A good mix of young talent and grizzled vets will try to lift the US to their first Gold Cup win since 2017.
By Sanjay Sujanthakumar
Part II of an already memorable summer for the USMNT kicks off on Sunday night vs. Haiti in Kansas City. After beating Mexico in an absolute emotional rollercoaster of a CONCACAF Nations League final – I’ll leave it at that because no words can adequately encapsulate what happened in Denver last month – and winning the inaugural Concacaf Nations League, Gregg Berhalter’s focus is now on his second Gold Cup as the boss. As expected, he’s not bringing his strongest side.
“The major European players were going to get time off after Nations League,” Berhalter told the media this week. “Some other players that are in critical situations in Europe, we felt that it was more important for them to be in preseason with their team, and give them a good chance of making a positive impact with their new coaching staff and with their club, rather than to be in Gold Cup.”
Despite Mexico and others calling up closer to their varsity squads, Berhalter is not compromising on the mission for this tournament. “First and foremost, our priority is to win the Gold Cup,” Berhalter said. “We don’t want to look at this as an experimental team. We want to look at this as a team that could compete to win the Gold Cup. Let’s be really clear with that. And that’s going to be our expectation.”
In the absence of the U20 World Cup and the Olympics as platforms for international exposure, there was no shortage of young talent at Berhalter’s disposal. While this squad is balanced with plenty of veterans, sprinkled in among them are several kids, a few of whom could definitely change the depth chart over the next few weeks. With World Cup qualifying approaching, Berhalter is keen on introducing them to CONCACAF in official competition at the senior level prior to September’s Octagon opener.
“The second priority is looking at virtually a completely different player pool, preparing them for competitive qualifying in the fall in this format. And the Gold Cup is competitive fixtures. We know the games are going to be difficult. And by the end of this tournament, we’re going to have virtually the entire player pool prepared for the fall World Cup qualifying,” the US head man explained.
The US won’t be able to sleepwalk past Haiti Sunday, a side that always plays the Americans tough. The Americans face Martinque Thursday followed by the group stage finale vs. Canada next weekend – and while the Canadians are without Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies– any border rivalry is a challenge.
“It’s no secret, it’s a little bit more of a challenging group than some of the other ones. Haiti’s a team that took Mexico to extra time in the last Gold Cup. It’s gonna be intense, but I think everybody here is up for the challenge,” said goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Here’s an analysis of the roster, and as usual there’s some big picture thoughts about the whole pool stirred in.
The Gold Cup is a huge opportunity for Miles Robinson to stake a claim to a CB role ahead of World Cup qualifying.
A huge opportunity for Miles Robinson and others in the US defense
In the back, Berhalter confirmed that – as expected – Miles Robinson and Walker Zimmerman will be the starting pair at CB, and Sam Vines and George Bello will battle for the LB spot. Berhalter said Julian Araujo was not ready to be cap-tied – Araujo’s hesitance and Ayo Akinola committing to Canada are signs of the good type of problem that is a deepening, improving pool – so Shaq Moore will back up Reggie Cannon at RB.
This is a massive opportunity for Robinson – who’s arguably the top 1v1 CB in the pool and whose distribution has improved – to show he belongs in the A squad. Robinson only has three caps to date – 2 of them came as a second half sub in 2019, and the lone start was in a 7-0 victory vs Trinidad in January – and, like his Atlanta teammate Bello, wasn’t released for Olympic qualifying in March. Beyond John Brooks, Chris Richards, and Mark McKenzie – the US CB pecking order is unclear. McKenzie’s stock increased during the previous window and he was resilient vs Mexico despite early mistakes, likely attributable to his calmness and adjustment to the speed of that game. That leaves space for Robinson (or Zimmerman) to stake their claim.
Erik Palmer-Brown was in camp in March but has not made an appearance under Berhalter, and Cameron Carter-Vickers only camp and appearance under Berhalter was in 2019. Along with Matt Miazga, that duo are in that “uncertain club situation and/or can’t-miss preseason” category, but barring an injury crisis, it’s unlikely that EPB and CCV are options in the fall.
Chris Richards on the move?
