By Juan Carlos Maygua
The USMNT continues to structure its summer schedule as they face three important tournaments practically at the same time. The Olympics, Gold Cup, and Nations League are all objectives where the federation wants to be successful.
However, the World Cup and Olympic qualification are the main objectives at the moment. Head coach Gregg Belharter spoke to the media ahead of the friendly matches scheduled for this month and the players that made the squad.
One aspect that will condition the National Team is the availability of certain players for one of the two games scheduled. This means that players like Gio Reyna, Tyler Adams, or Chris Richards will only be available to play the game against Jamaica and will have to return to their respective clubs due to sanitary protocols. The absence of Weston McKennie, who was having an outstanding season in Italy, was also addressed by Belharter. “He was omitted from the roster because of a slight injury that he’s been dealing with, you can imagine playing league games and Champions League every weekend takes a toll on you. He’s getting used to that level of competition, unfortunately, we had to rule him out for this camp as he goes through further investigation but looking forward to having the guys in camp and building on what we have started in the last couple of years”. The group will be reduced to 19 players for the second game against Ireland due to COVID 19 restrictions in the United Kingdom.
It’s no secret that Christian Pulisic has lost playing time at Chelsea since Thomas Touchel’s arrival. The lack of minutes has stopped the growth and momentum he was having, compromising his form for the upcoming competitions. Berhalter emphasized the importance of the squad’s unity to help Pulicic move on from his predicament at club level.“We can conceptualize what players are going through because of Covid but we might not be close enough, the players have to go from the training ground to their apartments, they are locked up. Then you play Wednesday and Saturday for months and without fans, it takes a tone on you. I think for Christian in particular is going to be a great opportunity to get together with his friends and see the group. It would be great to have him in camp and have him on the field, really looking forward to using him in a couple of different ways and see how he can be most effective”. The head coach also highlighted Yunus Musah, the latest player to have chosen the United States as the country to represent. Having worked with him back in November Belharter praised Musah’s commitment to the program as well as his competitive nature and ability.
The success that many USMNT players are having across Europe has set high expectations for the upcoming competitions. Belharter added that “We are still taking this process step by step, our first objective is to qualify for the World Cup”. He emphasized that the process needs continuity for the players to gain the necessary experience to be competitive on the international level. Finally, Josh Sargent is the striker that will be the focal point of the attacking line moving forward. “We want him to score goals, hopefully with a strong opponent like Jamaica he continues to grow in that aspect”.
In general, the senior team looks to be set for their competitions this summer. This, however, can become a bit of a problem if the U23s qualify for the Olympic games. It would mean that they will have to send two different squads to each competition. Although, this is nothing but a sign of progress for U.S. Soccer.