Tag: Gregg Berhalter

Berhalter gives injury updates on Robinson, Steffen, and Weah after USMNT roster announcement

Three potential USMNT starters are out, but for how long?

The latest U.S. men’s national team roster was missing some familiar faces due to injury, with three potential starters in Antonee Robinson, Tim Weah, and Zack Steffen all left out.

Speaking to reporters following Wednesday’s roster announcement, Gregg Berhalter provided an update on a trio that could all easily end up in the starting eleven to face Wales in the USMNT’s World Cup opener in 69 days.

According to Berhalter, all three players have injuries that may well be resolved in the next couple of weeks, though in the case of Robinson and Steffen, there is still a bit of a mystery as to exactly how close they are to returning.

The closest to a return is Weah, who sprained his ankle just before the start of Lille’s season in Ligue 1. Les Dogues initially thought Weah would miss a couple of games, before eventually concluding that he needed a more lengthy course of treatment last month.

According to Berhalter, that recovery time is just about over, with Weah possibly returning to training with Lille before the USMNT camp in Europe concludes.

“Timmy is moving along,” said Berhalter. “He may be in team training by the end of next week. But we’re hopeful on him.”

Return dates for Robinson, Steffen unclear

Per Berhalter, Robinson’s injury is also an ankle sprain, but the prognosis is slightly more cloudy. While there was no doom and gloom in his answer, Berhalter conceded that the USMNT doesn’t have total clarity on when their presumptive starting left back will return.

“It’s an ankle sprain, and you know, day-to-day,” said Berhalter of Robinson, who picked up the knock on September 3 in Fulham’s 2-1 loss to Tottenham. “We’re not sure exactly when he’s going to be back in training. At this stage, it’s probably better not to rush it and give him the proper recovery time.”

Berhalter noted that while Robinson is a big part of his plans, the USMNT does need alternatives in case he’s injured or suspended during the World Cup. Sergiño Dest and Joe Scally were name-checked, while Berhalter added that this window is “a great opportunity” to gauge Sam Vines as a candidate for the final squad heading to Qatar.

Steffen’s injury situation is a bit more murky, as the 27-year-old has missed four straight games for Middlesbrough. Berhalter said that while there’s no definitive return date at this point, the USMNT thinking is that he’ll be back in action for his club “shortly.”

“With Zack, you know, it’s more of a question in my opinion of his health. He’s been struggling with a little bit of a knee injury,” explained Berhalter. “(Middlesbrough have) been resting him, and now they’ve done a (platelet-rich plasma) injection. He’s waiting on that to calm down a little bit.”

Berhalter will be hoping for good news on that front during this camp, as this camp will close roughly six weeks before the final USMNT roster for Qatar is announced.

[lawrence-related id=7253,7251,6325]

Berhalter explains Pepi call-up ahead of in-form Pefok and Vazquez

The USMNT coach opted for experience and potential over players scoring at their clubs

Of the 26 names on September’s U.S. men’s national team roster, Ricardo Pepi’s was perhaps the most surprising.

The USMNT has a host of in-form striker options at the moment, but Gregg Berhalter opted to omit three of those in favor of a player who hasn’t scored a goal in nearly a year.

Brandon Vazquez has had a breakout campaign with FC Cincinnati, Jordan Pefok is off to a strong start in the Bundesliga with Union Berlin, and Haji Wright is still scoring with Antalyaspor in Turkey.

None of them made the cut.

Pepi has only just completed a loan move to Groningen in the Netherlands after a difficult start to life with Augsburg.

But Pepi’s track record with the USMNT, as well as his obvious potential, made the difference in Berhalter’s mind.

“Keep in mind this is a guy that scored three goals for us in World Cup qualifying and has had a tough time since then,” Berhalter told the media on Wednesday.

“We’re trying to get him confidence. We’re trying to get him into the group and see if he can make a push for the final roster — that’s TBD right now.

“You can see that he can be dominant in the Dutch league. And now it’s a question of if he actually is, and can he really take his game to the next level?

“Pepi has had some good history with us. He started in really important games. And we just weren’t willing to give all that up right now on Pepi, and we still think there’s a big upside with him. We still think he’s got really good potential.”