Richards is beginning his preseason with Bayern Munich but he’s probably headed back to Hoffenheim for another loan. Richards remaining a regular for a decent Bundesliga club through this year of qualifying would be reassuring news for the USMNT. Bayern do rate him, and it’s not crazy to believe he could crack their lineup in the not so distant future, but can the United States wait until after Qatar to find that out? It could get tricky next summer if he’s (still) borderline Bayern material and there’s uncertainty about the next step in his career just a few months away from the World Cup.
Could the Gold Cup be an inflection point in Reggie Cannon’s career?
Fullback: plenty of depth, fewer solutions as qualifying nears
Aside from Sergiño Dest there are still no convincing solutions at fullback on either side. DeAndre Yedlin’s decent shift vs Mexico likely leaves him as the other default No. 1 option at the moment, while Reggie Cannon has another shot to prove he’s reliable on the right. He’s one of a few players on the roster in the shop window right now, and this Gold Cup could be an inflection point in his career.
“What I’ve seen from Reggie over these last two years is he made great strides in his game and has really taken his game to the next level. And now we’re looking for that consistency, where it’s not much range in terms of his performance. I think he can do that,” Berhalter said. “We know he’s really good in the attacking end, and now we wanna work on him defensively in 1v1 situations so he can dominate there as well.”
Indeed, Cannon’s defending will have to be sharp to seal a starting spot in the full strength unit. Berhalter reiterated that he could not take Bryan Reynolds away from preseason with Roma’s new manager Jose Mourinho – who’s not exactly renowned for developing kids – but Cannon’s former FC Dallas teammate is the only other right back (assuming Dest is LB) with an elite attacking ceiling.
On the left side, Vines has more MLS and national team experience than Bello, is defensively solid and is the safer bet for the opener. But Bello and Kevin Paredes – Paredes and his DC United teammate and midfielder Moses Nyeman trained with the team, though they’re not in the squad – are more appealing as wingbacks. In a recent interview Berhalter mentioned Paredes as a possibility at fullback, but he and Bello aren’t A team LB material just yet (keep an eye on Paredes).
James Sands offers the US tactical versatility
The key to the back 3 that would enable wingbacks is James Sands, who’s finally in his first MNT camp. “He’s a guy that we wanted to include in both the December camp and the January camp and he just wasn’t able to because of his fitness,” said Berhalter, adding that because Sands was out since October, he wasn’t considered for Olympic qualifying in March. Berhalter noted that both Sands and Donovan Pines, the fourth CB on the roster, lack international experience but have played in a back 3 with their clubs and “you could potentially see that” in the Gold Cup.
Positionally, Sands seems to be settling as a CB with NYCFC instead of the 6, regardless of whether it’s a back 3 or a back 4. I’ve been a Sands stan since he broke through for NYCFC in 2019 because he reads the game well and keeps it simple on the ball. He’s bulked up a bit, his passing range has progressed, and I’m pumped for Sands minutes as much as anything else this roster has to offer.
Let’s talk about Gianluca Busio for a hot minute
The most interesting call-up is Gianluca Busio. I honestly thought Busio was rather overrated in his youth national team days and even after his positional renaissance I’m not quite sold, no matter which Serie A club buys him (sounds like Venezia). It’s been difficult to disentangle hype deriving from his actual performances vs. the perpetual transfer speculation that is surely somewhat courtesy of his Italian passport. Set pieces aside, I don’t think he’s very impactful offensively and defensively he’s gotta grow into the responsibilities of a CM.
But I’ll never complain about any kids getting a chance, and the fact that Berhalter is intrigued by the 19-year old Busio balances his persistence with Jackson Yueill in my book. If ever there were a time to let him get out there and let him flash his wares- it’s a Gold Cup group stage.
“I’ve been really impressed with the way he’s playing, mostly at the No. 6, but also we see him being able to play an attacking midfield position,” Berhatler said about Busio. “It’s about timing, it’s about form, and his time has come. He’s done a great job, I’m really looking forward to getting him in camp and working with him. But also, testing him at international level. You guys will see him on the field.”
