The U.S. men’s national team finally has its marching orders for the first of two World Cup preparation camps between now and the first kick against a to-be-determined opponent in Qatar on Nov. 21. Now, it’s all about sifting through who will be given the chance to state their case for the unclaimed tickets to the World Cup.
With qualification sealed following a non-historic defeat in Costa Rica on March 30, the U.S. player pool can be sorted into some distinct categories. Whittling it down to 23 (or 26, should reports of potential roster expansion come to fruition) will be difficult for coach Gregg Berhalter after utilizing so many players (38) throughout qualifying.
For whoever is called in for friendlies against Morocco (June 1) and Uruguay (June 5) along with Concacaf Nations League group games against Grenada (June 10) and El Salvador (June 14), the categories can be boiled down to just two: those who need to prove it, and those who are there to fine-tune it.
For those whose seats are secure—think the nucleus types such as Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams—they should be seeking more reps with each other ahead of Group B play in Qatar. For those whose seats are less of a given, there’s not a whole lot of time to prove they belong. Only one more camp—in September, widely reported to take place in Europe (U.S. Soccer even made it clear that June’s games are the last pre-World Cup matches to take place in the U.S.)—remains for players to show their value to Berhalter, and it’s not as if there have been a plethora of consistent standout club showings to review lately. Next month may be the last best chance to leave an impression.
Plenty will go into figuring out who takes part in this two-week-long camp—and for how long each player will be there. There’s certainly a world where, due to club commitments or recovery after long club seasons, it doesn’t make practical sense for some players to join from the start. Conversely, it also wouldn’t surprise if some players leave before camp is done, with a June trip to El Salvador particularly unappealing and taxing for those whose lengthy club seasons just ended.
There’s a lot to weigh—a rash of injuries hasn’t helped, either—and the limited ability to gather as a unit for the World Cup puts a greater deal of emphasis than there otherwise would be on a pair of friendlies and a pair of early Nations League games.
“The cycle is just beginning, it’s not over. This is just the first step,” Berhalter said on U.S. Soccer’s podcast. “We talk about what we want to do as a team, and qualifying was only the first step. From here, when I look at this runway this team is going to have, in particular, this group is going to have, I think they’re poised to do something special.”
Here’s what the next iteration of that group could look like in a month, with a larger gathering than normal projected given the potential for a rotating door throughout the couple of weeks:
GOALKEEPERS
Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest), Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire), Zack Steffen (Manchester City), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
With Matt Turner finally returning to action this weekend—and shutting out Inter Miami in the process—after suffering a foot injury in the winter, the goalkeeper pool is as full-strength as it has been in three months. Steffen could be a late arrival if Man City progresses to the Champions League final, which takes place May 28, just a few days before the Morocco friendly. Horvath, whose last club minutes were in an FA Cup defeat to Liverpool on March 20, could find himself in a similar position should Nottingham Forest take part in England’s promotion playoff set for May 29, with the chance to join the Premier League on the line. Forest is currently three points out of an automatic promotion, with a head-to-head match vs. Bournemouth on Tuesday capable of deciding which team joins Fulham in going up without needing the playoff route.
This all opens the door for the 17-year-old Slonina, who has officially been courted by Poland. Its manager came to visit the Chicago Fire keeper in the U.S. and could reportedly extend a call-up for the UEFA Nations League games in June. That recruiting tug of war puts the ball in the U.S.’s court if Slonina is truly mulling his options.
DEFENDERS
George Bello (Arminia Bielefeld), John Brooks (Wolfsburg), Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Bryan Reynolds (Kortrijk), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Sam Vines (Antwerp), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
Sergiño Dest and Chris Richards are hobbled and likely unavailable to take part. That could open up some additional minutes for a group that is top heavy, if not deep with some intriguing options.
For Brooks, if he’s not getting called in this summer, then you can all but close the book on his World Cup hopes. Berhalter has maintained that Brooks’s national team exile ever since a poor September 2021 qualifying window is temporary and that reintegrating him during the high-intensity grind of qualifying wasn’t the proper time to assess his progress. A low-pressure camp such as this, however, would be. He’s an absolute wild card at center back given his experience, potential and what his inclusion would mean for those on the depth chart.
