Tag: Djordje Mihailovic

‘He destroyed us!’ – McCarty questions Luna Olympic snub after RSL masterclass vs. Atlanta

The veteran midfielder said Atlanta United “felt the wrath of his snub”

Dax McCarty admitted he was baffled by Diego Luna being left off the U.S. men’s national team Olympic roster, a snub that inspired the Real Salt Lake star to a “masterclass” performance against McCarty’s Atlanta United side.

Luna was left off the USMNT squad heading to France, with Colorado Rapids playmaker Djordje Mihailovic named to the team as an overage player in his place.

After receiving the news of his omission, Luna tallied three assists and a goal in Real Salt Lake’s 5-2 win over Atlanta United last weekend.

McCarty was on the receiving end of Luna’s star performance, saying on his Major League Journeymen podcast that the 20-year-old has a right to feel aggrieved about being left off Marko Mitrović’s 18-man roster.

“With Atlanta United, we unfortunately just got our butts kicked by Real Salt Lake and Diego Luna was absolutely fantastic. He was the best player on the field,” the veteran midfielder said.

“We don’t know what goes into these decisions, we can only judge it for what it is. I think Luna has has a right to be perturbed because he absolutely destroyed us with Atlanta. It was a masterclass of a second half from him. We felt the wrath of his snub.”

McCarty played alongside Mihailovic with the Chicago Fire when Mitrović was an assistant coach, saying that he believed the coach opted for the overage Mihailovic over the age-eligible Luna due to his longstanding relationship with the now-Rapids playmaker.

“I think it came down to what overage players are available. What overage players can we bring, and is it going to be Diego Luna or Djordje Mihailovic?” McCarty said. “If we can get Djordje Mihailovic released from Colorado, the preference was Djordje. That’s clear because Marko has a relationship with Djordje, he’s known Djordje for years.

“I’m curious what Marko has seen in the U-23 camps that we don’t know about that led him to the decision to say, ‘I’m not going to bring Diego Luna, who’s age eligible but I’m going to bring Djordje instead.’

“For me it came down to that: Djordje Mihailovic versus Diego Luna. I think Diego Luna should be there.”

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Mihailovic replaces injured Weah on USMNT roster

The 24-year-old AZ midfielder will be looking for his first cap in more than two years

AZ midfielder Djordje Mihailovic has been added to the U.S. men’s national team roster for its upcoming CONCACAF Nations League matches, replacing the injured Tim Weah.

Weah is in concussion return to play protocol after he suffered a head injury in Lille’s 2-0 win over Toulouse on Saturday.

Mihailovic, who has six USMNT caps, will be aiming for his first national team appearance since December 2020. The midfielder’s chances of making the World Cup squad were damaged when, in the midst of an excellent start to the 2022 season with CF Montréal, he suffered an ankle injury that forced him off the team’s June roster.

Mihailovic has made 10 appearances for Dutch side AZ after joining from Montréal in January, tallying one goal and one assist.

The USMNT will travel to face Grenada on Friday (8:00 p.m. ET on TNT, Universo and Peacock), which will be followed by a game against El Salvador on March 27 at Exploria Stadium in Orlando (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT, Universo and Peacock).

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NYCFC put on counter-attacking clinic, bounce CF Montreal from MLS playoffs

NYCFC were ruthless in transition as they ended Montréal’s season

NYCFC has serious designs on extending their reign as MLS’s top dog for another season.

The defending champions went to Quebec and dismantled CF Montréal 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. Maxi Moralez, Héber, and Talles Magno all scored as the 2021 MLS Cup winners combined mastery in transition moments with some excellent goalkeeping from Sean Johnson (at least, in the first half) to advance to the Eastern Conference final.

Throughout 2022 Montréal earned a reputation as the experts at drawing teams towards over-committing before catching them out. In their biggest game of the year though, NYCFC taught them a lesson, time and again manufacturing transition moments by forcing turnovers just as Montréal committed too many men forward.

Nick Cushing altered his side’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, bringing an extra center back in, but that didn’t hamper their razor-sharp attack. An energetic start resulted in an early goal for NYCFC, with Moralez calmly depositing the ball into an empty net after Gabriel Pereira and Santiago Rodríguez had done most of the heavy lifting.

