USMNT; Can't Spell 'Musah' Without 'USA'

USMNT 2022 World Cup Squad Prediction pt.2

This is an amazing time to be a USMNT (United States Men’s National Team) fan. For those who may have missed it, Yunus Musah, a highly sought after youngster, chose to represent the USMNT at the international level.

I for one was hopeful, but expected him to pledge his allegiance to the English National Team, especially since they lost a talented youngster in their own right in Jamal Musiala to Germany.

Those Musah represented the US in a friendly this year, that didn’t nail his future to the US, since it wasn’t a competitive match-up. Along with England and the US, Musah was also eligible to represent Ghana or Italy. Thankfully for us USMNT fans, he chose to represent the US.

This is easily the best time to be a USMNT fan. The players the US has at its disposal is mouth watering. From Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie to Giovanni Reyna and Sergino Dest, the future is looking very bright for the US.

A couple months ago I made a post try to predict the US’ 2022 World Cup squad. Though I knew going in it wasn’t going to be perfect, I still wanted to try and put a decent squad out there.

Ever since then, some things have changed, like Jordan Morris tearing his ACL again and Yunus Musah declaring for the US. So I’d like to make another blog post addressing the highly anticipated 2022 World Cup (if the US make it that is).

In my last post, I didn’t know whether or not Musah would join the US, so I left him out. But now that he’s 100% in, I can throw him into the squad, and maybe even the starting lineup.

Goalkeeper

Pictured; Zack Steffen

At goalkeeper, we stay pretty much the same as last time. Zack Steffen still remains the unquestioned number one for the United States.

Not only is Zack Steffen the unanimous choice as the USMNT's number one, he's also one of three - four players that should be considered for the captaincy.

Competing for the back-up spots are Club Brugge’s Ethan Horvath, New England Revolutions Matt Turner, NYCFC’s Sean Johnson, DC United’s Bill Hamid, Leicester City’s Chituru Odunze, and San Jose Earthquakes JT Marcinkowski.

For me, the two goalkeepers most likely to back-up Steffen remain the same as last time, with Sean Johnson and Ethan Horvath deputising for the Man City shot stopper. That being said, Matt Turner and Chituru Odunze have been getting some love from Gregg Berhalter, so maybe look at those two closely as well, especially since Horvath has been struggling for games at Club Brugge.

GK Depth Chart

• Zack Steffen, Manchester City

• Sean Johnson, NYCFC

• Ethan Horvath, Club Brugge

Right Back

Pictured; Sergino Dest

Right back, like goalkeeper, is as close to a lock as you can get. Unless Sergino Dest dies, I don’t see him losing the starting right back spot to anyone. That being said, Dest can deputise at left back, as he did for Ajax. That would be the only way he doesn’t start for the USMNT.

As his back-up, I’d say it’s between Boavista’s Reggie Cannon and Roma’s Bryan Reynolds.

For those who are unaware, Bryan Reynolds has been a hot topic around the world of soccer. Before signing with Roma, Reynolds was linked with another Italian giant in the form of Juventus.

In a big milestone for Reynolds, he made his senior team debut for Roma in a 2-0 loss to Parma the other day. Though they lost, Reynolds got an important 30 minutes of action, which is huge for his development.

Reggie Cannon, on the other hand, has made 20 appearances for Portugese side Boavista, playing the fourth most minutes for the team this season. Though they could be relegated, Boavista have a nice history of developing young players.

Right now, I think Cannon still has the edge over Bryan Reynolds. Both came from the FC Dallas academy and are making some moves in Europe, which is exciting to see.

Though I think Reynolds could close the gap, Cannon’s getting valuable playing time in a top league, which should give him the edge over the younger Bryan Reynolds.

RB Depth Chart

• Sergino Dest, Barcelona

• Reggie Cannon, Boavista

Center Back

Pictured; Chris Richards

Along with striker, this is probably the most highly contested position on the field for the United States. The only thing I can promise you cas readers is that John Brooks will be starter for the US in Qatar, as long as he stays healthy. Other than John Brooks, I can’t really guarantee anything.

