United States forward Christian Pulisic (10) recognizes the crowd as he is substituted out of the game in the second half during an international friendly soccer match against Morocco, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. The United States won, 3-0. Morocco Vs Usa International Friendly June 1 0045
Syndication: The Enquirer
On Wednesday evening, U.S. Soccer revealed the roster ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Manager Gregg Berhalter announced his final selections for the team he’s taking to Qatar, the U.S.’s first World Cup appearance since 2014 from an event at Brooklyn Steel in New York City.
The squad with the FIFA maximum of 26 players included a few shocks but many tenured players including fan favorite Christian Pulisic, the number 10 from Chelsea. Joining “Captain America” in Qatar is the second youngest team in the World Cup, with an average age of 25 years, 175 days. This is considerably less than the average age of the team the US brought to the last world cup in Brazil, averaging nearly 28 years old in 2014.
Matt Turner, Ethan Horvath, and Sean Johnson were the three goalkeepers announced to the squad. On the defender side, Berhalter chose Cameron Carter-Vickers, Sergino Dest, Aaron Long, Shaq Moore, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Joe Scally, Walker Zimmerman, and DeAndre Yedlin, the only player from the 2014 World Cup to make his return to soccer’s biggest stage.
In midfield, Weston McKennie, Brendan Aaronson, Kellyn Acosta, Tyler Adams, Luca De La Torre, Yunus Musah, and Cristian Roldan made the cut. Joining Pulisic as the goal hungry forwards for the U.S. is Giovanni Reyna, Josh Sargent, Tim Weah, Haji Wright, Jesus Ferreira, and Jordan Morris.
Some notable players were missing from the squad. Zack Steffan, on a loan from Manchester City, missed the cut despite 29 appearances for the team since 2018. Defender John Brooks also missed the cut, furthering the show of youth on the US team. Ricardo Pepi, Jordan Pefok, and Paul Arriola also weren’t included in the team traveling to Qatar.
What the squad may lack in international experience, they make up for in level of competition. This U.S. side features players in some of the biggest leagues across the globe, playing on big stages like the UEFA Champions League in Europe. Players like Pulisic, Sargent, McKennie, and Reyna have been grabbing goals across their respective leagues. And players are drawing in support from their clubs. Brendan Aaronson even has his own song from the Leeds United fans.
The announcement of the 26-man U.S. squad is the next step in the excitement building for the 2022 World Cup. Other countries have finalized their list of players joining them in Qatar including Croatia, Brazil, and Defending Champions France. Each country must submit their final squads by November 13.
The U.S. Men’s National Team will face off against Wales in just 11 days on November 21.
