This is March, and while the madness associated with the month is typically reserved for college basketball, it'll extend to Concacaf's World Cup qualifying campaign as well. The finish line is in sight, and the region's berths at the fall showpiece event in Qatar are up for grabs.
World Cup qualifying comes to a close for the U.S. men’s national team later this month, with matches at Mexico (March 24) and Costa Rica (March 30) sandwiching a home game against Panama in Orlando (March 27). No matter what, as long as the U.S. takes care of business at home and beats Panama, its floor is a fourth-place finish and the intercontinental playoff against an Oceania side (most likely New Zealand) in June. Absent those three points, though, it could get awfully nerve-wracking for the U.S., considering in its history it has never won qualifying games in either of its two away destinations. Canada, meanwhile, enters the final window four points clear of the U.S. and Mexico, who are both four ahead of Panama and five clear of Costa Rica.
This window comes with no squad caveats for the U.S. Unlike the winter session, nobody is out of season on the club level—MLS will be a month into its 2022 campaign by the time the U.S. heads to Estadio Azteca to face El Tri and all the European leagues who had winter breaks are back in full swing. The one built-in concern is that Weston McKennie won't be available. The U.S. midfielder fractured his foot in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, shelving him for around two months. It's a brutal loss considering what he brings to the team, both in the run of play and on set pieces. He was immense in the two games against Mexico in which he featured last year and has been in the best form of his career.
Nevertheless, the U.S. has gotten used to playing without a full deck due to injuries, suspensions and other various reasons, and the depth cultivated over the last couple of years was done so with situations like this in mind. The next-man-up mentality has been a hallmark of this team, and it will have to be once again. So who could be called in, ideally, to help the U.S. celebrate clinching a men’s World Cup berth for the first time since September 2013?
Here's who should be in frame:
Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire/Imago Images
GOALKEEPERS
Sean Johnson (NYCFC), Zack Steffen (Manchester City), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
There are injury concerns here. Steffen, who had overcome the back injury that ruled him out of the winter window, is now dealing with a shoulder injury, which keeps him from FA Cup duty Tuesday. There's no timetable on his return, but if it is minor, then he could be poised to reclaim the starting role for the U.S. The Arsenal-bound Turner, who started all three games in Steffen’s place in the previous window, missed the Revolution’s opener with what the club called a “minor” foot injury, so his status bears monitoring over the next few weeks as well. Regardless, they remain the unquestioned top two in the pool for the foreseeable future, provided they are fit.
The third spot is up for more debate, but given the stakes, it makes sense that the veteran presence of Johnson edges out the youthful exuberance and potential of 17-year-old Chicago Fire rising star Gabriel Slonina (though the argument could be made that exposing Slonina, a dual-national with Polish eligibility, to this environment when it's unlikely he's going to be needed in match situations could have greater long-term benefit). A dark horse to return is Ethan Horvath, who has started consecutive games for Nottingham Forest and posted clean sheets in both after being reduced to backup duty for almost the entire season. He hasn't been with the U.S. since the September window.
DEFENDERS
Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
Every manager has his reasons for personnel calls, and when it comes to John Brooks and Joe Scally, it just hasn’t been their time. Scally mentioned to ESPN recently that communication has been light between him and the U.S. coaching staff since his first call-up in November, but Brooks’s situation is considerably different. He’s a veteran presence who struggled mightily in September and hasn’t been back since. It was announced Tuesday that he’ll be leaving Wolfsburg at the end of the season, putting his future for both club and country into question. Manager Gregg Berhalter has claimed that his exclusion over the last five months has been down to form, but there appears to be more to that story.
Regardless, ample cover has emerged with the MLS-based Miles Robinson and Zimmerman taking on larger roles, while Richards has been a regular on loan at Hoffenheim. He still hasn’t fully returned from the foot injury he suffered in Canada during the last window, though, and with Robinson carrying a yellow card, some additional center back depth is required. Enter Long, who has been training with the U.S. since the fall after tearing his Achilles last May and proclaimed himself ready for the winter window even if Berhalter did not. March has always seemed to be the most realistic time for his return, and as long as his first month back with the Red Bulls goes without setback, it should be.
Out wide, Dest has found his top form with Barcelona, while Antonee Robinson has done nothing to question his place atop the depth chart on the left. Ultimately, the volume of fullbacks will come down to how deep a squad Berhalter wants to take. Right backs Cannon and Yedlin as reinforcements make the most sense considering the manager’s tendencies and given Dest’s ability to switch sides.
MIDFIELDERS
Kellyn Acosta (LAFC), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Luca de la Torre (Heracles), Sebastian Lletget (New England Revolution), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)
Adams, who recovered from his hamstring injury suffered vs. Canada, and Musah are the top candidates to man the midfield, but replacing McKennie won’t be a one-man job. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Acosta start at the Azteca since he started the Nations League and Gold Cup finals against Mexico and came off the bench in the November World Cup qualifier in Cincinnati. He also started in the last U.S. World Cup qualifier in Mexico City, a 1–1 draw. That experience matters.
de la Torre, who scored for Heracles over the weekend, was one of the big winners from the winter and showed that he belonged with the core group, while Busio was in line for a winter call-up but missed out due to having COVID-19. He's back for Venezia and figures to play a role along with his former MLS brethren and U.S. staples Lletget and Roldan.
FORWARDS
Brenden Aaronson (Salzburg), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Jordan Pefok (Young Boys), Ricardo Pepi (Augsburg), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Gio Reyna (Dortmund), Tim Weah (Lille)
Reyna is in a race against time, and it's fair to question whether he should be called in given how little he has played in the last six months and how prone to reinjury he may be—especially in the heated and charged environments in Mexico and Costa Rica. But he said himself last Friday that he should be good to go in time for the last window after avoiding a second major injury, and he likely wouldn’t be counted on to play starters’ minutes, anyway. If he is healthy and can provide a spark off the bench in limited time, that’s reason enough to bring him into the fold. Aaronson and Weah, in the meantime, have done an ample job of making up for the fact that Reyna has appeared in one of 11 qualifiers thus far.
As for center forward, at this rate, denying Pefok a recall would be unrelated to his play. The Swiss league’s leading scorer (15) has 20 goals in all competitions and just had a three-game scoring streak snapped. With McKennie unavailable, the U.S. could also benefit from Pefok’s ability to get on the end of set pieces. Pepi’s scoring drought for club and country still dates back to October, and he would greatly benefit from the confidence boost that a first goal for Augsburg would bring. He’s still a lock for the squad, but maybe not for the starting XI. Josh Sargent, meanwhile, has scored his first Premier League goals for Norwich, but unless a consistent run develops over the next two weeks, it may be too soon for his return.