Players like Aaron Long, Walker Zimmerman, Matt Miazga, Chris Richards, Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson, and the almost forgotten Erik Palmer-Brown are or have made appearances for the USMNT since Berhalter took over.

If we’re going off patterns, I would guess that Aaron Long would go on the plane to Qatar. Though he’s battled some inconsistency and had a move to West Ham fall through, Berhalter really trusts Long in the heart of the defense.

Long was the first captain under Berhalter and has always come up big for the United States when called upon.

When John Brooks has been out injured, which has been often, Berhalter has often called on Walker Zimmerman and Matt Miazga to fill the hole next to Aaron Long. Though Walker Zimmerman is the reigning MLS Defender of the Year, I think Matt Miazga is more likely to be on the plane than Zimmerman.

Miazga has featured more times than any center back other than John Brooks on the current books of the USMNT and I think Berhalter really values his leadership at the back.

Last time, I gave the final center back spot to Mark McKenzie. This time, I’m going to do the right thing and give the spot to Bayern Munich/Hoffenheim’s Chris Richards.

The big thing for me about Richards was the lack of playing time, but ever since joining Hoffenheim, he’s been ever present in their starting lineup, starting in six of their last seven games. Taking the left center back position in a back three.

Getting game time is important for these young players and Richards is now getting a ton of it. With Richards playing the way he is, it’s hard for me to imagine him not on the plane to Qatar.

CB Depth Chart

• John Brooks, Wolfsburg

• Aaron Long, New York Red Bulls

• Matt Miazga, Anderlecht (Chelsea)

• Chris Richards, Hoffenheim (Bayern Munich)

Left Back

Pictured; Antonee Robinson

Where the US has a lot of depth at almost every position, they don’t really have it here. Though there’s not a ton of depth, we do know who’ll be the starter in Qatar, Fulham’s Antonee Robinson.

Along with Robinson, the rest of the left backs include Robinson's Fulham teammate Tim Ream, Colorado Rapids’ Sam Vines, and (I guess) Sergino Dest. There’s more, but that’s pretty much it.

Looking at this, whoever you bring as the other left back will not see any minutes in the 2022 World Cup. Like I said above, if anything happens to Robinson, Dest will slot over to left back. With that in mind, I think it’d be wise to bring Tim Ream.

For what Ream would provide with on the field product, he’d provide leadership and experience. Out of the current crop of players the US has at their disposal, Ream is by far the oldest, age 33. With the only other two above 30 being the aforementioned Sean Johnson and Jozy Altidore, both 31.

I think Ream would be an excellent player to bring for the US. Again, he’s not going to play, but his experience would be something no one else really can provide in the US’ defense.

LB Depth Chart

• Antonee Robinson, Fulham

• Tim Ream, Fulham

Defensive Midfield

Pictured; Tyler Adams

Ever since Berhalter has become the manager of the USMNT, he has typically deployed a 4-3-3 formation. I think we all know who’s going to start at the base of that midfield three. It’s going to be Tyler Adams.

Along with Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams has been hyped as one of the best youngsters the US has at their disposal. Though he has deputized at right back, this is Tyler Adams’ position to lose.

Though it’s easy to sit here and say Tyler Adams will start as the holding midfielder for the US, his back-up is a lot harder to predict.

Players that will be in consideration are San Jose’s Jackson Yueill, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Owen Otasowie, Internacional’s Johnny Cardoso, even to a certain extent Kellyn Acosta, who’s not a number six but could play there if needed.

Though I think Jackson Yueill is the safe pick as he’s the most experienced, I think Owen Otasowie will pass Yueill at some point before the 2022 World Cup.

The thing I like about Otasowie is that, like Adams, he is versatile. Deputizing at defensive midfield, center back, and even attacking midfield while playing for Wolves in the Premier League.

I think one thing Berhalter has valued in his time as the USMNT manager is versatility, which is ultimately why I am taking Owen Otasowie over a player like Jackson Yueill.

