Today’s the day we do it: We admit that it is no longer mentally sound to pretend the actual USMNT player pool rankings could match Gregg Berhalter’s preferences for the national team.
Whether you believe him when it comes to the importance of form, versatility, and performances in the shirt -- as well as whether he adheres to those criteria, it’s virtually impossible to figure out what’s going on in his head.
Given two friendlies against fellow World Cup entrants to sort out his center backs and center forwards, let’s break down the minutes and starts handed out.
[ MORE: Saudi Arabia vs USMNT analysis, recap ]
At center back, Walker Zimmerman started both games as expected and went 180 minutes. Injuries to Cameron Carter-Vickers and Chris Richards cost Berhalter the chance to evaluate them during this camp, and the USMNT boss handed two starts to Aaron Long.
Long has neither been starter-level strong in his performances for the USMNT and hasn’t starred for Red Bulls, but he still chewed up 104 of a possible 180 minutes next to Zimmerman, doing things like this:
Mark McKenzie got all of the minutes in Long’s place, meaning Erik Palmer-Brown is either hurt or his club Troyes now hates the USMNT for bringing him out for the glory of training and warm-ups. To be fair, Berhalter only used one goalkeeper as well.
As for center forwards, they were starved this week. Berhalter handed a start to Jesus Ferreira against Japan and he had the best chance of the bunch, thudding a header over the goal on the States’ best scoring chance of either game. Josh Sargent got the second half of the game.
Ricardo Pepi only had 13 touches in a half-plus versus Saudi Arabia. Ferreira came in and got 10. Put that on the rest of the team, yes, but it only serves to accent Ferreira’s miss versus Japan while Jordan Pefok and Haji Wright just shrugged from their homes in Berlin and Antalya.
And so we’re in a place where what we see from players, whether in the USMNT shirt or from video and stats abroad, just doesn’t fit into the parameters set forth by the USMNT boss.
BUT... we’ve committed to weighing the top 25 players in the USMNT pool from time-to-time. We’ll do that now, but they are simply what we see. Below that we’ll make our best guess as to what Berhalter will do for his 26-man World Cup roster.
Top 26 players in the USMNT player pool right now
Before we go any further with this list, here’s a reminder of how we sort the talent with some ground rules:
- The ranking is meant to illustrate who would be most likely to positively affect a USMNT match, regardless of manager or teammates, right now.
- Health doesn’t matter to our rankings if a current injury isn’t one that could drastically alter the player’s skill set
moving forwardat the World Cup. - Age/potential/experience doesn’t matter either, at least not much; It’s how likely you are to contribute to the team if put on the field right now. Obviously, Paxton Aaronson is a better long-term prospect than Jordan Morris, but the Seattle Sounders forward is currently better prepared for the stage than the Philadelphia Union youngster.
- Finally, if you’re breaking a tie between players… ask which you’d be more upset to hear was unavailable for a USMNT camp.
- Tyler Adams, Leeds United (2)
- Yunus Musah, Valencia (3)
- Christian Pulisic, Chelsea (4)
- Brenden Aaronson, Leeds United (5)
- Antonee Robinson, Fulham (7)
- Jordan Pefok, Union Berlin (6)
- Weston McKennie, Juventus (1)
- Walker Zimmerman, Nashville SC (9)
- Giovanni Reyna, Borussia Dortmund (8)
- Timothy Weah, Lille (14)
- Cameron Carter-Vickers, Celtic (16)
- Chris Richards, Crystal Palace (11)
- Sergino Dest, AC Milan (10)
- Tim Ream, Fulham (17)
- John Brooks, Benfica (NR)
- Josh Sargent, Norwich City (12)
- Joe Scally, Borussia Monchengladbach (18)
- Matt Turner, Arsenal (21)
- Luca de la Torre, Celta Vigo (22)
- Jesus Ferreira, FC Dallas (13)
- DeAndre Yedlin, Inter Miami (NR)
- Djordje Mihailovic, CF Montreal (23)
- Haji Wright, Antalyaspor (19)
- Gianluca Busio, Venezia (NR)
- Kellyn Acosta, LAFC (25)
- Erik Palmer-Brown, Troyes (15)
Predicting Gregg Berhalter’s USMNT roster for World Cup*
*if tournament started today
Goalkeepers (3): Zack Steffen, Middlesbrough; Matt Turner, Arsenal; Sean Johnson, NYCFC. Last man out: Ethan Horvath, Luton Town
Defenders (8): Sergino Dest, AC Milan; Antonee Robinson, Fulham; DeAndre Yedlin, Inter Miami; Joe Scally, Borussia Monchengladbach; Walker Zimmerman, Nashville SC; Aaron Long, New York Red Bulls; Cameron Carter-Vickers, Celtic; Chris Richards, Crystal Palace. Last man out: Tim Ream, Fulham
Midfielders (8): Tyler Adams, Leeds; Weston McKennie, Juventus; Luca de la Torre, Celta Vigo; Yunus Musah, Valencia; Kellyn Acosta, LAFC; Malik Tillman, Rangers; Cristian Roldan, Seattle Sounders; James Sands, Rangers.
Forwards (7): Christian Pulisic, Chelsea; Brenden Aaronson, Leeds; Giovanni Reyna, Borussia Dortmund; Timothy Weah, Lille; Paul Arriola, FC Dallas; Jesus Ferreira, FC Dallas; Jordan Morris, Seattle Sounders.
How to Stream the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
You can live stream the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Peacock in Spanish, or on FOX and FS1 in English.
- When: November 20, 2022 to December 18, 2022
- Group stage game kick-off times: 5am, 8am, 11am, 2pm (all ET)
- Location: Qatar
- TV channel in English: Fox
- TV channels in Spanish: Telemundo, Universo, Peacock
- World Cup in Spanish: Peacock
RELATED: 2022 Qatar preview, rules, format, rosters, match info & more
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