From that moment through to the last seconds of the half, it was all Montréal. Sean Johnson produced two jaw-dropping saves, Kei Kamara hit the post, referee Drew Fischer turned down a penalty shout from Djordje Mihailovic, and the home side would also have a goal on a clever set piece called back for offside. NYCFC would enter the locker room with more yellow cards (three) than shot attempts (two).

That second shot ended up being critical though, as a jailbreak counter saw NYCFC take a 2-0 lead. Montréal’s fast recovery appeared to have ended the danger, but Rodríguez played a marvelous ball to Héber, whose run went completely undetected. The pass was so good that all the Brazilian veteran had to do was casually tuck the ball past James Pantemis, stunning Stade Saputo.

Wilfried Nancy brought Rommel Quioto on to push for a comeback, but another incisive NYCFC counter ended with Pantemis tripping Pereira in the box. Fischer awarded the obvious penalty, and Talles Magno — with virtually his first touch after coming on — finished it off from the spot.

Montréal would at least salvage some pride with a late goal from Mihailovic — a routine header that Johnson was inexplicably unable to fend off — and gave NYCFC some worries in the final minutes, but ultimately the cutting edge shown by New York City made them worthy winners.

NYCFC will head south on I-95 to take on the Philadelphia Union in a rematch of last year’s conference final, which is set for October 30.

Watch the goals that sent NYCFC past Montréal

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Montréal and USMNT midfielder Mihailovic to join Dutch side AZ

The 23-year-old will depart MLS at the end of the 2022 season

CF Montréal has announced that midfielder Djordje Mihailovic has been sold to Dutch side AZ, where he has signed a contract through 2027.

The 23-year-old will complete the MLS season with Montréal before moving to AZ in January.

Mihailovic has developed into one of the top attacking players in MLS since moving to Montréal from the Chicago Fire ahead of the 2021 season.

The midfielder was called into USMNT camp in June, but was forced to withdraw from the roster because of an ankle injury.

“It’s a very good feeling to be here,” Mihailovic told AZ’s official website. “I think the football philosophy suits me well and AZ is a club where I can develop myself as a player.

“I know my final move won’t be until later, but I’m really looking forward to playing here. I don’t mind finishing the season at Montréal, because that club has brought me a lot. I would like to give something back, because we have a good chance of creating something special.”

AZ released a video upon the announcement showing one of the club’s former stars Jozy Altidore speaking to his fellow American Mihailovic and endorsing the move.

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Cristian Roldan set to miss USMNT friendlies after sports hernia surgery

Gregg Berhalter will be without a trusted option against Japan and Saudi Arabia

It looks like Cristian Roldan won’t be on Gregg Berhalter’s final pre-World Cup roster.

The Seattle Sounders announced that the U.S. men’s national team midfielder underwent sports hernia surgery Tuesday morning.

“Cristian, after seeing a couple of specialists down in LA, actually underwent a successful groin surgery this morning,” said Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer. “His athletic pubalgia just wasn’t getting any better.”

Roldan is expected to be out for somewhere between four and six weeks. That effectively rules him out for the USMNT’s pair of September friendlies. The USMNT is set to play Japan on September 23 in Düsseldorf, Germany, and Saudi Arabia in Murcia, Spain on September 27. Even if Roldan were to fully recover in just four weeks, the USMNT would likely have already flown to Europe for the friendlies.

How does this impact the USMNT midfield?

Roldan’s hold on a place within the squad has grown more tenuous with time, though some of that process has been out of his control. Yunus Musah’s emergence as a starter, having chosen the USMNT over England, Ghana, and Italy only last year, is one factor, while Brenden Aaronson’s rapid rise (and ability to play both in the midfield and as a wide forward, as Roldan does) is certainly another. Luca de la Torre has also raised his profile within the team, while Kellyn Acosta’s return to the USMNT fold has added to the crowd.

Still, while Roldan has seen his playing time decline, Berhalter still substituted him into five qualifiers, and in a variety of game states. It’s clear that Berhalter still sees a tactically and technically sound Swiss army knife like Roldan as a valuable player he can trust in a range of situations, and it stands to reason that he was in the frame to be called up for the Japan and Saudi Arabia friendlies.

