Philadelphia Union took on Slavia Prague in a competitive friendly on Sunday afternoon at Marbella Football Complex, and although it ended in favor of the Czech side, the 1-0 outing was a productive one that featured nearly the entire traveling roster.
"We're four days into training camp, so today we learned, and I learned a lot about this team. It's a bunch of proud young men, and I appreciate the work they put in," Carnell said after the final whistle.
"We asked a lot of them today. Obviously we had to distribute the minutes accordingly, but the guys put out a hell of an effort, and I'm really proud of them."
The starting group featured a mix of both tenured starters and new faces, including 23-year-old Argentinian centerback Ian Glavinovich, who signed with the club on December 20th.
Carnell utilized five different lineups and 26 players, including three keepers in Andre Blake, Oliver Semmle, and Andrew Rick, throughout the match. Expectedly, he remarked that the exact composition of Sunday's groups doesn't hold weight this early on.
"Nothing to read too much into right now," he said of his changes.
"Everyone is just competing, and we're building internal competition. We're pushing each other on the game day field as well as the training field. It's been a really good experiment for us, and it was nice for me to see now at first value, first hand, what the players have to offer."
While each shift gave individuals the chance to showcase their strengths at match speed to their new coach and his staff, the game also provided the collective with a chance to give Carnell a glimpse into the team's on-field connection.
"They're fiesty. I think we earned the respect of the opponent in the first half, you could see some of their sidelines just getting a little bit angry on the sides," Carnell said.
"We first had to match the intensity of this group and what they put out. [Slavia Prague] is mid-season and ready to go next week in competitive matches. We're still some weeks away from that, and we were able to compete at a very high level. So that's all I ask of the group."
Here's a look at the four groups Carnell used in his first matchday on the touchline as Philadelphia Union's Head Coach.
Starting XI
Andre Blake, Kai Wagner, Olwethu Makhanya, Ian Glavinovich, Frankie Westfield, Jesus Bueno, Alejandro Bedoya, Quinn Sullivan, Daniel Gazdag, Mikael Uhre, Tai Baribo
Group 2
Oliver Semmle, Kai Wagner, Olwethu Makhanya, Jakob Glesnes, Frankie Westfield, Jesus Bueno, Jeremy Rafanello, Quinn Sullivan, Daniel Gazdag, Mikael Uhre, Tai Baribo
Group 3
Oliver Semmle, Nick Pariano, Olwethu Makhanya, Jakob Glesnes, Frankie Westfield, Danley Jean Jacques, Jeremy Rafanello, Quinn Sullivan, Cavan Sullivan, Eddy Davis, Markus Anderson
Group 4
Andrew Rick, Nick Pariano, Neil Pierre, Jakob Glesnes, Isaiah LeFlore, Danley Jean Jacques, Jeremy Rafanello, CJ Olney, Cavan Sullivan, David Vazquez, Markus Anderson
Group 5
Andrew Rick, Nick Pariano, Neil Pierre, Olivier Mbaizo, Isaiah LeFlore, Danley Jean Jacques, Jeremy Rafanello, CJ Olney, Cavan Sullivan, David Vazquez, Sal Olivas
Next, Philadelphia Union will resume training in Marbella, Spain in anticipation of their second friendly matchup of the trip against Aarhus Gymnastikforening in one week on Sunday, January 26th.
