Sam Vines’ significant injury on the eve of the World Cup means the US likely goes into the World Cup without a true left back option behind Jedi Robinson and, honestly, that’s fine. Turner started the last two USMNT games with Steffen unavailable, a 2-0 loss to Japan and a 0-0 draw to Saudi Arabia in two games where the US attack struggled mightily to create chances.īruce Arena: “I think that coaching staff has believed that (Zack) Steffen has had an edge on Matt (Turner)” Matt Turner records clean sheet while USMNT continues to underperform USMNT commentary: Gregg Berhalter’s potential fatal flawįB: Sergino Dest, Antonee Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin, Reggie CannonĬB: Walker Zimmerman, Aaron Long, Mark McKenzie, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Tim Ream^ Only real question mark in this group is whether or not Berhalter sticks with his guy in Steffen who has not be great for the US the last couple of years or Turner who spearheaded the bulk of qualifying and the Gold Cup win last year. Sean Johnson grabs the third spot over Ethan Horvath merely over familiarity with the national team during this cycle but it wouldn’t be a complete shock to see Horvath in Qatar. Steffen to his credit has had a solid run of form with Middlesbrough in recent weeks after a rough start to the season. Obviously we stan Matt Turner as the #1 goalkeeper for the USA but his groin injury has kept him out of Europa League action for Arsenal the past couple of weeks. GK: Matt Turner, Zack Steffen, Sean Johnson Alas, even if there was a 30-man squad, there would still be players on the outside looking in and a never ending debate of who should be on the plane to Qatar next week. These are the players who I think are the most likely to not be on the plane but are extremely strong candidates for final roster. Three players I’m going to designate with a utility tag (^) are essentially the extra three players that might not have made a standard 23-player roster in years past, which for the USMNT’s 4-3-3 would have been three keepers, eight defenders, six midfielders and six attackers in total. There’s a lot of variables to this list and while I prefer players who can play multiple spots, Berhalter’s preferred system has been fairly rigid over the past couple of years which might allow more specialized role players to make the final cut. Specifically the biggest roster questions will be at centerback, left back, and striker as injuries and form have hampered the US down the stretch as they prepare for the World Cup.īelow is who I think Gregg Berhalter will bring to the World Cup based off their experience with the national team over the last year or so and club form. Gregg Berhalter however has many questions to answer with his roster and depth chart and we will get some of those answers tomorrow. Going back to 1990, the USA has qualified for 8 of the last 9 tournaments and has advanced out of the group stage four times with their best showing a quarterfinals appearance in 2002 in the Korea/Japan edition. The USA has been drawn into Group B alongside England, Wales, and Iran and look to make a strong return to the international stage after missing out in 2018. Men's National Soccer Team October 13, 2022
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