Berhalter Announces the US Men’s National Team World Cup Squad

By: Asa Forrest

Brooklyn-- At 5:00 ET on Wednesday, US Men’s National Team (USMNT) head coach Gregg Berhalter announced the group of players that would be traveling to Qatar to compete for the United States in the World Cup later this month. Over the course of the last two international windows, there are doubts circulating about the performances of the team which make this roster announcement very important. 

Here is the squad that I would have taken, compared to the squad Berhalter has selected:

Key Differences: Gabriel Slonina, Erik Palmer-Brown, John Brooks, Reggie Cannon, Malik Tillman, Daryl Dike, Ricardo Pepi, Paul Arriola, Jordan Pefok

My Reasoning for Each:

Gabriel Slonina- The starting goalkeeper position was always going to be held by Matt Turner. He’s coming off a move to Arsenal in the Premier League, where he’s been playing well in games here and there. Also, Ethan Horvath has been playing well on loan at Luton Town, so he was going to take the second spot in Qatar. That left one spot left. Zack Steffen was the locked-in starter for the USMNT in recent years, but since his move from the Columbus Crew to Manchester City, things have not gone very well. He did not get much playing time, and his form was not great. In hopes of making this year’s World Cup team, Steffen went out on loan to Middlesbrough, but again he has just not played great. 

This left two players to choose from. Sean Johnson is coming off a great season for NYCFC, so he is more than qualified for the job. He is also 33 years old, so he brings experience and professionalism to an overall very young squad. I have no big problems with this choice, except there is someone else that I would bring if I were in charge: Gabriel Slonina. Earlier this year Slonina announced that he would play for the United States instead of his other option, Poland. He later transferred from Chicago FC to Chelsea, but spent the rest of the MLS season back on loan in Chicago. At just 18 years old, I believe Slonina is the perfect third-string keeper. He is already an extremely good goalkeeper, and a trip to the World Cup would have given him some much needed experience that could have helped him further his career. All in all, no real complaints from me here; I think this is a position we won’t need to worry about for a while, and especially not in this World Cup.

Erik Palmer-Brown- Here Berhalter seems to have gone with another right back in Shaq Moore instead of a fifth center back. If I’m being honest, I’m not sure how I feel about this one. Moore played well for Nashville SC this year and has had some appearances in recent national team camps, but taking just four center backs could turn out to be a bad decision down the road, especially with how inconsistent some of the other ones in this team have been.

John Brooks- This was a player that almost no one expected to make the squad, but I still had a little bit of hope for two reasons. First, he was one of only a few players in the pool that was a part of the 2014 World Cup team, meaning he was one of the only ones with World Cup experience. With the US bringing such a young and inexperienced team, veteran leadership and locker room presence will be very important in guiding the younger players throughout this whole process. The second reason solely rests with the man that is going in his place: Aaron Long. Although Long has caps for the USMNT, he has not played at a high enough level recently to give many people confidence in his abilities. I think Brooks would have been better fit to serve the job. 

Reggie Cannon- This pick essentially boils down to a preference between DeAndre Yedlin and Reggie Cannon. Personally, I went with Cannon. He’s been successful for Boavista in Portugal, starting in 10 games so far this season. Yedlin, on the tail-end of his career, has moved back to the MLS to play for Inter Miami. In January, he and Galatasaray mutually agreed to terminate his contract, ending his European career. It’s a close one here between the two, as Yedlin has more experience, but I have more confidence in Cannon to do the job over Yedlin in the unfortunate event of something happening to Sergiño Dest.

Malik Tillman- This is another position where Berhalter went for an older MLS player in lieu of young European talent. Berhalter went for Cristian Roldan, who is an established MLS player, but has struggled in the national team. He gets call ups often, but it just never seems like he’s up to the level of play, scoring 0 goals in his 32 caps. Malik Tillman, on the other hand, is a young player with a lot of potential. At just 20 years old, Tillman has played in the Bayern Munich system for a few years. This season he has been on loan at Rangers in Scotland, and already has 22 appearances and four goals in all competitions this season. Especially with Brenden Aaronson being named as a midfielder rather than an attacker, I would have liked to see the US take a young player with a lot of promise to get him some experience on the biggest international stage. 

