2022 World Cup USMNT roster: Goalkeeper Zach Stephen is out of the squad, striker Haji Wright is going to Qatar

US men’s national team coach Greg Berhalter has named his 26-player roster for the month world Cup in Qatar on Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:

• The list included some surprises, most notably the deletion of the goalkeeper zach steven And bring Haji Wright and the heart of the defense Tim Riam.
• Much of the menu was as expected. stars Christian PulisicAnd the Tyler AdamsAnd Weston McKinney and Gio Reina there was no doubt. And novices like Younes Moussa and Serginio Dest were not expected, Anthony RobinsonWalker Zimmerman Matt Turner Tim Weah.
• However, there were a few battles over the key sites, and invitations arriving in the final few weeks and days of selection.

Major inclusions and omissions

Among the notable decisions, Berhalter had Nashville right-back Shake Moore on Reggie Cannon of Boavista, Seattle Sounders winger Jordan Morris on veteran FC Dallas player Paul Areola, and Sounders quarterback Christian Roldan on the Young Rangers. Malik Tillman.

However, no decision was as surprising as the exclusion of Stephen, the Manchester City goalkeeper who entered the World Cup qualifiers as the number one goalkeeper in the federation.

Injuries limited Stephen during playoffs and allowed Turner to take first place on the depth chart. However, Stephen was widely expected to do the team work as a backup. However, the past few months have indicated a change. Stephen withdrew from the June camp for family reasons and then left Manchester City on loan to move to Middlesbrough, where he will get more matches. He was left out of the US roster for friendlies in September as well, although he was in good health to start the Boro final before FIFA I opened the window.

Berhalter chose not to bring Stephen to Qatar, and instead called Luton Town Ethan Horvath and Shawn Johnson from New York City.

Before the list was announced on Wednesday, a lot of attention was focused on two of the position groups: center back and forward. Berhalter introduced surprising inclusions in both places.

Reem, 35, has not been summoned by the United States since last October. He dropped out of that rehab camp for family reasons and hasn’t been back with the US since. with Chris Richards Missing through injury, Berhalter opted to bring the veteran defender over other options such as Genk’s Mark McKenzie or Troyes’ Eric Palmer-Brown.

In the future, it was considered a fight between Josh Sargent, Ricardo Pepe and Jordan Pivok for two of the last three places. Berhalter brought in Sargent, but chose to leave Pepe and Bivok at home and instead called on Wright, who has scored four goals in his last four games and has nine goals this season in the Turkish Super League with Antalyaspor.

Wright returned to American pool during the June window, his first call-up since 2019, far from the good form that has seen him score 25 goals over the past two seasons. Wright scored from the penalty spot in his US debut against Morocco in June, but Berhalter also criticized the 24-year-old’s performance after being substituted in the first half of a Nations League match against El Salvador later out the window.

Pefok had a hot start to Bundesliga The season with Union Berlin, but he has not scored since September 18. Meanwhile, Pepe has scored five goals and two assists in nine matches since moving to Groningen on loan this summer, but that hasn’t been enough to put pressure on the World Cup squad.

Sargent has eight goals and two assists this season for Norwich in the English Premier League. Jesus Ferreira has advanced for the team despite failing to score in his last seven matches MLS season and without playing a game since FC Dallas’ exit from the playoffs on October 23.

The United States will open the World Cup on November 21 against Wales. They will face England on Black Friday, November 25, and conclude the group stage on November 29 against Iran.

It is worth noting that this list becomes official on November 14, when the final squads will be handed over to FIFA. Players will continue to play in their club matches this week and there is time to replace injuries, if necessary.

Eleventh preview begins

Based on the qualifiers and squad we’ve seen over the last six games in June and September, there is a fairly clear idea of ​​what Berhalter will think of his first pick in the squad against Wales. However, Berhalter provided enough surprises in his full roster to leave us a little unsure of two key areas: center back and forward.

Here’s an eleventh versus expected Wales:

• Formation: 4-3-3
• Goalkeeper: Matt Turner
• Defenders (left to right): Antonee Robinson, Aaron Long, Walker Zimmerman, Sergiño Dest
• Midfield: Tyler Adams, Weston McKinney, Younes Musa
• Forwards: Christian Pulisic, Jesus Ferreira, Tim Weah

One stop to watch

It should be number 9.

The US hasn’t been able to find a striker they can count on for consistent production, and Berhalter’s sudden inclusion of Wright adds another wrinkle to the mix.

Ferreira, as previously mentioned, has not scored in his last seven games with FC Dallas and has not played since his team was eliminated from the Major League Soccer playoffs on October 23. Meanwhile, Sargent has scored eight goals this season with Norwich in the English language. The tournament, but he was injured in late October and missed two matches, and has not scored since October 15.

Meanwhile, Wright enters the tournament as the team’s hottest scorer. He has four goals in his last four matches in the Turkish Super League and has nine goals so far this season.

It remains to be seen how Berhalter chooses to use these three options, but there is no clear choice or lock option.

Group stage predictions

The young stars who make up the heart of this team have built the excitement around this team, but it’s important to remember how young this American team is.

The average age of a US team that qualified from CONCACAF was 24.07. Her starting lineup was even smaller: 23.82. The average age of this full squad when he takes the field against Wales will be a bit older (as expected, especially with the inclusion of Riam) at 25 years 175 days. With that said, there is only one player on the team who has any World Cup experience: Yadlin.

The 2022 team also ties the 1990 USA team for the most under-23 players on the USMNT World Cup roster with nine: Adams (23); Aaronson Wodst and Josh Sargent Weah (age 22); Jesus Ferreira (21); Moses, Rina, and Joe Scully (19).

The history of the World Cup shows that there is a cap on young teams. Only one country in the past five editions of the tournament has reached the semi-finals with an average age of a younger team of 25.9: Germany in 2010. This team reached the semi-finals in South Africa, brought back many of the same players four years later and won the World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

There will be a learning curve, but that doesn’t mean the floor shouldn’t be set at a certain level. For most, this means getting out of the group.

“I don’t care how old they are, I don’t care,” US national team legend Darcus Beasley said in an interview.From Couva to Qatar: Remaking USMNTNarrative podcast by the athlete. “I have expectations for them to do well. I think they will. I think one hundred percent they will get off the set. I think they will silence a lot of critics.”

The four countries in Group Two (USA, Wales, England, Iran) rank 15 on average, higher than any group in Qatar.

Complete List of USMNT World Cup

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(Photo: Orlando Ramirez/USA Today)