{"id":45515,"date":"2022-11-10T21:43:02","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T02:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/?p=45515"},"modified":"2022-11-10T21:43:02","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T02:43:02","slug":"berhalter-breaks-down-usmnt-wcroster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2022\/11\/10\/berhalter-breaks-down-usmnt-wcroster\/","title":{"rendered":"Berhalter Breaks Down USMNT 2022 World Cup Roster Selections"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK<\/strong> – With the USMNT unveiling its official roster selections for the 2022 FIFA World Cup<\/a> just last night, head coach Gregg Berhalter sat down with the media to discuss his decisions on the 26 names heading to Qatar.<\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/USMNT\/status\/1590469664211374081?s=20&t=c3kaNB7oZylqy6F7ELMICg<\/p>\n

Berhalter Breaks Down USMNT Roster Selections<\/b><\/h2>\n

Steffen Misses Out<\/strong><\/h4>\n

One of the biggest surprises on the day was Berhalter\u2019s omission of goalkeeper Zack Steffen who started 6 of a possible 14 World Cup Qualifiers for the USMNT including a 2-0 shutout of Mexico at TQL Stadium and later a 0-0 draw in Mexico City.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Berhalter, this decision was a difficult one but ultimately made with the knowledge that the three keepers he has selected are players that provide a level of stability to the roster.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Zack and I] go way back and Zack\u2019s been there for me a bunch of times, to tell him he\u2019s not going to be a part of the World Cup team was heartbreaking,\u201d Berhalter said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s more about who we do have and the comfort level with the guys that are on the roster, we felt really comfortable with Matt [Turner], Ethan [Horvath], and Sean [Johnson] and that\u2019s the decision we decided to go with,\u201d he later added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ream and Wright’s “Suprise” Inclusions<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Furthermore, while some projected him as a potential call-in with this U.S. group<\/a>, others were confused by the inclusion of the 35-year-old Fulham captain Tim Ream who hasn\u2019t been on the field for the USMNT since Day 1 of Qualifying.<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked about the decision, Berhalter put his rationale for selecting Ream very simply.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHave you watched any Fulham games lately,\u201d Berhalter asked. \u201cThen you know why we brought him in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To elaborate, Berhalter talked about Ream\u2019s addition despite not appearing in as many World Cup Qualifying matches as others named on the roster.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf a guy doesn\u2019t get into a camp, it doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s never going to be in a camp again it\u2019s about what he\u2019s doing on the field, and in Tim\u2019s case he was in the Premier League three years ago and he struggled,\u201d Berhalter said. \u201cHe went to the [EFL] Championship and started performing better and got promoted. Now he\u2019s in the Premier League and he\u2019s a top performer for his team and it\u2019s really hard to ignore stuff like that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the discussion on Ream, Berhalter was asked about the introduction of Haji Wright who\u2019s caught fire for Antalyaspor in the Turkish S\u00fcper Lig sitting second in the golden boot race with nine goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, this will be just Wright\u2019s second call-up with the national team having never seen the field during Qualifying and only finding playing time in the June friendlies with Morocco and Uruguay.<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically for Berhalter and his staff, the decision to bring Wright was a question of Wright vs Jordan Pefork who has three goals and three assists with Union Berlin this Bundesliga season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were looking at this as coaches we were evaluating Haji [Wright] versus Jordan Pefork and that\u2019s what it came down to,\u201d Berhalter said. \u201cIn this particular case, we felt like Haji [Wright] is in great goalscoring form, they\u2019re both physical strikers, but Haji has the pace, he\u2019s got the ability to go one-on-one and he\u2019s got good finishing with his head, and both feet.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To lodge a comparison of Wright with fans and media, Berhalter also mentioned the quality that the Turkish S\u00fcper Lig presents and how some of the world\u2019s top players aren\u2019t even finding the success Wright has had since his arrival in Antalya.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Wright\u2019s] performing really well in the Turkish League, let\u2019s not forget that [Michy Batshuayi] the starting striker for Belgium plays in the Turkish League and has five goals and [Wright] has nine goals,\u201d Berhalter said. \u201cThis is not an easy league to score goals in and [Wright\u2019s] doing a good job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Controversy Among the Forwards Group<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In further debate on the grouping of forwards selected – which has sparked controversy among fans and media due to several strikers in the USMNT player pool recently finding form at the club level – Berhalter addressed his decision to call both Jes\u00fas Ferreira and Josh Sargent.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJes\u00fas [Ferreira] is a guy we that we see has a very good overall understand of our game model and has the ability to bring other players into the game as well, he\u2019s clever with his movement in and around the penalty box and a really good ability to press the opponent,\u201d Berhalter said. \u201cJosh [Sargent],\u00a0 he does a lot of things well and he\u2019s also competing against these guys from England and Wales every single week, who will have familiarity with the opponent which we think is valuable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Injuries Impact Arriola’s Chances<\/strong><\/h4>\n

One of those names to controversially miss the roster was that of Paul Arriola who has been a piece of the USMNT Starting XI or bench for 9 out of the 14 qualifiers despite battling injuries before the very first camp in September 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Berhalter, opting to leave the FC Dallas winger home came purely down to poor timing and the health of those called up ahead of him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor one reason or another we haven\u2019t had our wingers fit and available and now as we lead up to the World Cup every one of those players is fit and available and it just made that [Arriola] was the odd man out,\u201d Berhalter said. \u201cJordan [Morris] over these last four years had two ACL\u2019s [injured], Tim Weah\u2019s had some extensive injury time, Gio Reyna\u2019s had extensive injury time, Christian [Pulisic] has been injured for a while, and now everybody\u2019s back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While it\u2019s seemingly been a slew of tough decisions and phone calls for Berhalter over the past few days, the head coach frequently preached confidence in his choices and the importance of chemistry within his team heading into Qatar in the hopes of a nation getting behind this squad.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the decisions that we made as a staff and like I\u2019ve said, we move forward and now it\u2019s all about who do we have in camp and how are we going to be successful,\u201d Berhalter said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were thoughtful about [chemistry] and put a lot of time and effort into who are our team guys and how this team is going to be cohesive and remain cohesive throughout the tournament,\u201d he would later add.<\/span><\/p>\n

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