Berhalter addresses Pefok & Vazquez snubs

Berhalter didn’t go in depth into why Pefok missed out, saying that he was already familiar with what the striker brings to the table.

“We’re pretty confident we know Jordan’s profile, we know what he can do,” Berhalter said. “And we didn’t feel like we needed to see him in this camp to determine whether he can be on the [World Cup] roster or not.”

Berhalter did speak more on Vazquez, a player who has had a breakout campaign in MLS. In the USMNT coach’s eyes, however, his lack of experience with the national team is costly at this late stage.

“For us, it’s comparing him to what we have, comparing him to other guys and then the body of work both with his club and with us,” Berhalter said. “And with us, it’s very difficult for him: He doesn’t have a body of work.”

“I feel bad for Brandon,” the coach continued. “I talked to him and I told him it’s not the end and continue to do what he’s doing and keep himself in the conversation. That’s all I can do.”

(Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports)

Berhalter also laid out his vision for what he is looking for in a striker, which could be instructive in explaining some of his personnel decisions.

“We use them in a number of different ways,” Berhalter said. “One of them is to drop in and give us an extra man in midfield. One of the ways is to run behind the backline and then arrive in the penalty box, making good runs inside the penalty box.

“And then finally, starting our defensive pressure. We want to be a high-pressing team. We need forwards that understand the press, know how to use triggers to initiate the press and then actually execute the press well.”

[lawrence-related id=7251,7093,6711]

Gregg Berhalter doesn’t seem too broken up about Thomas Tuchel being fired

The USMNT boss seems to be a card-carrying member of the #FreePulisic movement

Count Gregg Berhalter among the American observers who weren’t exactly devastated to see Thomas Tuchel sacked as Chelsea head coach.

Tuchel was let go on Wednesday with the season just a month old, with Chelsea moving quickly to replace him with Brighton head coach Graham Potter the next day.

U.S. men’s national team star Christian Pulisic struggled for consistent playing time under Tuchel this season, starting just one game and often playing out of position at wingback when he did see the field.

With just two months remaining until the World Cup, it’s not surprising that the USMNT head coach appears to be looking forward to Pulisic getting the chance to impress a new head coach in London.

“I’m not happy a guy lost his job. But if this means more opportunity for Christian, then it’s positive because he’s a guy that’s proven that he can perform at that level,” Berhalter told the AP on Wednesday. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Pulisic is set to be on the roster for the USMNT’s final two World Cup tune-ups this month, as the U.S. faces Japan in Germany on September 23 and Saudi Arabia in Spain four days later.

Berhalter said he is close to settling on a roster for the World Cup, but there still could be a surprise or two.

“I’m sure there’s not going to be anything drastic, but there may be a couple of guys that pop up,” Berhalter said.

[lawrence-related id=7018,6995,6982]

Cristian Roldan set to miss USMNT friendlies after sports hernia surgery

Gregg Berhalter will be without a trusted option against Japan and Saudi Arabia

It looks like Cristian Roldan won’t be on Gregg Berhalter’s final pre-World Cup roster.

The Seattle Sounders announced that the U.S. men’s national team midfielder underwent sports hernia surgery Tuesday morning.

“Cristian, after seeing a couple of specialists down in LA, actually underwent a successful groin surgery this morning,” said Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer. “His athletic pubalgia just wasn’t getting any better.”

Roldan is expected to be out for somewhere between four and six weeks. That effectively rules him out for the USMNT’s pair of September friendlies. The USMNT is set to play Japan on September 23 in Düsseldorf, Germany, and Saudi Arabia in Murcia, Spain on September 27. Even if Roldan were to fully recover in just four weeks, the USMNT would likely have already flown to Europe for the friendlies.

How does this impact the USMNT midfield?

Roldan’s hold on a place within the squad has grown more tenuous with time, though some of that process has been out of his control. Yunus Musah’s emergence as a starter, having chosen the USMNT over England, Ghana, and Italy only last year, is one factor, while Brenden Aaronson’s rapid rise (and ability to play both in the midfield and as a wide forward, as Roldan does) is certainly another. Luca de la Torre has also raised his profile within the team, while Kellyn Acosta’s return to the USMNT fold has added to the crowd.

