The USMNT has two friendlies coming up in September. On Friday, September 6th they face Mexico in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Then on the following Tuesday they host Uruguay in Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, Missouri. Friendlies always present the usual benefits to national team programs. A chance to get the players together to continue to work on the formation and tactics they desire to play. And a chance to get younger players involved to see if they can contribute down the road. Both are important factors. There are only a handful of times a year when national teams get together and that time is very important for building a cohesive side going into World Cup qualifying. Its unusual for a national team to play the same formation and to use the same tactics as most players club teams. Additionally its is not uncommon for a player to see the field in a different position for their national team compared to their club team. So while friendlies certainly do not have the level of importance of WC qualifying or a tournament they are still important. Its just that the results are not as important as the actual time in camp and playing together.
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Now that said, these next two friendlies are important for several additional factors. First, these will be the first matches for the USMNT since the recent Gold Cup and coach Gregg Berhalter wants to continue to build on the progress made in that tournament. Secondly this will provide an opportunity to invite several players to camp that have not seen time with the senior MNT to day. In fact three players have been called into camp and should see their first senior team action. Defenders Sergino Dest and Miles Robinson and midfielder Paxton Pomykal have been called into their first senior camps and all three should see the field. This is doubly important for Dest. While he has been in the national youth program and most recently in the U20 WC, he has yet to be called in by the seniors. Dest is a dual national and also qualifies for the Dutch National Team should they chose to call him in and Dest has been starting already for Ajax in the Dutch first division. Good to show him interest and keep him in the US colors.
An additional value to these two friendlies is that these are the last two matches prior to the first ever CONCACAF Nations League which takes place between September and June of next year. This will be the major competition for us ahead of WC 2022 qualifying which begins in the fall of 2020. Recall that the Gold Cup occurs every two years on odd numbered years to there is no tournament next summer. And lastly any time you have friendlies against top quality opponents its important to focus on those matches. Again results are not the most important thing but still winning is always a good thing. Especially when one of those matches is against your dreaded rival, Mexico. Note too that since Mexico also plays Argentina in two weeks they have essentially called in their top players so this will be a stout test for us.
So lets take a look at the players called in by Berhalter. Note that the club, number of caps, and goals are noted for each player.
Goalkeepers:
Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas; 0/0), Brad Guazn (Atlanta United FC; 60/0), Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 8/0), Zack Steffen (Fortuna Dusseldorf/Bundesliga, 15/0).
No real surprises here. Steffen is clearly the #1 keeper right now and I expect to see him start one of the two matches. The likely #2 is still Ethan Horvath but he is fighting for playing time with his club (Club Brugge in Belgium) and the staff probably thought it was best to leave him with his club? At least I hope that is the thinking as he’s a proven international level keeper and Johnson is not. Guzan was likely called in to provide some senior leadership but I will be surprised if he plays in these matches. The intriguing story here is whether or not Gonzalez gets his first senior minutes?
Defenders:
John Brooks (Wolfsburg/Bundesliga; 37/3), Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; 6/0), Sergino Dest (Ajax/Dutch; 0/0), Nick LIma (San Jose Earthquakes; 7/0), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 11/2),Daniel Lovitz (Montreal Impact/CAN; 8/0),) Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 35/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United FC; 0/0), Walker Zimmerman (LAFC;10/2).
A bit of a surprise to not see either Antonee Robisnon or Eric Lichaj. I would have preferred either of those to Lovitz. Also could argue that Matt Miazga should have been called in but with Brooks healthy just have an excess of center backs. In fact, CB may be the team’s deepest position.
Midfielders:
Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 9/2), Weston Mckennie (Schalke/GER; 14/3), Alfredo Morales (Fortuna Düsseldorf (Bundesliga; 13/0), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas; 0/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 15/0), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 19/0), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; 1/0)
At first glance there are several clear omissions. Long running defensive midfielder Michael Bradley is missing. But his club team, Toronto FC, is fighting for an MLS playoff spot and they have two matches during this window. While these dates are official FIFA dates, MLS chose to continue with their league play. While they are required to release players for national team duty, its not unusual for a national team coach to talk with a players club coach and come to an agreement on the best overall approach. Clearly in this case Berhalter agreed to not call in Bradley. And frankly, there are a lot of fans, me included, that are fine with not calling in MB. Its time to look to the future for our dmid. Therein lies the second omission and that is Tyler Adams. Adams who missed the Gold Cup with an injury is still not fit. Most think that Adams IS the heir apparent to the dmid position once Berhalter figures out that the hybrid right back/dmid isn’t the best use of his talents. Time will tell. I suspect that at some point in these two matches we will see Pomykal at the dmid position. If he can handle that well at the international level it will give the team so many options for using Adams and McKennie. Fingers crossed.
Forwards:
Corey Baird(Real Salt Lake; 3/0), Tyler Boyd (Besiktas/TUR; 5/2), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 33/5), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 31/13), Josh Sargent Werder Bremen/GER; 7/2), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew SC; 51/10)
As above with Bradley, #1 striker Jozy Altidore was also left off to stay with Toronto in their playoff run. And that’s ok as we need to start building on some depth there and that depth hopefully has a name of Josh Sargent. A surprise in that he wasn’t on the Gold Cup roster its time to see what the 19 year kid can do. The other missing piece is Tim Weah. The winger/forward for French club Lille was injured earlier this week in training and has been left off the roster. Many fans were hoping that another U20 forward, Sebastian Soto would have gotten a call over Baird but Soto has been called into the U23 camp and may be part of the Olympic qualifying team next spring. Then there is the question of why is Pulisic listed as a forward and not a midfielder. When asked that question, Berhalter had this to say “I think Christian has a unique skill set. He’s a great attacking player and we want to put him in position to affect the game. We’re open to where we’re using him. We’ve used him centrally and on the wing before. All those things keep adding up to the fact that we want him affecting the game in a positive way.” I think this is actually a great response. Far too many fans get caught up in calling a player a certain position or a team playing a certain formation. The modern game is very fluid and players adjust their positioning and tactics throughout a match.
Now the question becomes two fold. Who does Berhalter give minutes to these next two matches and how will he send them out? Its hard to say but here’s what I’d sure like to see at some point.
They have some strong young players and its time to get them some senior team minutes. No better time than the present!
Soccer Analyst
Steve is an avid fan of all things soccer and the O’s. Originally from the west, he grew up in the Baltimore area. He returned to the west for college where he earned a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Montana State University and spent 36 years working at the Idaho National Laboratory prior to retiring in 2013. It was during his school years in Baltimore where he learned to play soccer and that developed into a life long passion. He played competitively for over 40 years and was a four year starting goalkeeper at MSU. He also coached and refereed in the Idaho premier soccer and High School programs for many years.