Slowly but surely, the USMNT program may be “getting it.”
Head coach Gregg Berhalter named his 24-player roster for the November international break. Not one single MLS player is on the squad.
Bravo.
One small step for US soccer, one giant leap for the USMNT.
Granted, they US has never had so many quality international options at their disposal. It’s a positive sign though that when the opportunity arose to select an all international squad, they did.
USMNT 24-player roster
Listing is Club / Caps / Goals
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge/BEL; 4/0), Chituru Odunze (Leicester City/ENG; 0/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 17/0)
DEFENDERS (7): John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 38/3), Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 10/0), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona/ESP; 3/0), Matt Miazga (Anderlecht/BEL; 18/1), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 40/1), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich/GER; 0/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 7/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 10/1), Johnny Cardoso (Internacional/BRA; 0/0), Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 0/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 19/6), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 0/0), Owen Otasowie (Wolverhampton/ENG; 0/0)
FORWARDS (8): Konrad de la Fuente (Barcelona/ESP; 0/0), Nicholas Gioacchini (Caen/FRA; 0/0), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 34/14), Uly Llanez (Heerenveen/NED; 1/1), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 0/0), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen/GER; 12/5), Sebastian Soto (Telstar/NED; 0/0), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 8/1)
USMNT potential starting XI
If you look at the names of the 24-man roster and the level of competition they’re playing, this could be the most well-rounded and talented group ever assembled.
Zack Steffen likely gets the call between the sticks. A backline of Tim Ream, John Brooks, Reggie Cannon, and Sergino Dest mixes veteran savvy and youthful potential.
Midfielders Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie are playing at the highest competitive levels right now. Potentially dropping Gio Reyna into a creative midfield role would make that an exciting group.
At forward, Christian Pulisic is still the best player on this squad. Who joins him in a 4-3-3 will ultimately drive the success of this group. The US still does not have a world-class goal getter like in the Clint Dempsey days. Konrad de la Fuente and Josh Sargent are still more “potential” than “proven.”
USMNT November matches
The USMNT will face Wales on November 12th in Swansea. They’ll then face Panama on November 16th at Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
Where to watch the USMNT in the US
In the United States, both matches will start at 2:45 p.m. ET. They will be broadcast live on FS1, UniMás and TUDN.