And about the rest of the US midfield…
Busio said he’s been practicing as both a 6 and an 8. Kellyn Acosta and Eryk Williamson are the other candidates at the 6 on this roster, although neither of them are primarily a single pivot 6 with their clubs (yet). Sebastian Lletget and Cristian Roldan round out the CM contingent as 8s. I’m not sure if Roldan’s role with his club – and therefore his form – will ever translate to when he represents his country. This will be his third Gold Cup and if he can’t stake his claim, the pool will leave him behind. He’s a splendid club player, but at some point, a signature US Men’s National Team performance would seem necessary.
Acosta and Lletget will likely start vs Haiti, with the third CM- and therefore the arrangement of the trio- a question mark. We’ve seen a degree of fluidity with the first string midfield three of Adams, McKennie and Musah that could also characterize the approach in the coming games. “I love it. I think there’s a lot of versatility… if you could imagine a midfield that can move around and shift around and not stay in one position, and at one time one guy play the attacking midfield and the other guy play the six. So I really like the midfield. I think that could be the strength of this group. In theory, it’s great. We’ll see how it works in practice though,” said Berhalter.
The Gold Cup midfield is all about the 6
So while this isn’t an experimental squad in terms of personnel, Berhalter acknowledged that tactically it is, to an extent, experimental.
Whether it works largely depends on the 6. Whether you interpret it as a single pivot or a flexible, three man “trivot” – coined by Greg Velasquez of the Scuffed podcast – there is a fundamental difference between that and a double pivot (preferably crowned by a 10 in a 4-2-3-1) that even the midfield depth pieces of the MNT are well-suited for. Acosta, Lletget and Williamson are natural holding mids (so is Tanner Tessmann, who’s MLS minutes and roster hopes in recent weeks cratered because a move to the same club as Busio was brewing, but unlike Busio he’s taking a non-EU roster spot).
Having said that, I’m excited to see the trivot in action so long as someone other than Yueill gets their fair share of minutes at the 6 (probably Acosta).
Luca, Luca, Luca
One of the CMs knocking on the door of the World Cup qualifying squad is Luca de la Torre. “Luca” decided to prioritize his club preseason over an extended audition with the national team, but hopefully a couple of friendly cameos in March was a sufficient foundation for Berhalter to call up the silky San Diego native in September. Luca is one of a few, more offensive options to be a part of the trivot, and the US should accommodate a CM of that profile in addition to 3 two-way 8s in a 23.
Disappointing to miss out on Caden Clark and Paxton Pomykal
Caden Clark also fits the profile of a more offensive 8, and no Clark nor Paxton Pomykal on this roster is a major bummer. In terms of quality and upside I don’t think anyone on this roster touches those two midfielders. Clark, who was listed as a midfielder on the provisional roster and not a forward (he’s a potential “half-space merchant,” another Scuffed vocab word), underwent an appendectomy and missed the last four games for the Red Bulls prior to the tournament.
“He was a guy who I was really looking forward to working with,” Berhalter told the media this week. “(Caden is a) Really good player, really good spatial awareness, a really good balance with turning between the lines, really good vision for the final pass, and the ability to score a goal. It’s really unfortunate how things work out sometimes. But we know that this kid has a bright future and we’re going to continue to monitor him when he goes to Leipzig and the remainder of the season,” Berhalter said.
Prior to the Switzerland friendly, Berhalter said Gio Reyna “is developing what his best position is gonna be. I don’t think he’s completely there yet. And it’s normal, he’s 18 years old.” The same is true for Clark, and we’ll see how/where on the pitch Jesse Marsch molds him, but the 4-2-3-1 featuring Clark or Reyna as a 10 a year from now sounds tempting (or sooner with Reyna as the 10 and Weah wide).
Pomykal’s minutes in MLS are still being managed – he’s only started once – but there was surprisingly not a single member of FCD on this roster.
“Paxton’s an example of a guy who’s just getting back to fitness and he’s just a little bit late on where he’s at,” Berhalter said. “Jesus Ferreira is another guy, Ricardo Pepi is another guy, they were right on the cusp of it but there hasn’t been enough yet to show that they need to be involved in this. Paxton’s a good player and we’re looking forward to seeing how he can push on and perform really well with Dallas, same thing with Jesus and same thing with (Pepi). We’re very comfortable with (Ferreira) but he’s been out for a while and he was on the other side of it this time,” Berhalter said.