Daryl Dike- This is a player that I don’t think many people had on their rosters, but I think he would have been a great addition. At 6’2 and very muscular, Dike provides a strong striker that can hold up the ball, which will be important in playing teams such as England and Wales that are very physical. He also has experience playing in England, so he is familiar with the style of play that the US will be facing. Berhalter has said that he brought Josh Sargent for this reason as he also plays in England, but I think Dike’s size fits this team more, and would have benefitted the team more than Sargent.

Ricardo Pepi- This is the most surprising player that was left out of the roster, and it genuinely makes no sense. Pepi has been in great form this season for FC Groningen on loan from FC Augsburg. He is the first Eredivisie player in the current century to score or assist five goals in his first four games. In all competitions he has nine appearances and six goals. He also scored three goals in World Cup qualifying, second only to Christian Pulisic. He’s done all of this at just 19 years old, making him a perfect candidate for the striker position. Yet, Gregg Berhalter went with Pepi’s old Dallas FC teammate, Jesús Ferreira. Ferriera has four goals in his last eight MLS games, and none in the last two months. Even at FC Dallas, Ricardo Pepi was preferred to Ferreira, which is why he made a big money move to Europe last year. Finally, it always feels like Ferreira is lacking what the US needs up top, which is a person that can score goals. Just in the September camp, he missed a wide open header on a cross from Sergiño Dest, with that game ultimately ending in a USMNT loss to Japan. Everything would point to Pepi being in the squad, but Berhalter went with Ferreira. It just does not make sense. 

Paul Arriola- The more I think about this decision, the more I am fine with it. Originally it seemed like a crazy decision to leave Arriola off the roster, but Jordan Morris always seems to show up in big games. Both would have been some of the oldest players on the team and would have helped in guiding the team with experience. Morris has got a size advantage which will help, but I still think Arriola will come away feeling disappointed. He has been a mainstay in the team for the last few years, so it doesn’t make a lot of sense to drop him from the squad now. All in all, I think both players could do the job, but I would have taken Arriola.

Jordan (Pefok) Siebatcheu- This is a really interesting decision from Berhalter. I think both players have a very good case of why they should be in the team. Let’s start with Jordan Pefok. Following his transfer to Germany earlier this year, he has played very well. He’s appeared 18 times in all competitions and netted four goals, three of which coming in the Bundesliga. If we compare the two leagues of the players, the Bundesliga has a lot more quality than the Süper Lig, so Pefok playing well here definitely says something. Also, he has more national team caps, meaning he has more experience playing in international games, which are far different from club games. 

However, Haji Wright has a good argument going for him as well. So far this season, playing for Antalyaspor, Wright has 12 appearances and nine goals, which is a great ratio. This is one of the biggest things he has going for him over Pefok. Although Pefok came out strong in the season, he has since been in a slump for his club, going scoreless in his last 10 games. Haji Wright on the other hand has not been short of goals as of late, which is what I believe ultimately led Berhalter to make this selection. Another thing Wright has going for him is size. As I mentioned with Dike, I think physical size will be something that the US is going to need up top in certain games, especially against England. At 6’3 Wright can provide this size and goal scoring threat, so he is a good option to have off the bench. The last reason Wright had a good case was his connection with players on the team, including Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie. Pulisic and Wright came up through the US academy system together, playing together in 2015 in the U17 World Cup. Earlier this year against Morocco, Pulisic gave Wright the ball for a penalty kick so he could score his first national team goal. Ultimately either option would have been good, but Berhalter decided on going with Haji Wright.

My Overall Thoughts on the Squad:

There is no doubt that this is a very strong USMNT squad, but it is also a very young one as well. Tim Ream and DeAndre Yedlin will have to play major roles in the locker room, to guide these younger players through this whole process, and ensure they stay focused on the task at hand. This is one reason why I am very happy Ream was selected to go to Qatar, as he is a quality defender and a great leader. Even Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has commented about his abilities, saying that if he was around 10 years younger he would be playing for him in Manchester. Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest need to play very well throughout the course of the tournament. Dest in particular has had his ups and downs in this team, and he needs to be very sharp. England in particular likes to get their full backs into the attack, so having a solid backline will be important. Walker Zimmerman also has a lot to play for in this tournament, as I believe a good performance could lead to opportunities in Europe in the next year. 