CDM Depth Chart

• Tyler Adams, RB Leipzig

• Owen Otasowie, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Central Midfield

Pictured; Christian Pulisic & Weston McKennie

As I stated at the start of the CDM list, Berhalter has deployed a 4-3-3 formation more often than not in his time as USMNT manager. Right, wrong, or otherwise, he has loved playing a midfield three of Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, and Christian Pulisic.

The first two make sense, as they are natural center midfielders. Pulisic on the other hand, you could argue that he’s being played out of position, and there are facts to that argument.

In his time at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, Pulisic has almost exclusively played as a left winger. It’s only in his time with the US where we see Pulisic drift into a more central position.

On one hand, you should play a player in their natural position. On the other hand it does make sense. Berhalter wants his best player, Pulisic, to have the ball more often than not. Playing him as a number eight or 10 provides Pulisic the chances to get on the ball more and create more plays for the USMNT.

As Berhalter said in an interview a while ago, “I think Christian’s best role is when he has the freedom to be flexible, because we know he can beat players wide, but we also know he can get final passes in the middle.”

“What I can tell you is that it’s highly unlikely that we’re going to put him in a position where he’s only asked to do one thing, because that doesn’t match his skill set.”

“He’s a game-changer you need to put in position to be able to change the game in a number of areas. I think the areas he’s going to be effective will change from game to game based on the opponent.”

If you look at the bigger games the US has played in, i.e. the Gold Cup, Berhalter has deployed Pulisic as the attacking midfield role on the left side of the midfield three in order to keep him on the ball, which has worked well for the USMNT.

Where Pulisic will be deployed in the more attacking role, McKennie will be deployed in a more box-to-box role for the USMNT. With Pulisic making a lot of forward runs, McKennie and Adams will have to cover for him in defense.

In his time at Juventus, McKennie has developed into a very promising box-to-box midfielder. So much so that a recent report stated Juventus want to build around McKennie (among other young players). Which is exciting as a USMNT supporter.

Over these past few months, especially since McKennie’s been at Juventus, you could make the argument that the torch has been passed from Pulisic to McKennie as the USMNT’s best overall player. Though I’m not ready to commit to that, a good argument could certainly be made.

What I am ready to say is that I now is I think Weston McKennie could be the USMNT's next captain. I think it's between McKennie, Pulisic, Zack Steffen, John Brooks, and Tyler Adams.

In the biggest game in his time as USMNT, the 2019 Gold Cup Final against Mexico, Berhalter named McKennie captain. I think Steffen is a good shout, but I think McKennie's standing at Juventus and his leadership in this young team could make him the next USMNT captain.

The starting midfield is easily the strongest point for the USMNT. Even if we look towards the bench we have Brenden Aaronson, Sebastian Lletget, Kellyn Acosta, Cristian Roldan, Richy Ledezma, Gianluca Busio, and the recently added Yunus Musah (who can play either on the wing or in midfield).

I think the two best options to backup Pulisic and McKennie are Brenden Aaronson and Sebastian Lletget.

Like I said above, Berhalter values versatility, and Sebastian Lletget has it in bunches. Playing every position in the midfield and attack since Berhalter’s been the USMNT’s manager.

Much like Ream, Lletget would provide a lot of experience for the USMNT. At 28 years old, he’d easily be the oldest in this midfield group for the US. He’s also a very silky and calm presence in the midfield and would be able to fill either McKennie or Pulisic’s roles fairly easily.

Brenden Aaronson on the other hand is a natural number 10. Since playing for Jesse Marsch at RB Salzburg, he has scored two goals in six appearances (three starts). He’s got a lot of potential and, God forbid, anything happen to Pulisic, Aaronson could fill that role.

With Lletget backing up McKennie and Aaronson backing up Pulisic, the USMNT can feel confident with whoever they throw into the midfield in Qatar.

CM Depth Chart

• Christian Pulisic, Chelsea

• Weston McKennie, Juventus

• Brenden Aaronson, RB Salzburg

• Sebastian Lletget, LA Galaxy

Wings

Pictured; Yunus Musah

Much like the starting central midfielders, I think the starters for the wings are now set thanks to Yunus Musah choosing the United States over England.