I still think Pomykal is worth the call-up as a supersub now and in qualifying – maybe those who know a lot more about his fitness and/or the crunch in the recovery period disagree – but anyway, woven into Berhalter’s response is a perfect segue to the forwards.
The forward pool has plenty to prove
Daryl Dike and Gyasi Zardes at striker as well as Paul Arriola on the wing were all locks. Zardes and Arriola are valued for their leadership and industry and they’ll be in qualifying camps. How valued is Arriola? “It would take a lot to displace (Arriola) from a spot in Qatar if he’s healthy,” a US assistant told TYAC this week.
Jonathan Lewis is the consensus mystifying inclusion, especially in light of Berhalter’s explanation for omitting the FCD youngsters. Prior to the roster announcement, Lewis had 280 minutes and one goal in MLS, while Ferreira – despite missing the first 7 games due to injury – had 212 minutes and an assist, while Pepi had started half of FCD’s games and scored 4 goals. I’m not upset that the Ferreira-Pepi partnership can percolate uninterrupted by national team duty, but Ferreira in particular seemed like a Berhalter favorite, and maybe this puts to bed the idea of falseness at the 9 (that discussion was semantics, the 9 will still need to link the play and occasionally do it deep).
In terms of a true winger instead of Lewis, Chris Mueller is the obvious, frustrating exclusion. Matthew Hoppe and Nicholas Gioacchini are the other forwards rostered, and both being considered wingers is somewhat strange. Perhaps they’re playing even more narrow than anticipated, but Berhalter acknowledged that deploying them as (nominal) wingers is a less conventional plan.
“I don’t think we have true wingers in the group. We have Hoppe and Lewis slated at left winger and we have Paul Arriola and Nicolas Gioacchini slated for right winger,” Berhalter said. “Two of them you can argue are center forwards. So that could be another position where we’re lacking some depth. But we think Matthew Hoppe with his movement, with his repeated sprint, will be able to execute the role that we’re talking about pretty well.”
While those runs can be problematic coming from wider areas, Hoppe’s clever verticality could complement Dike really well if he’s operating closer to the Orlando City hitman. If the Yanks reach a semifinal or final vs Mexico and there’s space to exploit on the counter, those two could be dangerous together.
The Gold Cup is a final showcase for Hoppe, who is reportedly leaving Schalke. And as we wait for Werder Bremen to offload Josh Sargent to a Bundesliga team, can Dike continue his meteoric rise by seizing the No. 1 striker spot with a strong tournament and forcing a European club to meet Orlando City’s $20 million asking price.
Berhalter was quick to sing Dike’s praises. “It’s been incredible how he’s developed. I remember watching him against UNC when he was at Virginia and seeing a really strong player, physical player, but rough player. And he’s developed really nicely over this last year, worked himself into the team, put himself in the equation to be a starter on this team when everyone’s around. And to me, it’s been a really strong year for him. Now we’re looking forward to getting him into camp again and seeing what he can do at this level of competitive games,” Berhalter said.
Matt Turner has earned this moment. Can he use a big Gold Cup to propel the US into a goalkeeping controversy? Maybe- but that’s a good problem.
The Matt Turner Show
I hope Dike gets the keys the way Matt Turner will in goal. Veterans Sean Johnson and Brad Guzan are the other two keepers in camp but this is the Matt Turner show. “These guys at MLS soccer writing article after article about him, about how he good he is, best shot-stopper in the history of the league and all that stuff,” Berhalter said. “To a certain extent I agree with them, I think he’s done a great job. This is a moment for him now to take that next step and show that he can do it on the international level.”
“The attention’s flattering, but my focus is on putting my best foot forward and racking up consistency,” Turner added.
Can Turner trigger a true GK competition with a stellar Gold Cup as we near qualifying? Does Ethan Horvath signing with a club where he’d play every week prompt Berhalter to at least rotate in the fall anyway? Like the striker situation, I’m not concerned about a lack of quality (Horvath just won a final vs Mexico), there’s certainly quantity, and credit to Berhalter for cultivating the spirit and camaraderie of this team brilliantly to ensure the competition stays healthy.
Sanjay Sujanthakumar is a longtime contributor to The Yanks Are Coming. He coaches soccer at the University of Southern California. Follow him on Twitter @https://twitter.com/tha_Real_Kumar.