This current preferred U.S. Men’s National Team roster proposal for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is based on a Diamond 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 formation, so some of the positions like attacking midfielder and forward are somewhat fluid. This isn’t World Soccer Source’s prediction of who Gregg Berhalter will pick, but rather it’s World Soccer Source’s opinion of who should be on the roster.
Goalkeepers- Zack Steffen, Matt Turner, Gabriel Slonina
Zack Steffen critics are pretty off base. Most of them appear to be the biased anti-MLS crowd which is weird, since he plays for Manchester City. Steffen has made plenty of impressive saves for Man City, and he’s twice as good with his feet as Matt Turner is. The “Turner is a better shot-stopper than Steffen” crowd conveniently looks over all of Steffen’s outstanding saves for City, and his recent “mistake” involved him being slide tackled by Sadio Mané when the sun was in his eyes. The fact that Steffen just stood there and got slide tackled, rather than shanking a pass or misplacing or underhitting a pass suggests that Steffen just really had no idea Mané was there. Matt Turner got a free pass for a shanked kicked in minus zero degree weather, but many fans didn’t give Steffen a pass for getting dispossessed when the sun was in his eyes.
Right Backs- Reggie Cannon, Sergiño Dest, Brandon Bye
Reggie Cannon receives quite a bit of criticism from the segment of the USMNT fan base that’s vocal on Twitter and social media, which isn’t a big surprise since this crowd is largely soccer illiterate. Cannon is an intense defender who also excels in the attack. Cannon used to be more aggressive going forward, and one has to wonder if he was instructed to stay back on defense more. Brandon Bye is the third highest-rated player in all of MLS, and he’s recently stood out for his attacking play, when he was previously known for his strong defending. Bye is a dangerous player going forward because of his speed and excellent passes, particularly his soft crosses, which are more refined than your typical line-drived crosses. Bye’s crosses are culturally placed on the foot or head of his target. No one I know of is calling for Bye to be on the roster, but Bye is a better defender than Sergiño Dest, which should help the U.S. contain the dangerous and fast attackers the U.S. will face at the World Cup.
Center Backs- Walker Zimmerman, Aaron Long, Chris Richards, Andrew Farrell
Andrew Farrell is someone that World Soccer Source has wanted on the U.S. Men’s National Team for years under Jürgen Klinsmann and Bruce Arena. Farrell is a complete center back who’s better in all areas than Zimmerman, Long, and likely Richards – comparing Richards to Farrell would require a close observation of them at the same time. Basically, no fans or media on social media or elsewhere have been backing Farrell for the USMNT, which isn’t surprising how most American fans and journalists don’t scout or back any player who’s not already in the discussion.
Left Backs- DeJuan Jones, Antonee Robinson
DeJuan Jones for the New England Revolution has really stood out for his two-way ability and for his two-footed skill. Jones is right-footed, but he plays left back for the New England Revolution; most people don’t even know he’s right-footed, which is how good his left foot is. Jones is fast, smooth, and skilled on the ball, plus he’s good at winning the ball and timing his tackles. He also excels at recovery defense, where he catches up and dispossesses his mark after being beaten: a useful skill – particularly against world-class attackers who are basically impossible to stop every time.
Defensive Midfielders- Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah
Tyler Adams has come under criticism for his passing and distribution recently. The criticism is probably unfair, even though lots of people are leveling it. Yunus Musah is known as a box-to-box midfielder because of his ability to dribble forward, but he could be a better option than Adams at defensive midfielder. Musah’s been dropping back in recent games, and that dribbling ability is good for collecting the ball from the back and dribbling forward out of danger, plus he passes better than Adams. Musah is excellent at tackling and ball-winning, although some have claimed otherwise. Perhaps, playing Musah as a defensive midfielder means that he can’t advance the ball quite as far forward, but it would be easy enough for Weston McKennie to cover for him if he’s on a particularly spirited run.
Center Midfielders- Weston McKennie, Luca De La Torre, Kellyn Acosta
Luca De La Torre has proven to be a skillful midfielder who’s direct and aggressive going forward, which the USMNT needs. So far, he doesn’t appear to be much of a scorer or shooter, but maybe he just hasn’t been aggressive enough. Some people have backed De La Torre as a defensive midfielder, but he seems better suited to be going forward rather than roaming the back and winning back possession. He might be a little easier to get past compared to the likes of Adams, McKennie, and Musah, but we’ll see. For now, he’s a good addition to the midfield as a center midfielder. Perhaps he deserves to start. Kellyn Acosta is much more technical and skillful than he gets credit for from the anti-MLS crowd. It’s hard to argue than he’s a skilled ball-striker and dead ball specialists but somehow he doesn’t pass well. That doesn’t even make sense. If you have command of the ball, then you have command of the ball.
Attacking Midfielders- Gio Reyna, Sebastian Lletget, Djordje Mihailovic
Djordje Mihailovic was injured last camp, but the USMNT definitely needs his skillset, playing style, and creativity. Mihailovic is a goal-scoring playmaker who has attracted serious interest from Europe. Probably only Carles Gil of the New England Revolution is a better MLS player than Mihailovic, and Gil is really too good to be playing in MLS. The Spanish Number 10 is an excellent player even by Spanish standards, and it’s unclear how he ended up in MLS as opposed to a better league. Several scouts let him slip away.
Forwards- Christian Pulisic, Brenden Aaronson, Timothy Weah
Timothy Weah’s best position is likely as a second striker, which Coach Berhalter has not deployed if memory serves. Weah would also do well as a first striker. One has to wonder if Weah only claims that he’s not a Number 9 because he doesn’t want to be compared to his father or in his shadow. This is all speculation, but playing a different position from his father would allow him to be his own player more. Nevertheless, the U.S. needs Weah up top as a second striker or first striker. Out wide, Weah has to cover more ground to get in front of the goal mouth, which requires extra work. Many fans oddly want Weah at right wing for his crossing, but having a goalscorer provide the crosses is quite illogical.
Strikers- Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright, Bobby Wood
The American coach and USMNT legend has gone on the record on multiple occasions (most notably on Jimmy Conrad’s video podcast) to say that Ricardo Pepi is getting no service for the USMNT or for FC Augsburg. Pepi is a complete striker and a clinical finisher who has received basically no service or final balls for his club and country. He’s still the best current American striker, and his goalscoring drought is not his fault. Haji Wright has been an exciting USMNT prospect since he was 16 or so in like 2013, and he has an excellent goalscoring record in Turkey. He’s done fine in limited minutes with the USMNT, and he tucked his penalty away calmly and clinically in a recent friendly against Morocco. The USMNT needs three strikers on the roster, and Bobby Wood has more speed, technical ability, and experience than the other options. Wood is playing for a mediocre MLS squad, which isn’t helping his goalscoring rate. Nevertheless, no one except the biased anti-MLS crowd can deny his ability when you subject them to the eye test. Wood is a direct & creative striker who is proven at the international level and in the Bundesliga, plus he’s only in his late 20’s.