Though in Musah’s recent call ups to the USMNT, Berhalter has played him in that “Pulisic role.” Playing him as a number eight as opposed to the position he plays while playing for Valencia, right wing.

Even though Musah played as a central midfielder in his first couple games, with Pulisic back in the fray, I see Musah slotting in at right wing. The other wing will unsurprisingly be occupied by Giovanni Reyna.

Since the start of this season, Giovanni Reyna has been ballin out for the Bundesliga giants. Moving from a position more central to playing at both right and left wing, which is where he’ll continue to play for the USMNT.

This season for Dortmund, Reyna has appeared in 16 games (seven off the bench) and has registered three goals and four assists. Those assist numbers rank equal to that of Erling Haland and only rank two behind club captain Marco Reus.

At Dortmund, Reyna has shown his fluidity and versatility, playing very well wherever they throw him, whether it be at right wing or left wing. It basically depends on wherever Jadon Sancho wants to play.

So yeah, I think it’s safe to say that Musah will be starting on the right with Giovanni Reyna starting on the left. Much like the midfield three, I think we can almost lock this prediction in.

As far as their back-up options go, there are a few options. Players like Paul Arriola, Chris Mueller, Jonathan Lewis, Sebastian Soto, Timothy Weah, Ulysses Llanez, Konrad de la Fuente, and Jordan Morris will face stiff competition for those final two wing spots for the USMNT come 2022.

Though I think Jordan Morris deserves to go, he is going to be coming off yet another ACL injury. Making that two ACL tears in the span of two or so years. You hate to see it but I think it’ll be very hard for him to find a seat on the plane based on his injury history. Hopefully he comes back stronger and gets his spot back but for now, he’s missing out.

One player I think will find a way on the plane is Timothy Weah. For a while there, it seemed almost guaranteed that Weah would start on the wing for the USMNT for years to come. But a lack of form at club level has seen his stock drop down a little bit since his time at PSG.

That being said, I do think Berhalter has faith in Weah, as seen in Weah’s last appearance for the USMNT. I think Weah would provide a nice spark off the bench, whether that be on the wings or even as an emergency striker. That certainly helps his cause.

This one will be interesting because I don’t necessarily know or think Berhalter will bring a fourth winger or not.

Looking at the recent track record of Berhalter, he usually likes to bring up three strikers. Now, unless someone starts going off from the Chris Mueller, Paul Arriola, and Konrad de la Fuente camps, I don’t know if he’ll bring a fourth winger, especially with Pulisic’s ability as a winger.

W Depth Chart

• Giovanni Reyna, Borussia Dortmund

• Yunus Musah, Valencia

• Timothy Weah, Lille

Striker

Pictured; Daryl Dike

Like I said above with the center back position, the striker spot has the most question marks surrounding it. Not only concerning the depth of the position, but even about who’s going to start for the USMNT. We don’t really know anything about this position at this point and time.

Players like Jozy Altidore, Gyasi Zardes, Daryl Dike, Josh Sargent, Ayo Akinola, Nicholas Gioacchini, Jesus Ferreira, and Matthew Hoppe all have resumes worthy enough to get them on the plane to Qatar.

If I were to list two almost guarantees, I’d say Gyasi Zardes and Josh Sargent. For Sargent, he’s been hyped as the next great USMNT striker ever since he was in high school. Now playing for Werder Bremen, he’s arguably the most in form out of all the players available.

For Zardes, this is a case of his being one of Berhalter’s favorite players. Much like Aaron Long and Sebastian Lletget, Zardes almost always features when the US are playing.

In Berhalter’s first season as the USMNT manager, (started December 2018), Zardes featured 14 times and scored six goals. Even managing to play in 2020 even though Berhalter was almost exclusively only calling up youngsters.

These are two players that Berhalter likes and, honestly, I’d be shocked if these two weren’t on the plane to Qatar.

For the final spot on the plane, I think it comes between the experience in Jozy Altidore and the youthfulness in Daryl Dike.

