USMNT – Important Couple of Months Ahead

Over the next several months numerous things are taking place that will have both short and long term affects on the direction and growth of the USMNT. In fact one of the first major changes already occurred back in April when the USSF hired Matt Crocker to be the new Sporting Director replacing Earnie Stewart who returned to the Netherlands. Crocker came to the position with a strong background in overseeing player development from youth programs up to senior men’s teams. Crocker was most recently the Director of Football Operations for EPL side Southampton. While Crocker won’t officially begin his duties until August 2nd he has already impressed many in the soccer community with his openness and technical acumen on what it takes to have a successful national team, including its many youth programs. He also laid out his vision for what he’d like to see in the next manager for the US senior men’s team.  So just what are the big things facing the USMNT in the near future.

1. Well its been over 6 months since the senior team has played any competitive matches but that’s about to change. The CONCACF Nations League semifinals and 3rd place and final matches will be played this week in Las Vegas. More on that in a bit.
2. This will be followed closely by the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
3. Hiring of the next senior team manager. USSF has stated they expect to announce who that will be by the end of the summer.

Here’s a more in depth look at what’s happening in these three areas.

USMNT Manager

At the end of the World Cup it was a foregone conclusion that USSF would go through a thorough process to determine who the next manager would be. First its important to note that the manager during the last cycle, Gregg Berhalter, was NOT fired. His contract expired in December and it was simply not renewed as expected. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be rehired. Late this winter USSF engaged a managerial search firm to develop a vetting process and a list of candidates for interviews. In the interim, long time assistant Anthony Hudson was named as the temporary manager. Hudson subsequently got a manager position with Qatar Stars League side Al-Markhiya. So USSF had to appoint a new interim manager right before the two upcoming competitions. And they appointed long time assistant BJ Callaghan to the spot and he will run the team for both the Nations League and Gold Cup.

As is with most things of this nature, rumors abound with who the potential candidates may be but several rumors seem to be gaining a bit of traction. Current LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo and recently fired EPL side Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch are two names who seem to consistently being tossed around. Of course, there’s a chance Gregg Berhalter will be back and at least two USMNT players, Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah, have openly said they’d like him back. There have also been numerous foreign coaches names tossed around (Theiry Henry, Jose Mourinho, and Marcelo Bielsa). All we can do is hope the process is complete and comes up with the best overall candidate. With the US hosting WC 2026 these next 3 years will be critical for the US to find its best lineup and tactics to make a strong showing. As  plus on all of this during an interview with Matt Crocker today he said that they have already interviewed 10 candidates, most being from outside the US!

Now lets look a bit more at the two upcoming competitions. Many fans wonder why they are important given that the WC is still 3 years out and that’s a fair question. But there are several reasons why these upcoming matches are actually quite important.

1. The US are the reigning champions for both of these competitions. Remember that, regardless of the sport, these guys are extremely competitive athletes and winning hardware is always a big deal.
2. This is an opportunity for the players to impress both the current staff, the soon to be hired manager, and maybe most importantly for some (such as Ricardo Pepi) to make a strong showing during the summer transfer window. Pepi for example has already told his club FC Groningen that he wants a transfer to a bigger club. Dutch league giants PSV Eindhoven have expressed interest but Groningen is going to want to get a solid fee to let him go.  So players on the cusp of potential transfers this summer have a lot to play for. And the list of top national team players who are likely to transfer this summer includes Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Brenden Aaronson. Tyler Adams is also likely to transfer but is currently injured.

CONCACAF Nations League

The final 23-man roster is loaded with talent as the Nats aim to hold on to the title. The preliminary matches were completed months ago and its down to the final 4; US, Mexico, Canada, and Panama. Unfortunately the way the group play worked out the match everybody always wants to see in the final will actually be a semi-final. The US faces nemesis Mexico on Thursday while Canada and Panama face off in the other semi-final. All matches will be played in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Expect that place to be rocking Thursday night!

The roster includes most the players who made the WC roster for Qatar with some missing due to injuries. But there is one new inclusion that US fans are hoping is the answer to our woes at the #9 position. Dual national Folarin Balogun announced his one time switch from England to the US and fans are going insane to see him in his first US action. Flo, as he goes by, just finished and incredibly season in France, finishing up with 21 goals. Making the first time a US player has scored 20 or more goals in a top 5 European league. This guy is good. Really good. Now can he translate that to the international game? And its sets up a potential for the US to move to a 2 striker formation with Pepi and Flo up top. We’ll see if that happens.

Against Mexico I suspect the US will lineup with something close to this:

Keeper – Turner

Defense – Dest, Richards/Zimmerman, M Robinson, A Robinson

Midfield – Mush, Reyna, McKennie

Wings – Pulisic, Weah

Striker – Pepi/Balogun

Regardless of who starts up top I expect to see both Pepi and Balogun during the Mexico match. Will be see them both together? If we need a late goal that could well be an option by taking off a midfielder. I would be shocked if anybody but Turner was in goal. The back four has some questions due to injuries and form especially to Walker Zimmerman who has been out. But if he’s ready to go I think his experience with the senior team and his play the last several years means he gets the start.

If we get by Mexico then I wouldn’t expect a lot of changes headed to the final. But if we falter on Thursday and end up in the 3rd place who gives a damn game then expect to see major changes. Lets hope that’s not the case! In any even the match Thursday will be very difficult if for no other reason that we are playing with an interim to the interim coach. Lets hope there is some magic in the air in Vegas.

The match is at 10pm EDT and should be a good one.

As for the other semi-final, I think Canada has too much for Panama giving our friends to the north a shot at their first trophy in a long long time. But hate to burst their bubble. The winner of the US -Mexico match goes on to win the final.

CONCACAF Gold Cup

This is a very unique Gold Cup roster. Historically the Gold Cup has been a tournament to give lots of new players their first shots are a competition with the senior team. But look at this roster. There are a load of players here who have extensive experience with the senior team and in fact 7 of these guys were in Qatar. So what does that say? Its means that the US is finally getting some much needed depth. Now will that depth translate to players who can actually perform at the level needed for international play? Time will tell but this is a very good looking roster and has a great mixture of experience and newcomers.

Currently, 13 teams have qualified with 3 more spots open to the 12 teams competing in the preliminary tournament June 16-20 in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Three of those teams will make join the 13 already qualified teams to make up 4 groups of 4 teams. The US is in Group A along with Jamaica and Nicaragua. Regardless of the last team to make the group the US will be heavy favorites. Group play will run from June 24th through July 4th with the top 2 teams in each group advancing. The quarterfinals will be July 8th and 9th, the semi-finals on July 13th with the final on July 16th.

Predicting the teams to advance in this kind of a tournament is always difficult because you never know just which players teams are going to send and actually play. What is their philosophy? Get their younger players some experience, try and win it first and foremost, or some thing in the middle. In general teams will typically rotate players a lot during the group stage but once they reach the knockout rounds things become more serious and the focus is on winning. Now with that said here’s my two cents on who I see advancing out of each group.

Group A – US and Jamaica

Group B – Mexico and Honduras (but keep and eye on Qatar)

Group C – Costa Rica/El Salvador/Panama is a three way crapshoot for the two spots

Group D – Canada and Guatemala

And of course the big question. Are the US and Mexico favorites to reach the final and face each other? Indeed the bracket is set such that if they win their respective groups (and it will be shocking if they don’t) then they would not face each other till the final.

So its been a long time since fans of the USMNT have had some matches to watch at all let along competitive ones. Get your fixes in over the next month!!