“You talk so much sh*t about every other young upcoming player in the past but yourself.” 😳 Eddie Johnson has hit out his former USMNT teammate Landon Donovan over recent comments about the young American players. Donovan explained caution with Cavan Sullivan and the young USMNT squad last week on Unfiltered Soccer podcast. He said he’s seen many stories of Americans who were hyped as teenagers and failed to reach their potential. He then gave Freddy Adu, Santino Quaranta, Gio Reyna, and Eddie Johnson as examples. Eddie Johnson has now responded on Instagram. “I can’t speak for Freddy Adu or Santino Quaranta or Gio Reyna but I will speak for myself Landon Timothy Donovan,” he wrote. “You talk so much sh*t about every other young upcoming player in the past but yourself lol why don’t we talk about the five years you were in Germany and failed and ran back to MLS bc you weren’t good enough? Why don’t we speak about this? “One of the best considerably players in our country failed in Europe early in his career no one killed him but he’s killing all these young players that have done more then he ever has done in Europe. “I got time today. You played in a World Cup, I played in a World Cup. You played in a U-17 World Cup, U-20 World Cup, and Olympics. I did the same. “What makes you different than a kid from Bunnell, Florida? “I did everything you did with fewer opportunities and still considered one of the best strikers this country has seen!!” Eddie Johnson played for the USMNT from 2004 to 2014, scoring 19 goals in 63 games. He’s two years younger than Donovan, and played many times together with him— including in the 2006 World Cup.

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“This is not a scenario where we start villainizing him because he's had some bad luck and made some bad decisions. Let's just get over ourselves and let him come back into the team.” USMNT legend Eric Wynalda has once again come into defense of Christian Pulisic. Wynalda saw Pulisic getting a lot of criticism after the World Cup. He saw many fans being excited about the new American generation and ignoring Pulisic. So while speaking for UNLEASHED on GOLZ TV, Wynalda reminds people of how much Pulisic can still help the USMNT. “He lost a big portion of the fanbase? That is fine,” Wynalda said. “It will actually drive him to be better. “What people need to realize about Christian is he never really wanted the spotlight anyway. That's not his character. That's not a bad thing. “You know, when people say he's Captain America, I would cringe because he's uncomfortable with that. He's uncomfortable with the weight of the shirt already and the weight that we've already put on him. “He needs to just be a part of the team, not the savior. It's not fair to do that to anybody. “And to be fair, like you watch other teams and you see what's happening at Georgia, for example, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and everybody's like, ‘Oh, how come he can't carry the team? It's all his fault.’ “That's not the kind of pressure we need to be putting on Christian Pulisic. “And the fact that people aren't talking about him, he's probably happy about that. I mean, he really doesn't care. This is not something that motivates him to be a better footballer. “He's always going to make himself his biggest critic, and he doesn't need our help. He really doesn't. “I didn't appreciate some of the way that people came at him. I've been very, very vocal about that, especially the FOX team during the World Cup. You know, being very critical of a guy that just got some more bad luck, tagged on to some bad advice. “I can't wait till Christian Pulisic gets back to the form that he can be in. “I think that's the reason behind Tyler Adams getting the captain's armband. That kid loves the spotlight. He loves to talk. He'll talk about everything and anything, and he can handle a press conference, and he actually doesn't mind being there. “He, like, enjoys letting everybody know that he's got a vocabulary. That's just kind of what his— he has that thing about him, that presence, or that aura even, that he enjoys being in charge. He likes being called captain. “Christian never did. And I think the fact that he went through the phase that he went through and all those responsibilities that went with it, we tried so hard. “You remember the shirt? You remember the man in the mirror? You remember the pose and all that stuff? All that stuff is unimportant to him. “What is important is to be a contributor to this team and give this country everything he's got. “Once we as a country get over that and just accept it and bring him back, we have become a better team with him a part of it. “This is not a scenario where we start villainizing him because he's had some bad luck and made some bad decisions. Let's just get over ourselves and let him come back into the team. “And again, he's a big part of why we're going to be a very good team in the very near future. “I hope that we figure out a way for him to play in the Olympics, to be honest with you. I want him to be one of the overage players. People are gonna say I’m crazy.”

