatt (Molde; Plymouth, Mich.), Joe Gyau (Hoffenheim; Silver Spring, Md.), Jerome Kiesewetter (Hertha Berlin; Berlin, Germany), Omar Salgado (Vancouver Whitecaps; El Paso, Texas), Tony Taylor (Atlético Clube de Portugal; Jacksonville, Fla.), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich; Irvine, Calif.), Andrew Wooten (Kaiserslautern; Worms, Germany).

Looks like there’s a new player in the analyzing-US-National-Team-player-ratings game. They may be three years late, but we’d like to welcome the New York Times Goal blog to the party! What took you so long, boys?

As you may or may not know, we’ve been analyzing US player ratings for a while now, and even have an entire section of our site dedicated to it–the P2010 Index. NYT’s John Godfrey seems to be taking the approach outlined in our post from 2008. We can’t really blame him — it was a pretty good place to start, if we do say so ourselves.

All kidding aside, we are happy to welcome the Gray Lady to the world of trying to turn completely subjective player assessments into something kind of objective. We’re sure you’ll bring more attention to this underappreciated practice.