The midfield of this team is obviously the strongest aspect, and these players need to put together a string of good performances. Weston Mckennie has been in great form for Juventus as of late, scoring in the league and the Champions League. Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson have been playing well for Leeds, under American manager Jesse Marsch. It is interesting that Berhalter listed Aaronson as a midfielder, because in the past for the national team he has played more on the wing. Could this mean the US will play with a new formation in the World Cup? 

The attack of this team is where things get interesting. Christian Pulisic is locked in as a starter on the left wing, but he could play striker in the case of an emergency. I think Tim Weah will start on the right side, which is a great option on that side. The striker position is where we don’t know who will start, or if there will be a certain player that starts every game. Josh Sargent has a good case as he plays in England, so he has played against a lot of the England and Wales players in the past. But, for whatever reason Berhalter seems to really like Jesús Ferreira. I’m not going to get into him again, but I don’t think he should get the starting job, at least not at the beginning. If he comes on as a sub and makes an impact I could see him starting the next game, but otherwise not. Finally, I think Haji Wright will get some playing time, especially against England. His size and strength will be key in a squad that doesn’t have a lot of that. The two wingers will need to be major playmakers in the attack, because all of the strikers on the roster have struggled to score in recent national team camps. 

Finally, there is no drama about who will start for the duration of the tournament. Barring any injuries or suspensions, Matt Turner will start in goal, which is good. The only slight concern here is that he is not as good with his feet as other keepers on the roster, which could pose a minor problem in playing out of the back. Also, both backup keepers are more than able to play at an international level, so there are no concerns if something were to happen to Turner. 

I talked to a couple fans of the USMNT, and here were their thoughts on the squad:

David Tah (Greenville, SC):

“[The team] seems strong with the usual players and we have more fire power in attack. Brenden Aaronson will be a problem. DeAndre Yedlin has been off form and is at Inter Miami, I thought he would be out of the team. I thought Ricardo Pepi would be a good addition to the squad, young and hungry to make a name for himself. He made a move to Germany, which I think was good for him, but I believe he is good enough for the team. I think the USA has a talented team, a team capable of making it to the knockout stages of the tournament. Other teams have big tournament pedigree, they have experience. This team has the ability to go far, so it’ll be interesting to see what they can do. I’m expecting a Round of Sixteen knockout, but the quarter finals is not a stretch.“

Aditya Harikumar (Greenville, SC):

“The squad is super young, and it is exciting to see how they'll function as a team and how successful they'll be. I’m surprised that Sean Johnson made the squad as a GK… that is just because Steffen didn’t make it. That leads into who I’m surprised didn’t make it, which is Zack Steffen. Even though he hasn’t had the best form recently, he's still a top top keeper and there is no reason he shouldn't be in the squad. Honorable mention is Ricardo Pepi. He made the move from MLS to Europe and has struggled, but he's still one of the top prospects in US soccer, and again there's no reason he shouldn't be given the chance to represent [the US] at the biggest stage. I think the United States at best will make it to the Round of Sixteen, and their run will stop there. It'll be a struggle with Wales to make it out of their group, but I think there's enough talent in the squad to inch by.”

Tournament Prediction:

I think the tournament will overall be a success. I think the United States will finish second in the group behind England, qualifying them for the Round of Sixteen. I think it will depend on who they face in this round on whether or not they will make the quarter finals. If the US finishes second in the group, as I think they will, they will face the first place team from Group A. Group A consists of the Netherlands, Senegal, Qatar, and Ecuador. I think the US could handle Ecuador and Qatar pretty easily, but it gets tricky from there. Senegal have become a very good team in Africa, led by Sadio Mané, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Édouard Mendy. This could be a tough task for the USMNT, though if they played a good game, they have potential. The Netherlands have fielded a good team, but there are holes in it. If the US puts together a near perfect game, they can win this game. That could put the US through to the Quarter Finals. Here the US would likely have to face Lionel Messi and Argentina, and there is no viable way the United States wins this game. All in all I think Americans would be happy with this, and it would be a great base to build on before the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

**Quotes have been edited for clarity.