USMNT – The Road to 2026 Begins!

Say what? WC 2026 is over 3 years away so what the heck am I talking about? Especially since we have already qualified as a host nation. Well there it is. Since we have already qualified the number of competitive matches that we will play prior to 2026 has been greatly reduced. That really ups the importance of CONCACAF Nations League. National teams never get to play enough matches together in the first place and without qualification rounds every match we do get just is extra important. But before we get into the two upcoming matches lets look at what has transpired with the Nats since Qatar.

It wasn’t long after the final whistle in Qatar when rumors started flying about some serious discord that happened with the team in the camp leading up to and during the WC. Then it all came to a head when manager, Gregg Berhalter made a presentation to a leadership forum where he used what had happened in Qatar to make his point. Although the presentation was nameless and was supposed to be in a private forum (attendees were required to sign privacy notices) it didn’t take long for the material to get leaked and to figure out who the offending player had been. However, even though Gio Reyna was outed, it seemed that the team had worked through the issue and put it behind them and was ready to move forward. Well not so fast. Then stories began circulating about some assault Berhalter had committed and how he should be removed as the manager. Berhalter, to his credit, fully admitted to the assault that occurred over 30 years ago with his at the time girlfriend. Note that they subsequently got married and still are.

But this really put the USSF in a box and they hired an outside firm to conduct a thorough investigation into this incident and to determine if other incidents had occurred within the USSF hierarchy. In the interim, Berhalter’s contract expired giving USSF an easy out while this mess played out. They simply let it expire and named Anthony Hudson as the interim coach. Then the USSF Technical Director, Ernie Stewart, resigned to return to the Netherlands at which time USSF decided to hire a sports agency to evaluate candidates for the new Technical Director. The path being to get the new TD in place then have them hire the national team’s coach.

While USSF appeared to be in a deep mess for a bit, there was some good news coming shortly. The external investigation was completed and their report was issued with the key finding being that the Berhalter incident that occurred all those years ago would not have prevented him from being the coach in the first place nor should have any bearing on his future stature with the USSF. They found zero evidence of any other incidents. However, during this process it also came to light what had started all the uproar in the first place. At the start of the training camp Gio Reyna was told what his expected role was going to be and he was unhappy about it. During the camp and the friendly match his attitude and effort was not acceptable and the team’s leadership council dealt with it in a timely manner (this is what Berhalter had talked about in is presentation after the WC), However, the rest of the story is that Reyna’s parents had contacted USSF and complained about Gio’s lack of playing time and that they knew some dirt on Berhalter and would let that out if things didn’t change (that dirt being the assault on his girlfriend back when they were in college). The outfall of this is probably water under the bridge except for Claudio Reyna. I don’t expect to see him involved with USSF in the future. Claudio and his wife Danielle are probably now the poster children for “helicopter parents.”

If you are interested here’s a link to the full investigation report, you can find it here.

The expectation is that USSF will find its new TD in the next couple of months quickly followed by the hiring of the new head coach this summer. The timing actually makes sense given that the European domestic leagues will finish up in the next 6 weeks giving us a much better picture of the potential field of candidates. And yes there is clearly a chance that they could rehire Berhalter.

Enough of the preamble lets get down to the two matches coming up. The question on most fans minds was just what kind of a roster would be called in for these matches? Away at Grenada and at home against El Salvador should be two relatively easy matches to navigate. The prevailing thinking was the the roster would be composed of a few A team players form Europe, a few players from Europe who need the minutes, and the bulk being MLS players. Even though this was an official FIFA window this seemed like the most likely scenario. But just when you have about lost any faith in the USSF they pull a rabbit out of the hat and give us some joy. On March 14th, they announced a friendly with rival Mexico to be played in Glendale, AZ on April 19th. This changed the roster dynamics a bunch so USSF decided to go with a mostly European based roster for the two Nations League matches (remember its a FIFA window which MLS is not taking off) and a mostly MLS roster for the Mexico friendly. Really a win – win.

And as ALWAYS happens, right as the roster is announced some injuries happen and players have to be replaced. This time Tim Weah has withdrawn as he had to enter the concussion protocol and has been replaced by Djordje Mihailovic. Tyler Adams also is out with an injury but other than those two this represents a pretty strong and deep roster. An interesting side note – Folarin Balogun has been spotted in Orlando and is apparently meeting with the team today. Pay close attention to this. Balogun is a dual national who is eligible for England and the US. While he probably leans toward playing for England the operative word is playing. He has not yet been called into the full England National Team and is abit down their depth chart at the #9. But what a catch he would be if he’d commit to the US. He is currently leading the French Ligue 1 in goals. He’d immediately be penned in as the leading #9 on our depth chart.

What’s at stake in these two matches? Ah, everything that’s important in the near term. The US currently sits in 2nd in Group D 1 point behind El Salvador but with a game in hand. The winner of the three team group advances to this summers semi-final/finals to be held at Allegiant Field in Las Vegas June 15-18th. In a nutshell for the US to advance they must not lose to El Salvador. Even if they were to lose to Grenada (who tied El Salvador on the road FWIW) as long as its not by more than 2 goals a draw with ES is all that would be needed. Plus a draw or win against Grenada would also qualify the US for this summers CONCACAF Gold Cup so these matches a pretty critical.

US – Grenada March 24

The USMNT is a perfect 4-0-0 against the Spice Boys with the most recent match being a 5-0 drubbing last June where Jesus Ferriera scored 4 times pretty much securing his spot in Qatar. It will be interesting to see what lineup/formation interim coach Hudson sends out for this match. Even though its on the road this is a match that the US should win even with their less experienced players saving the big guns for the more critical match against ES. With Tyler Adams out I suspect we will play a 4-2-3-1 that looks like this.

Planned subs would be as follows:

Mihailovic for Pulisic

Aaronson for McKennie

Zendejas for Booth

Reynolds for McKenzie

This approach should be able to hold serve against Grenada tomorrow night and allow the staff to get a good look at Booth and Zendejas on the right wing and Mihailovic on the left.

Prediction: US wins 4-0

US – El Salvador March 27

The key match of the window thankfully being played at home in Orlando’s Exploria Stadium. Suspect the Orlando FC fans to show up in droves to support the Nats in this one. Recall that it was in this stadium last summer where the US trounced Panama to essentially earn its spot to Qatar. What a terrific night that was!! In this one I think we will see pretty much the A lineup and the typical 4-3-3 formation. The key aspect of this match will be if the front trio of Pulisic, Pepi, and Reyna can breakdown the ES back line (and I expect them to pretty much bunker and look for a counter). ES can’t win in a race horse and needs to keep the scoring at zero’s as long as possible. The US should control the midfield with our normal MMA mids except with Aaronson in place of Adams. Here’s a projected lineup.

Subs for this one will be very game dependent and based on fitness. If we have a solid lead then it would be a good time to get a couple of new players some minutes namely Aaron Trusty and Alan Sonora.

Prediction: US wins 2-0

Note that both these matches will be shown in the US on TNT and should be fun for soccer fans as we begin the first set of serious matches as we build toward 2026 The key? Find a #9 that can actually find the back of the next!