USMNT Full Update On What Matters: Absolutely Everything You Need To Know

This Labor Day weekend, US-eligible athletes put in work on both sides of the Atlantic, perhaps aware that summer is now unofficially finished. Efforts for a last-minute push before the October World Cup taking place over the next two months, perhaps?

 

The Qatar countdown roundup for this week will begin at the top with the head coach of the US men’s national team.

 

Gregg Berhalter

Gregg Berhalter is well aware of the time and what that means for the game. On his media tour last week, the USMNT manager spent a considerable amount of time speaking with Andrew Wiebe and predicted that once the September camp roster was announced, several strikers would be “very disappointed.”

 

Then he flew across Europe to see some of his players. James Sands, Malik Tillman (Rangers), and Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic) joined Berhalter as he took in Glasgow’s Old Firm derby. Notably, a picture of the group’s post-match dinner sparked outrage online among some residents of the city’s blue side because their blind tribalism didn’t prevent Sands and Tillman from dining with their international teammate after Celtic’s 4-0 victory:

 

Then he saw Reggie Cannon play 90 minutes as Boavista defeated Paços de Ferreira 1-0, and Yunus Musah took the man of the match honors as Valencia defeated Getafe 5-1. 

 

Those places give us a quick peek into what the coach is thinking about just days before the September international window. It opens on September 19 and features friendlies for the United States against Japan in Düsseldorf, Germany on September 23 and vs. Saudi Arabia in Murcia, Spain on September 27.

 

Of course, it is the last USMNT practice before the Qatar Cup and the last chance for players to demonstrate their skills before the announcement of the final roster on November 9.

 

The Ones To Watch

 

Josh Sargent (Norwich City, EFL Championship)

Quality goals during crucial occasions are among the few contributions that will make Berhalter—or any other coach—turn their attention. Josh Sargent is doing precisely that for Norwich City, who, after thumping Coventry City 3-0, is currently ranked second in the EFL Championship standings. Sargent is one of the Champo’s top attackers, according to the statistics and the eye test:

Sargent scored the third goal for the Canaries, extending his current hot streak to five goals in as many games, and he also provided an assist. Equally promising, the youngster from St. Louis was excellent in a more profound, broader positional role, demonstrating deft movement, an appreciation of space, and a smooth rapport with experienced striker Teemu Pukki, who was technically the No. 9 but was frequently swapped with Sargent.

 

Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas, MLS)

Jesus Ferreira was instrumental in FC Dallas’ spectacular and timely 3-0 road victory over the Loons in Minnesota. Cheetah scored the third of their astonishing three goals in four minutes at Allianz Field to blast things wide open against one of their primary challengers for a position in the upper half of the Western Conference playoff bracket.

 

Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montréal, MLS)

In CF Montreal’s 4-3 Canadian Classique win over Toronto FC, which was one of the most exciting MLS games of the weekend, Djordje Mihailovic showed the same mix of self-assurance and clutchness. The Quebecois excelled, turning up the heat and putting their opponents in the shade by scoring four goals before and after the break. The greatest of the group was arguably his long-range bomb.The Chicago native played with absolute ferocity, and he and his teammates must have been happy to put a long knife in Toronto’s faint hopes of making the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. On the other hand, Montreal is clearly in the top tier of the Eastern Conference along with the Philadelphia Union. They have every reason to be confident about their chances of winning the championship before Mihailovic leaves for AZ Alkmaar in the winter.

Although it still appears unlikely that he will make it to Qatar, we believe he has done enough to warrant a call-up this month.

 

USMNTers Comings and Goings

Ricardo Pepi (Groningen, Dutch Eredivisie)

The timing of the World Cup undoubtedly affected the notable USMNT arrivals and departures in the final days of the summer transfer season. Ricardo Pepi’s season-long loan transfer to Groningen in the Netherlands temporarily allowed him to escape the difficult start to life in Augsburg. 

