How We Feel About The USMNT As 2026 Begins

Jason went live to react to the new USMNT roster for the March friendlies and was joined by JTT Jonathan Tannenwald. We covered points of intrigue in the group before diving into the roster to discuss who's in, who's out, and who has something to prove ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Become a Bestie and join our community and get extras: patreon.com/thebestsoccershow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oscar Pareja is out in Orlando — and we're breaking down one of the more surprising coaching exits in recent MLS memory. Seven seasons, six straight playoff appearances, a contract extension less than a year ago... and then three games and 11 goals against to start 2026. Was it the right call? What's next for Orlando, and where does Pareja land? We get into all of it. Then, the Noahkai Banks situation is getting complicated. The 19-year-old center back is one of the most exciting American-eligible prospects in Europe — but Germany wants him too, and he's not ready to close that door. With the World Cup three months away, the clock is ticking on one of the most fascinating dual-national decisions in recent USMNT history. Speaking of three months out — we take the temperature on the World Cup. The tournament is coming home, and the vibes are building. Where does the USMNT stand heading into their final March friendlies, and what does a successful tournament actually look like for Pochettino's side? And in this week's MLS Lore Corner, we tell the full story of Mike Petke's legendary 2017 press conference — the one where he walked in with printed photos to prove his point about referee inconsistency. The printer broke before he could make more. He was fined $3,000. He tweeted the amount himself. Absolute scenes. Want bonus content and extended episodes? Join us on Patreon at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow — your support keeps the show going and gets you access to extra episodes, bonus breakdowns, and more. You can get Jason's twice-weekly newsletter here: https://jason-davis-soccer-eagle.ghost.io/ And you can find Morning Kickaround on YouTube or anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A three-panel panel of Jason Davis, Thomas Pinzone, and Jonathan Tannenwald hits The Best Soccer Show this week. The trio talk about MLS Week 2, with special focus on a few teams. Inter Miami's big win over Orlando leads to some talk about Messi and Miami as the bad guys, and the discussion also hits on the Galaxy, Red Bulls, and more. Plus, a look at Josh Sargent's arrival in Toronto and whether he can help life the Reds back into MLS elite. Thomas gives us local view on the World Cup funding issue in Foxboro and we dive into the funding issues that threaten World Cup games in Massachusetts. From there the boys launch into USMNT talk. Goalkeepers and midfielders are the the focus with Mauricio Pochettino set to call up a squad for March friendlies. If you miss Jared, he's on this week's Besties Bonus. Join the Patreon to get access. https://www.patreon.com/c/thebestsoccershow. Make sure you subscribe to get the video version of the show and to get notified when the live episodes are going down. The show is always better when you can see our beautiful faces. Thanks for your support! Please spread the word any way you can. https://www.youtube.com/thebestsoccershow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Go to Apple Podcasts  and give us a review⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We're *this close* to 300. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new era of The Best Soccer Show begins. This week Jason is joined by Mitch Clark of the Enemies of the Fire podcast for the first half of the show, then by Thomas Pinzone of The Blazing Musket podcast for the second half. There's a lot in this show, from talk about Weston McKennie's role at Juventus and with the USMNT, to MLS Week 1 (with focused taked from Mitch and Thomas on the Fire and Revs), to the impending end of Don Garber's time as MLS commissioner, to the failures of Wilfried Nancy and Eric Ramsay in British football. If you miss the Rodius, join the Patreon. He'll probably show up there. patreon.com/thebestsoccershow Find Morning Kickaround on YouTube to support Jason's other projects. youtube.com/@morningkickaround Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode of The Best Soccer Show features a massive show announcement at the top of the show. Things are changing a bit. If you've digested that news and want to have a say about the future of TBSS, find Jason on Bluesky or drop a comment wherever you get the show. Then there's a lot of talk about the USMNT striker pool, with a bunch of guys scoring and Ricardo Pepi on the shelf. Is Pepi a World Cup lock? Jason gets into the Weston McKennie situation at Juve as well. How about some thoughts on the state of MLS? Are we entering an inflection point for the league? Jason then gives his top 5 storylines as the league gets set to launch this weekend. Join the Patreon to become a Bestie and get some bonus content. patreon.com/thebestsoccershow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The biggest news in American soccer on Wednesday wasn't Lionel Messi's hamstring injury, or Tottenham Hotspur eyeing up Mauricio Pochettino after firing Thomas Frank. Nope, it was Matthew Doyle announcing that he is no longer with MLSSoccer.com and is off to be an independent soccer writer and part of the Kickback Media crew. Naturally this meant Jason got into the weeds about American soccer media...and then was joined by Jonathan Tannenwald to go even deeper. This is a show for longtime American soccer fans and anyone interested in the view of two vets on where soccer media used to be, where it is now, and where it might be headed. Some navel gazing occurred. Many soccer media names were mentioned. Support the show on the Patreon at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow Find Morning Kickaround (Jason's other thing) on YouTube at youtube.com/@morningkickaround Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason goes solo to cover the American and USMNT news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason and Jared back together to talk about the big news in American soccer. Support the show by joining the Patreon. patreon.come/thebestsoccershow Topics: Malik Tillman balls out in the Champions League! What's Weston's situation at Juventus? Is Ricardo Pepi to Fulham a good move (and USMNT striker pool talk)? Alex Freeman's big jump to La Liga We have t-shirts somewhere on the internet if you want to buy one and if you want to give us a rating and a review, that would be cool. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jared got pulled away so just jumped on the show solo...only to be joined by Jonathan Taylor Tannenwald for a full and very special episode of The Best Soccer Show. We got into Weston's future at Juve, Sargent's future at Norwich (or not), Inter Miami's reported bid for Bouanga, Adrian Heath's harrowing tail of being conned and kidnapped, and the appearance of MLS on Jeopardy! Support the show by becoming a patron. patreon.com/thebestsoccershow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back with our thoughts about the state of the USMNT player pool as the World Cup year gets underway. Advisory: There's a little bit of on the current situation in the US and how it's affecting our feelings about the World Cup. Support the show on Patreon. Join the warm cocoon that is the Besties Slack. Be safe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices