The underperformance of the USMNT

In 2017, defeat to Trinidad and Tobago meant that the United States had failed to qualify for a FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986. 

In that run of seven successive FIFA World Cup qualifications and appearances, they had reached the knockout stages on four occasions, including the quarter-finals in Japan and South Korea in 2002. 

As well as that, Major League Soccer (MLS) had began to really assert itself in the world game. It evolved from a league that many would make fun of, to one that hosted some of the world’s greats at retiring age before becoming a genuinely, in some ways, innovative league that had closed the gap on Europe’s major leagues. 

Despite that, there were two MLS winners of the CONCACAF Champions League in 1998 and 2000. Since then there has been 18 Mexican and two Costa Rican champions – and the standard of the national team has dipped.

The current dip

The other day, the US suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Canada as they let their neighbours to the north close in on an unlikely but impressive second ever FIFA World Cup qualification. The Canadians came from the preliminary stages and have managed to remain unbeaten after ten games so far in the final stage of CONCACAF qualification. 

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Gregg Berhalter was appointed manager in 2018 after an exhaustive search which apparently involved Mexico’s now number one Tata Martino being rejected. 

Berhalter did relatively well with the Columbus Crew in MLS – but nothing necessarily spectacular. The same can be said of his spell in Sweden as manager of Hammarby. 

The 48 year-old from New Jersey has a specific style of play that is suited to modern day football. It is a possession-based style that focuses on building up relatively slowly from the back. The issue here is that it might go against the best identity of previous USMNT teams, which have been built upon an aggressive intensity. 

It might also go against the high-pressing nature of modern football which is actually shown in the USA’s personnel with several German-based or German-influenced players unable to perform their best characteristics in a different style of play.

Talk of a dip can be majorly exaggerated bhut it is now true that the USA are once again battling to avoid falling into fourth place in the group. Ahead of tonight’s matches, they sit four behind Canada, level with Mexico and just a point above Panama. They have failed to win as many as they have won in their ten games so far.

They have difficult away matches against Mexico and Costa Rica in March as well as hosting Panama - who they lost to in November.

Despite that, it is worth noting and baring in mind that with 30 victories in 42 matches, albeit the vast majority against weakened Mexican opposition or in international friendlies, Gregg Berhalter’s 77.38% win rate is the best of any US manager ever. 

A golden generation

The spine and core of the United States is made up of players that represent genuinely massive European clubs – and there is actually some depth to it, too.

In goal, Zack Steffen of Manchester City is supported by Matt Turner. Turner is at the New England Revolution but is set to join Arsenal in the summer ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. Brad Guzan, Ethan Horvath, Sean Johnson and Gabriel Slonina, who has been linked with Juventus and several Premier League clubs, are battling for the third-choice spot.

Barcelona’s Sergino Dest leads the right-back spot with competition from former Newcastle and Tottenham defender DeAndre Yedlin, Boavista’s Reggie Cannon and Roma’s Brian Reynolds. The left-hand side is locked down by Fulham’s flying full-back Antonee Robinson, although Atlanta United’s George Bello has just got a European move to the Bundesliga’s Arminia Bielefeld. 

Wolfsburg’s John Brooks, Genk’s Mark McKenzie, the constantly linked to a Prem move Aaron Long, Fulham’s Tim Ream, Celtic’s Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alaves; Matt Miazga and Troyes’ Erik Palmer-Brown are all central defensive options, alongside Walker Zimmermann of Nashville.

The midfield duo of Tyler Adams, of RB Leipzig, and Weston McKennie, of Juventus, should be a midfield that dominates all CONCACAF matches and causes genuine issues, and envy, against a higher level of opposition. Gianluca Busio of Venezia and former Bayern Munich midfielder Julian Green have provided a level of depth and competition in recent squads.

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The options behind the forward area is the most exciting for team USA. Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna head up a collection of extremely talented players plying their trade in Europe’s major leagues. Valencia’s Yunus Musah, Lille’s Timothy Weah, Salzburg’s Brennan Aaronson, Club Brugge’s Owen Otasowie, Marseille’s Konrad de la Fuente, Montpellier’s Nicholas Gioacchini and Rizespor’s Tyler Boyd all provide a lot of depth and options pushing the aforementioned stars.

Up-front is an odd one. For the first time in a decade, the USMNT do have a lot of options from leading European leagues but nobody is yet to really nail down the spot. Matthew Hoppe burst onto the scene in the Bundesliga with Schalke before moving to La Liga’s Real Mallorca whilst Norwich’s Josh Sargent showed a glimpse of his quality in their recent 3-0 hammering of relegation rivals Watford. The man that Berhalter may rely on moving forward is Ricardo Pepi. Pepi was the subject of a fairly big-money move to Augsburg during the January transfer window.

Whilst the middle-of-the-pitch core that includes Pulisic, Reyna, McKennie and Adams is genuinely impressive, there is perhaps a lack of clarity and hierarchical structure to the rest of their squad – which would, in turn, lead to a loss of cohesion.

This leads to a debate about just how good the rest of the squad and those on the peripheries are. Whilst many avid followers of the USMNT would be lenient to the view that this is arguably their best squad on paper… is it?

The potential of the squad is magnificent and there is a lot to be encouraged about but it has been the case for a while that every argument in support of this current squad begins with: “will it” or “could it”, never “it is” – and how long can that go on for before concrete progress is made, beyond just improving on a catastrophic 2018 qualification campaign.