There, he ought to be able to secure consistent playing time and, ideally, resume his previous scoring pattern. Pepi is still young, and like most attackers, he lives and dies by goals, which he has a far higher chance of scoring in the open offensive environments of the Eredivisie. It is true even if his first few months in the Bundesliga were difficult for him.

 

Sergio Dest (AC Milan, Italy’s Serie A)

Sergio Dest transferred from FC Barcelona to AC Milan, a rather excellent landing site given that Xavi Hernandez had made it evident that he was surplus to requirements. He sat on the bench when the Rossoneri defeated Inter in the Derby Della Madonnina.

His playing time prospects are uncertain, given the strong players already established ahead of him. However, it’s a better position than FCB. We believe Dest will be directly involved in Berhalter’s Qatar plans regardless of what happens because one of the few US players is him with such a distinctive, saucily gifted skill set.

 

John Brooks (Benfica, Portuguese Primeira Liga)

John Brooks waited and was rewarded. The German-American struggled to find a club after leaving Wolfsburg, and some reports claimed he was about to retire. However, in the last hours of the transfer season, he signed with Benfica, where he will compete for a place on a UEFA Champions League team.

The lettering appears clear regarding Brooks’ chances of making a last-minute comeback to the USMNT, and it reads “no” in blood-red. However, if you believe Berhalter, Brooks may have a slim possibility of competing in a second World Cup.

 

Superstar Yunus Musah

As good as Sargent and Mihailovic were, no player shone more brightly this week than the young Yunus Musah, who provided two assists and played the central role in Valencia’s La Liga rout of Getafe. By breaking new ground in one of the last remaining uncharted territories for US-eligible players, Musah made history.

1 – Yunus Musah is the first American to record multiple assists in a La Liga match in the 21st century. Provider. pic.twitter.com/IsQWDrXkym

— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) September 4, 2022

According to rumors that surfaced within hours, it shouldn’t be a massive surprise that he is also on AC Milan’s radar. Musah appears more than ever to be a cornerstone for the USMNT. He is gifted with excellent skill and a Rolls Royce engine, velvet-smooth on the ball, and increasingly aware of how to best use his talents in service of the team. And this year, he became just that, as the show’s content ace Jeff Crandall noted.

Celebrating #LaborDay with some stat work and realized this gem:

During his Man of the Match performance on June 14 at El Salvador, @yunusmusah8 surpassed @cpulisic_10 for most minutes played by a #USMNT teenager.

Yunus turns 20 on Nov. 29, the day of USA vs. Iran.

Solid. pic.twitter.com/4hqL8gPSlp

— Jeff Crandall (@jefecrandall) September 5, 2022

Musah won’t be 20 until late November, so his skill set is all the more enticing while he’s still a youngster. He’s already making progress toward becoming the most successful American to ever play in Spain’s top division. I recently argued for another medium that he might even serve as the face of La Liga’s effort to break new ground in the North American market. He’s special like that. 

 

Injury Update

The developments on this front won’t excite Berhalter. 

Jedi Antonee Robinson’s ankle injury during the first half of Fulham’s 2-1 loss to Tottenham raised unfavorable concerns about the USMNT’s left back position, which appears to be an ongoing problem. Strike Jordan Pefok missed Union Berlin’s 1-1 tie with Bayern Munich because of what is said to be a minor muscle problem.

 

Due to a knee injury, goalkeeper Zack Steffen missed a third straight Middlesbrough game; his club and national teammate Matthew Hoppe was on the bench but did not participate in the 1-0 victory Lynden Gooch’s Sunderland. Although it is old news, it should be noted that Cristian Roldan will be out for 4-6 weeks after undergoing surgery for a persistent athletic pubalgia (chronic groin lesion) issue. Roldan is the anchor player for the Seattle Sounders.

 

More encouragingly, Tim Weah had returned to training with Lille before schedule following a foot injury. At the same time, Gio Reyna played the final few minutes of Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 victory over Hoffenheim at home after coming on as a substitute.