Team USA Preview

Story posted November 19, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Owen Gelber

Team USA, under manager Gregg Berhalter will soar into the 2022 World Cup with Chelsea striker, Christian Pulisic, serving as the team's captain in Qatar.

The red, white, and blue have been assigned to Group B, and will play alongside Wales, Iran and their rival from across the river, England.

Kickoff to the USA’s World Cup quest will begin in just under 100 hours, facing fellow Group B member Wales at 2 p.m on Nov. 21.

Manager Berhalter will release his starting lineup closer to gametime, but analysts and insiders have already begun speculating what the starting 11 may look like.

Goalkeeper Matt Turner is expected to start in net, with Antonee Robinson, Aaron Long, Walker Zimmerman, and Sergiño Dest across the back-line. Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, and Yunus Musah are anticipated to start across the middle, with Christian Pulisic, Jesús Ferreira, and Brenden Aaronson up top.

Berhalter and the rest of the U.S squad have embraced their youthful roots, with Berhalter telling the media, “Being the youngest team in the world to qualify for the World Cup is no easy task, it’s a proud moment for the team, a proud moment for U.S. Soccer, and we’re looking forward to competing in the World Cup again,” after being named manager of the U.S World Cup team in March.

Despite the squad’s youth, this U.S team has shown its grit. The midfield of Adams (Leeds United), McKennie (Juventus) and Musah (Valencia) have already proved their ability to impose a fast-pace, high press, squeezing the pitch and forcing opponents into making mistakes. The three are capable of winning any 50/50 ball launched their way, and provide an essence of physicality the U.S hasn’t seen in years.

The elephant in the room for this U.S team is the lack of experience at this level. Defender DeAndre Yedlin is the only U.S player who has logged minutes in any prior World Cup, so Yedlin must keep his teammates composed at such a big stage.

Defending and goal scoring remain a huge question mark for Berhalter’s squad. The U.S was held scoreless in five of their fifteen qualifying matches, and their young defenders must be ready to lockdown six-time Welsh Footballer of the Year, Gareth Bale, who has been a member of the Welsh National Team since 2005.

If goalkeeper Matt Turner gets the start, he will have huge shoes to fill in his first World Cup. This will be the U.S’s first World Cup campaign without renowned goalkeeper, Tim Howard between the sticks since 2010. The team hopes Turner’s strained groin from late October has healed completely and will allow him to step on the pitch in the Middle-East at 100%.

Apart from star Chelsea striker, Christian Pulisic, the U.S lacks any other standout goalscorers. Someone on the U.S’s twenty-six man roster will need to step up and aid Pulisic in the goalscoring department if the U.S wants to defeat the Welsh Dragons, backed by goalkeeper Danny Ward, who will most likely get the nod in net.

The U.S can be a very sneaky team this World Cup if they can use their youthfulness, speed, and solid middle of the park play to their advantage. After failing to qualify for the tournament in 2018, this team can make some serious noise this tournament if they can find scoring depth and lockup opposing teams in their defensive half.

Manager Gregg Berhalter will be releasing his official starting XI closer to kickoff, but must play his cards right to start the tournament 1-0 against a very deep Welsh team.

Catch the first game of this World Cup Nov. 20 at 11:00 a.m on Fox Sports 1, as the host country Qatar squares off against Ecuador in Group A.

The U.S will kickoff against the Wales Dragons on Nov. 21 at 2:00 p.m. on Fox.

Owen Gelber is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email omg5144@psu.edu