18-year-old Julian Zakrzewski Hall scored in each of his first three international games. He became the youngest player since Pelé to achieve such a feat. “I dreamed of playing a single game for the national team,” the USMNT striker said to TNT Sports tonight. “To be able to contribute and make an impact, it means the world to me. So I'm super grateful. “I learned a lot about mentality. We had a lot of big games, and for me, they were new experiences. “The senior guys on the team really helped us young guys kind of teach us the ropes a little bit and give us that confidence to go out there and, you know, feel free and play our game. “All of us young guys, we want to be back here, and we're gonna do whatever it takes to do that.” Also eligible for Poland, it seems like Hall has really enjoyed playing for the USMNT in this camp. Although he said last month that this call-up doesn’t solidify his international allegiance, the New York Red Bulls man made it clear he wants to be back 👀

Eric Wynalda checks in from home before heading back to Estonia. The hair is shorter, the break is brief, and the mission is clear: survive the relegation fight. Catch Eric’s updates and more Unleashed episodes on our YouTube channel!

“Listen Cavan, MLS is not European football. You are a good talent, but you have a lot to learn. Take it step by step, and maybe you'll be a star one day.” USMNT legend Brad Friedel reacts to Cavan Sullivan’s comments. The 16-year-old scored a brace tonight, and now has nine goals and nine assists for Philadelphia Union this season. He recently said he believes he could’ve made a difference in the World Cup against Belgium, which caused Mauricio Pochettino to come out and warn against arrogance from young players. Friedel agrees with Pochettino. “Sullivan's a good player. He's a good talent, but he made a comment there,” the former goalkeeper said. “So think about this in realistic terms. You're going to put him up against Doku or Lukebakio or Trossard. Like that's who he would be up against on that side, and he thinks he can go in there and cut someone up in a game. “You know, I think what Mauricio is saying is, ‘Listen Cavan, MLS is not European football. You are a good talent, but you have a lot to learn. Take it step by step, and maybe you'll be a star one day.’ “You know, there's some other good players in the U.S. We'll figure out how good they are. Julian Hall is in the Red Bull system. If he's that good, Leipzig or Leeds will take him on, or he'll go into Salzburg that way. “There's a Mexican kid, a 15-year-old Chelsea has signed, Benji Flowers in Dallas. “If he walks around like he's a Chelsea player now, he's going to fail. If Sullivan walks around like he's a Man City player now, he's going to fail. You have to take everything in stride. “I understand you have to be confident. I understand there's a little bit of an arrogance that you need to have to know you're good. But one thing MLS doesn't have yet, it doesn't have the mentality of top European football. “So you have to dip your toe into it to learn.” “Don Garber called him one of the best teenagers in the world? If you're a 16-year-old player and you're listening to the comments of a commissioner of a league and not to your family and not to your representative and not to your teammates, then I think that's problem number one. “If you look at the history of the United States, where he's at 16, Sullivan is probably ahead of most everyone in the development phase. “But take a Christian Pulisic right now. Like he's having a hard time in his career right now, and he's having a hard time with injuries and things like that, and he's a wonderful footballer when he's fully fit. “I think what Mauricio is just talking about is take it one step at a time, and then we'll see if you can be a world star. “But when you're 16 years of age, you're not a world star. He just wants these kids to be grounded. “You know, there's another exceptionally gifted player in the U.S. who just gone over to Palace, [Zavier] Gozo. He was doing really, really well at a young age in MLS, but I have to put that in highlights. It's in MLS. “So can he go over to Palace and do it? Yeah, he has the talent, but now comes the next step. Can he deal with the pressure and can he deal with the quality of European football? “Sullivan’s people around him should never have allowed him to be put in that situation [going on podcast alone with Alexi Lalas] because here we are now a Man City player who is 16 years of age, who can't come over till he's 18, who's played in MLS, has just basically said he thinks he's better than every member of the national team that just played against Belgium. “And Belgium's one of the better teams in global football. Not in the top five right now or six, but they've got some good players. That has just come out of his mouth. “So this is where representation around the players is incredibly important. And that's another growing aspect of football in MLS. “It's still a very young league. I know it’s been 30 years, but that's still very young compared to the others.” [via talkSPORT]