Beyond that, there’s the question of depth at fullback. If healthy, Dest and Antonee Robinson should be starters in Qatar, but then what? The question is particularly pressing at left back, where the relatively green Bello and Vines are next up, while Scally’s ability to play on either side works in his favor. But for any to distinguish themselves from the pack, it requires a call-up in June and a strong showing there to boot.
Depending on how large of a group Berhalter wants to call in, center back Erik Palmer-Brown (Troyes) and right back Shaq Moore (Tenerife) would figure to be next in line, although the latter could be involved with Spain’s promotion playoffs. Tenerife’s regular season ends May 28, and it’s currently in a position to take part in the four-team bracket that would follow.
MIDFIELDERS
Kellyn Acosta (LAFC), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Sebastian Lletget (New England Revolution), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Djordje Mihailović (CF Montreal), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Luca de la Torre (Heracles), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), James Sands (Rangers)
McKennie’s fitness bears watching over the coming weeks, with Juventus claiming he could return from his broken foot before the end of Serie A’s season this month. If that were to happen, this unit would have the potential to be at full strength, which, given the U.S.’s track record, is no small feat.
The roster intrigue would reside beneath the top tier, where it’s a matter of determining which veterans (Lletget, Roldan) still have a role going forward, which younger players (de la Torre, Sands, Busio) can fortify their places and which relative outsiders (Mihailović did not participate in qualifying but has been one of MLS’s most productive creators for over a season now) can break through.
FORWARDS
Brenden Aaronson (Salzburg), Jordan Pefok (Young Boys), Jeremy Ebobisse (San Jose Earthquakes), Ricardo Pepi (Augsburg), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Tim Weah (Lille), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders)
First, let’s start with the injuries. Gio Reyna’s hamstring figures to keep him from this camp, while Josh Sargent’s re-aggravation of an ankle injury after just 14 minutes into his return this weekend could keep the Norwich forward from getting his much-needed opportunity to get back in Berhalter’s good graces. The prognosis, for what it’s worth, doesn’t seem too bad.
“It was a bit of a risk to play him but we knew there were consequences depending on our result and other results elsewhere. He just aggravated [his ankle] slightly, it won’t be too bad, but that was the reason he came off,” Norwich manager Dean Smith said following the weekend result that saw the Canaries clinch relegation.
One fringe player can already be ruled out, as Daryl Dike won’t be part of the camp. The forward, who has been battling injuries for most of his time abroad since leaving Orlando for West Brom, will remain with his English club with an eye on fortifying his place and returning to full fitness.
“I spoke to Gregg,” West Brom manager Steve Bruce, who once coached Berhalter, said last week. “They have been very very sensible and they understand the situation.
“Daryl will not be involved in the internationals. There’s another one in September so that is what he is focusing on. It’s good for Daryl too, so it’s good to clear that up. He can concentrate on what we have put in place to make sure he has a really good summer before he comes back for preseason. We have waited this long so we have got to make sure he is right.”
That leaves the above group, with Jordan Pefok—amid a four-game scoring streak—in the best club form of the bunch. The question is how costly his awful miss vs. Mexico at the Azteca in March was as it relates to his national team standing. Had he converted (and thus likely given the U.S. a historic qualifying win in Mexico City), he would probably be the front-runner to seize the position. Now, despite a 22-goal season in Switzerland (27 including Champions League qualifying and group-stage goals), he’s still in the “prove it” category. A golden boot in Switzerland will only take him so far.
Ebobisse’s five goals in MLS are second to Jesús Ferreira (six) among U.S. players in the league, and he could be a bit of a wild card amid the more entrenched figures in the U.S. attack. One of those, Pepi, could really benefit from a string of productive performances with the U.S. considering he has gone goalless since leaving FC Dallas for Augsburg in the winter.
