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The USA Men’s National Soccer team returns to the World Cup after not qualifying for the 2018 edition. This cycle started in earnest when Gregg Berhalter was appointed as the head coach. Subsequently, the proceeding results have been favorable, capped off with the continental domination by winning every single match in the 2021 Gold Cup, defeating Mexico 1-0 in the final. This winter’s tournament provides a greater challenge, and there are some questions to be answered about the USMNT World Cup roster in 2022.
USMNT World Cup roster 2022
Can this recent form convert to international success in Qatar for the USMNT World Cup roster in 2022? Will he continue to select the right players for the job?
Does Pulisic still command a starting spot?
Christian Pulisic was prolific in the USMNT squad for World Cup qualifying and finished as the leading goal scorer for the US. He’s also a safe bet in your USMNT World Cup roster predictions. His stature at his club side, Chelsea, has fallen. He’s played a fraction of available minutes across the Premier League and Champions League.
While he played in the friendly match against Saudi Arabia during the latest international break, he was largely ineffective for 76 minutes until he was substituted. A place on the USMNT World Cup roster in 2022 might be a given, yet he might be rotated throughout the tournament.
Could the Leeds United duo steal the show?
The American invasion of Elland Road is in full swing with Jesse Marsch as the head coach and the two midfielders Brendon Aaronson and Tyler Adams putting in exceptional performances in the Premier League.
Aaronson has endeared himself to the Leeds United faithful by working extremely hard for his new club, notably running 13.2km against Liverpool at Anfield in a game which Leeds won 2-1. His performance echoed the entire team’s dedication to succeed. Despite his Premier League inexperience and tender age of 22, he’s still leading the team forward. The US national team will only benefit if he brings his West Yorkshire form to Qatar.
Adams has been quick to bring out the US flag when Leeds win, notably draping himself in old glory when Leeds defeated Chelsea 3-0 at Elland Road. A dogged performer who commands the midfield has attracted compliments from Alexi Lalas and Stephen Warnock, plus many from Leeds United supporters – with plenty stating the American could be the next club captain when Liam Cooper calls it a day. His grounded approach coupled with a natural tenacity can only help the US in these tight group games in which there could be little to separate the sides, especially in the games against Wales and Iran.
Goalkeeping: An American headache
US Soccer has somewhat been famed for having far too many good goalkeepers. Brad Friedel, Marcus Hahnemann, Tim Howard, and Brad Guzan all jostled over the starting number one jersey for so long between the national sticks. It continues in 2022 with yet more keeper candidates.
Matt Turner is the de facto selection having played the last two international friendlies against Japan and Saudi Arabia. Yet since moving to Arsenal at the start of the 2022/23 season, he’s not really appeared other than in the Europa League.
Ethan Horvath and Zack Steffen have both featured for the US recently and have been a lot more active in league football. They do play at a lower level in the EFL Championship yet will benefit from being mentally agile having faced a lot more shots.
New York City FC captain Sean Johnson seems to be the unlucky one of all this. The former Chicago Fire keeper has remained open to the US national team for the last 11 years but has as little as 10 caps in that duration – despite being a large factor in NYCFC’s MLS Cup win in 2021.
Dest eager to prove Barcelona and Milan wrong
The potential ability of Sergiño Dest has never been in doubt. The young right-back has just been thrust into the spotlight too early in his career. While joining Barcelona is a dream come true for most players – this current incarnation of the club isn’t reminiscent of the glory years.
US Soccer fans were delighted when Dest chose to represent the US at such a young age. Graduating from the fabled Ajax academy delivers a lot of promise. However, he’s seldom been asked to deliver on it since moving away from the Netherlands’ premier club.
The aforementioned move to Barcelona followed with limited minutes and a subsequent loan move to AC Milan. He is still on the side-lines for the most part at the San Siro.
In the tight fixtures against Wales and Iran, Dest’s pace should spell a definite advantage for the US in both his offensive and defensive duties. It’s usually that players have to impress their national team manager to get in the starting eleven but the reverse is true here. If he can play well and contribute to good performances then Stefano Pioli will have to think about including him in the AC Milan first team.
Where are the goals coming from?
One of the biggest concerns for the USA World Cup squad is that it’s difficult to pinpoint goal scorers. Throughout qualification cycle goals were generally spread out amongst the squad with no singular goal threat.
Among all the players across various USMNT World Cup roster 2022 predictions, the goals come from all sectors of the pitch. In the successful 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign, each goal was infamously scored by a different player.
