On Wednesday morning, USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter announced the roster for a pair of friendlies in late September.
The United States has two games scheduled for later this month, both against World Cup teams. On September 23, the USMNT fights Japan in Düsseldorf, Germany. Then, four days later, the United States travels to Murcia, Spain, to play Saudi Arabia.
This pair of games matters for a number of reasons, both as far as the players and the coach are concerned. For Gregg Berhalter, it’s his chance to see which tactics or players work best against strong opposition. While Japan and Saudi Arabia are underdogs for the World Cup, they present an opportunity for styles of play unfamiliar to those traditionally played by Americans. The unpredictability of the World Cup requires testing to be successful. This American team is untested at the World Cup with so little experience after missing out on 2018.
The USMNT roster for September has only one player with World Cup experience, Deandre Yedlin. He made three substitute appearances in the United States’ four games in Brazil.
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Gregg Berhalter calls up 26 players for the upcoming matches against Japan and Saudi Arabia » https://t.co/dAbRUfceXA#USMNT x @BioSteelSports pic.twitter.com/OybYQvBKiu
— US Men’s National Soccer Team (@USMNT) September 14, 2022
USMNT roster for September friendlies
For those players, some see these next two games as a chance to get into the final World Cup squad list. In early September, Berhalter said his World Cup squad is 85% complete.
The big focus here is on the striker position. Gregg Berhalter called up four true forwards as there is no clear candidate for the job. Ricardo Pepi, Josh Sargent, Jesús Ferreira and Jordan Morris are the four names looking to get on the plane to Qatar. The upcoming friendlies are perhaps their last chance to make a good impression.
Also, there are some names not included due to injuries that are expected to be on the final World Cup list. For example, Tim Weah is still out, opening the door for another striker. The same applies to Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, who was injured earlier in the month.
goalkeepers
Ethan Horvath (Luton Town), Sean Johnson (New York City FC), Matt Turner (Arsenal).
defenders
Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Sergiño Dest (AC Milan), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Sam Vines (Royal Antwerp), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC).
midfielders
Kellyn Acosta (LAFC), Tyler Adams (Leeds United), Luca de la Torre (Celta de Vigo), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Malik Tillman (Rangers).
Forward
Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Ricardo Pepi (Groningen), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Josh Sargent ( city ​​of Norwich).
PHOTO: IMAGO / Icon Sportswire