Roldan is not the only USMNT player in doubt for the September window. Tim Weah is looking like a major doubt as well, with Lille saying on Monday that his ankle injury would require three weeks of immobilization before he can even resume training.

With Roldan unavailable, the door may be just the tiniest bit open for players like Gianlucia Busio and Djordje Mihailovic, both of whom were players Pro Soccer Wire‘s last roster projection had just barely missing out.

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USMNT notes: Berhalter addresses McKennie, Mihailovic, Tillman and more ahead of Morocco

The USMNT coach touched on a variety of topics ahead of a stretch of four games in two weeks

U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter touched on a variety of topics ahead of his side’s friendly against Morocco in Cincinnati on Wednesday night.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Berhalter offered some information on his lineup for the Morocco match, the first of four games in a two-week span for the USMNT.

As expected, Matt Turner will start in goal after Zack Steffen withdrew from the roster for family reasons.

Aaron Long will partner Walker Zimmerman in central defense while Brenden Aaronson, who just completed a transfer to Leeds, will start centrally after mostly featuring as a winger during his time with the USMNT so far.

On Mihailovic’s injury

Djordje Mihailovic was forced off the USMNT roster with an ankle injury, in a major blow for a player who has been one of the top attackers in MLS in recent seasons.

Berhalter addressed the CF Montreal star’s injury as well as his decision not to call in a replacement.

“We purposely stacked the attacking positions in this camp with depth in every position, so we didn’t feel there would be a need for a replacement,” Berhalter said.

“Our heart goes out to Djordje. The timing of this is very unfortunate for him. He’s been having a great season. We were really looking forward to working with him in this camp. But what I told him is just focus on getting better and continue to do what you’ve been doing, and if you do that, there will be other opportunities for you down the road.”

Tillman eligible to play

On Tuesday U.S. Soccer announced that Malik Tillman’s change of association application with FIFA had gone through, clearing the Bayern Munich attacker to play for the U.S. after he declared his intention to switch from Germany earlier this month.

“We are really excited he got cleared by FIFA to play,” Berhalter said. “He’s shown a lot of quality in training, very good understanding of the game, very good first touch and awareness around the penalty box.”

McKennie working his way back

Berhalter also addressed the status of Weston McKennie, who missed three months with a broken foot before making a cameo off the bench in Juventus’s final game of the season on May 21.

In a positive sign for his health, McKennie was called into the USMNT roster, and Berhalter said the plan is to bring the star midfielder along slowly.

“The goal of our camp is to get him in position where he can start a game and play extended minutes,” Berhalter said.

“Right now what we’re dealing with is maybe he can play 20 minutes tomorrow. We’ve been looking at his training load, and have really been building him up. He’s had an intensive last four days, and tomorrow will be the fifth day of his load. So we want to be mindful with minutes, making sure that he’s recovered and moving the right direction, but he’s looked good on the field.”

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Mihailovic forced off USMNT roster with ankle injury

The injury was a major blow for the 23-year-old, who is looking to make a late case for a World Cup roster spot

Djordje Mihailovic has been forced to withdraw from the U.S. men’s national team roster for its upcoming matches due to an ankle injury, U.S. Soccer announced on Monday night.

Mihailovic suffered the injury in CF Montreal’s 4-3 win against FC Cincinnati on Saturday in MLS play. The full extent of the injury is unknown as of now.

No replacement will be named to the U.S. roster.

The injury is a huge blow for the 23-year-old, who is looking to make a late charge for a World Cup roster spot after he did not feature at all during the USMNT’s 14 qualifying matches.

Mihailovic has been one of the best attacking players in MLS over the past two seasons and has put together an early-season MVP case in 2022 with seven goals and four assists in Montreal’s first 14 games.

The midfielder’s most recent USMNT appearance came in a friendly in December 2020.

Mihailovic is the second late withdrawal from the roster after Zack Steffen pulled out due to family reasons last week.

The USMNT is set to face Morocco on Wednesday in a friendly, followed by another friendly against Uruguay on Sunday. The team will then have two Nations League matches, first against Grenada in Austin, Texas on June 10 and then away at El Salvador on June 14.

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