Union vs. Austin FC Preseason Preview
Jim Curtin will use two groups of players in two 45-minute halves on Saturday against Austin FC.
The Philadelphia Union open their preseason schedule on Saturday against Austin FC.
Union manager Jim Curtin provided reporters with a few updates on what to expect in the scrimmage.
Jack McGlynn, Quinn Sullivan and Brandan Craig will be available tomorrow. The trio was called into the United States Under-20 camp earlier this week.
“We will have our three U20s that are conveniently at IMG, where the game will be played,” Curtin said. “They will be available for 45 minutes. We’ll push guys for the first 45 minutes. The exercise will be to empty their tank and compete against someone other than themselves.”
Sullivan has come into preseason camp in remarkable form and he will be tested up top as the Union try to get him closer to the goal.
“In terms of the young guys, Quinn and Jack have come in at a really high level,” Curtin said. “Quinn is so fit it’s almost easy for him while everyone gets fatigued pretty quickly. He’s been able to dominate a lot of exercises. For what it’s worth, he’ll play as a striker tomorrow. We want to get him closer to goal. We want to see what that looks like.”
“All of them have come in and looked really good. Our starting XI from MLS Cup look to be playing at a pretty high level.”
The Union will play two 45-minute halves with Austin. There were discussions earlier in the preseason for the game to be extended, but that is the final agreement made with Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff.
“We’re going to do two 45s. You’ll see two groups from our team, two pretty balanced groups. We want to play at a really high intensity and push both groups for 45 minutes pretty hard,” Curtin said.
Union Players in National Team Picture
Leon Flach, Andres Perea and McGlynn were on the outside looking in at the United States men’s national team January camp roster.
Curtin pushed for Flach to make the squad and believes McGlynn and Perea will push for consideration.
“(USMNT assistant) BJ Callaghan is a close friend. It was close and I pushed for those guys the best that I could. Leon was on the preliminary roster. He just didn’t get that final call. He’ll keep working hard to prove he belongs there because I believe he does,” Curtin said.
“Andres was just on the outside looking in.”
“I know there were real discussions (about McGlynn) within the U.S. to take him with the full team or to go with the U-20s, where he’s a big leader and important to have in that camp as well.
“They are three players that will be talked about and in the mix with the national team moving forward.”
Mikael Uhre Looking Sharp So Far
Mikael Uhre will have a full preseason to work with the Union after last season’s preparations were derailed by visa issues.
Curtin noted the second-season bump could happen for the forward.
“With the top players, whether you want to talk about Tranquillo Barnetta or Borek Dockal, or Daniel Gazdag, the more time they are with us, the better they get,” Curtin said. “To have a full preseason under his belt now, the hope is Mikael is no different. This league is unique. It takes a little while to get adapted to a new culture and team. I think you’ll see that with Mikael. He’s hungry to score even more goals. The sky's the limit for Mikael. He can be a real difference maker for us.”