One thing I’d like to add about Altidore is the fact that he hasn’t earned an international cap since 2019, and has only received six caps since Gregg Berhalter took over as manager.

Another thing that could hurt Altidore is his injury record and inconsistent form at times. Back in October of 2020, Berhalter said, “what I would say is just looking at the striker position in general, I think you have Jozy Altidore who is probably still the most talented that we have in that position, but he’s got fitness issues.”

“Let’s call it what it is. He’s not fit to play 90 minutes, he’s not fit to play at the level we need him to. But he’s still an amazingly talented player, so our goal there is to keep working with him, working with the club to get him up to where he needs to be and hopefully he can get there. But we’re not sure with that, we’re not sure.”

Can the US count on Jozy Altidore anymore? That’s the issue. During the US’ last World Cup, Jozy injured his hamstring early in the first game against Ghana, leaving the US a giant hole in their attack.

The big difference between then and now for the US is that they’ve actually got some depth at the striker position. No need to call on Aron Johannsson to replace Altidore, they’ve actually got gifted strikers behind them.

I think if Berhalter questions Jozy’s availability, I think they bring a similar striker in the mold of Daryl Dike.

Dike has been in the news a lot recently regarding his play, which is a very good thing. Ever since taking a loan move to Championship side Barnsely, Dike took the number 10 shirt and has scored three goals in six league appearances (three off the bench). Also, according to whoscored.com, Dike has been one of the top players for Barnsley since joining. The club are also undefeated since his signing and are sixth in the Championship standings.

Recently Orlando City have been fighting off bids for the talented striker. With the BCC reporting that some “top six” Premier League clubs are offering $10 million plus for the American. (for those unaware, the “top six” refers to Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham)

It seems Daryl Dike’s stock is on the rise. If it keeps going the way it is and Altidore can’t stay healthy or consistant, don’t be surprised if Dike takes his spot to Qatar.

ST Depth Chart

• Gyasi Zardes, Columbus Crew

• Josh Sargent, Werder Bremen

• Daryl Dike, Barnsley (Orlando City)

Starting XI

• GK - Zack Steffen

• RB - Sergino Dest

• CB - Aaron Long

• CB - John Brooks

• LB - Antonee Robinson

• DM - Tyler Adams

• CM - Weston McKennie

• CM - Christian Pulisic

• RW - Yunus Musah

• ST - Gyasi Zardes/Josh Sargent

• LW - Giovanni Reyna

Roster

1. Zack Steffen (PC), GK

2. Sergino Dest, RB

3. Aaron Long, CB

4. Tyler Adams (PC), DM

5. Antonee Robinson, LB

6. John Brooks, CB

7. Giovanni Reyna, W

8. Weston McKennie (PC), CM

9. Gyasi Zardes, ST

10. Christian Pulisic (PC), CM/W

11. Brenden Aaronson, AM

12. Sean Johnson, GK

13. Tim Ream, LB

14. Reggie Cannon, RB

15. Chris Richards, CB

16. Owen Otasowie, DM

17. Sebastian Lletget, CM

18. Yunus Musah, W/CM

19. Josh Sargent, ST

20. Matt Miazga, CB

21. Daryl Dike, ST

22. Ethan Horvath, GK

23. Timothy Weah, W

*PC=possible captain

All in all, no major changes were done to my last projected roster. This is easily the best time to be a fan of the United States Men’s National Team.

Players like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Zack Steffen, Giovanni Reyna, Sergino Dest, and now Yunus Musah are getting me excited for the 2022 World Cup.

Though this is an exciting time, try not to look past the World Cup qualifiers. Remember 2018? Yeah, they weren’t supposed to miss it then, but they did.

The thing is though, this team is a thousand times more talented than that roster. The players playing for these massive clubs across the world are very fun to see. Not only am I excited for the 2022 World Cup, I’m excited for the 2026 World Cup on home soil. Yes it may sound crazy, but the US could actually make some noise during that World Cup.

These next few years are going to be fun!