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U.S. men's national team all-time leading scorer Landon Donovan revealed he rates New England Revolution midfielder Brooklyn Raines higher than his Red Bull New York counterpart Adri Mehmeti, despite Mehmeti receiving a call-up to Mauricio Pochettino's latest squad while Raines was left out.
Both Raines and Mehmeti made their international debuts during the extended September-October international window. While the slightly older Revolution player appeared in all four victories, the teenage Mehmeti remained an unused substitute in the most high-profile match of the run, a commanding 3–0 victory over Mexico.
Reflecting on the 17-year-old's showings across the recent run of games, Donovan was far from effusive. "He was O.K," the pundit remarked on his podcast, Unfiltered Soccer.
"I'm curious to see how that goes over time, but I do wonder—long-term—if he's a guy who's going to take [the position of] Tyler Adams or Weston [McKennie] or [Malik] Tillman or even Aidan Morris or [Sebastian] Berhalter. That's going to be hard."
Donovan, on the other hand, was full of admiration for Raines, who is four years older than Mehmeti.
"He's very simple in the way he plays," the former striker enthused. "Tyler [Adams], in a lot of ways, is very simple in the way he plays. He just does everything at an elite level, in a very simple way, which makes your team tick."
Unlike Mehmeti, Raines didn't earn a spot in Pochettino's November squad, but he did appear on Donovan's ranking of the finest young USMNT talents—which is arguably the more meaningful distinction.
Landon Donovan, Tim Howard Name Five Best USMNT Young Players Right Now
The USMNT are handing the keys to the kids. pic.twitter.com/cpWbBzfEFb
When tasked with identifying the top USMNT players under 22, Donovan and fellow former international Tim Howard produced lists with some notable differences.
The two World Cup stalwarts agreed on three standout youngsters, which itself sparked some fascinating discussion. The undeniable Cavan Sullivan was a clear selection given his ability to carry his outstanding Philadelphia Union form onto the international stage this fall, becoming the youngest scorer in program history after chipping Mexico's Raúl Rangel from distance.
Julian Hall, who arguably outshone Sullivan during his debut camp under Pochettino, was also chosen by both former professionals, along with the more surprising selection of goalkeeper Diego Kochen.
The Barcelona loanee currently playing for Danish club Lyngby is locked in a tight competition for the starting goalkeeper role with his national team. Kochen played three halves during the September-October friendlies, matching his primary rival for the position, Brian Schwake. Both showed promising moments without either establishing a decisive advantage in a contest set to continue this month.
Landon Donovan's Top Five
Donovan placed Borussia Dortmund's Mathis Albert, who didn't feature on Howard's list at all, as the second-best prospect in the USMNT setup. "Everybody in camp was like, This kid's special," Donovan explained.
The aforementioned Raines naturally featured on Donovan's list, while Howard aligned with Pochettino by selecting Mehmeti. The former Everton shot-stopper also showed appreciation for Crystal Palace's rarely-used Zavier Gozo, who has been omitted this month after accumulating just 45 minutes of senior team action this season.