Still, while Roldan has seen his playing time decline, Berhalter still substituted him into five qualifiers, and in a variety of game states. It’s clear that Berhalter still sees a tactically and technically sound Swiss army knife like Roldan as a valuable player he can trust in a range of situations, and it stands to reason that he was in the frame to be called up for the Japan and Saudi Arabia friendlies.

Roldan is not the only USMNT player in doubt for the September window. Tim Weah is looking like a major doubt as well, with Lille saying on Monday that his ankle injury would require three weeks of immobilization before he can even resume training.

With Roldan unavailable, the door may be just the tiniest bit open for players like Gianlucia Busio and Djordje Mihailovic, both of whom were players Pro Soccer Wire‘s last roster projection had just barely missing out.

[lawrence-related id=3063,1649,6325]

Gregg Berhalter says John Brooks doesn’t fit the USMNT’s ‘game model’

The U.S. boss pointed to the defender’s lack of familiarity with a high line

U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter has said John Brooks has not been called in since last fall because he does not fit the team’s game model.

Brooks had been a USMNT regular for several years before Berhalter opted to exclude him for a set of November World Cup qualifiers, and the defender has not been back with the team since.

The 29-year-old is undoubtedly one of the most talented defenders at Berhalter’s disposal, having been a starter in the Bundesliga for nearly a decade, but in an interview with ESPN’s Futbol Americas, the coach explained that Brooks not playing a high line with former club Wolfsburg was detrimental to his national team chances.

“I called [Brooks] before the November camp, and I said, ‘John, listen, here are some things that are lacking in your game, that I don’t see fit our game model, and that we need to address,'” Berhalter said.

“We want to play with a very high line, right?” he added. “So ideally, if he went into a team that plays with a high line, and we can see that every week, how he’s dealing with space behind him, it would really help us get a picture of what he can do for our team. So, he hadn’t been doing that with Wolfsburg.”

Brooks is now a free agent after leaving Wolfsburg and Berhalter insisted, as he’s done several times, that the door is still not closed to Brooks in terms of making the 2022 World Cup squad.

“To me, it’s a question of: Let’s see where John ends up,” Berhalter said. “Let’s see what club he ends up at and let’s see how his form is throughout the fall. And then we can evaluate.”

[lawrence-related id=4895,4889]

What United States national team superstar of the past could most help the 2022 roster?

Seven United States national team veterans were asked by Pro Soccer Wire what player most help the American squad today.

This is arguably the most talented United States national roster in program history, with more players getting significant minutes and starting for top Champions League clubs. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t roster holes and weaknesses within Gregg Berhalter’s set-up.

Invariably, every national team pool, perhaps with the exception of one or two nations, is going to have certain weaknesses. The United States need for a striker, for instance, is well-documented.

But where could the United States most need one player, one talent, to transform the roster?

Pro Soccer Wire asked seven former United States national team players a very simple question: what one player from your time with the national team would you take in his prime and put with this current group?

All the players asked had multiple appearances with the United States, giving them access to a rather wide playing pool for this answer. In addition, the group of national team veterans also span over 30 years of playing at the international level, eliminating recency bias.

Check out what player these seven United States national team veterans would infuse onto this current roster. One or two…or three of the answers might surprise you!

Four things we learned in the June USMNT window

We got some clarity up top, some World Cup system hints, and Aaronson is making a push for starts

The U.S. men’s national team had to make good use of this June international window, given that they have just one September camp left before Gregg Berhalter assembles his team for the World Cup in November.

On the surface, the results were, if not spectacular, then at least satisfactory. A rout against Grenada met expectations, and while the road draw at El Salvador was a bit of a letdown, the game was played in awful conditions, and no one got hurt. In the friendlies that lead off the window, a confident 3-0 win over Morocco was the highlight, while showing the steel and savvy to secure an even draw with veteran-heavy Uruguay bodes well for a young USMNT’s prospect.

However, the big thing in this window was picking up knowledge for the trip to Qatar. Here are four things we learned during the June window:

Ferreira has the edge

Berhalter called Jesús Ferreira and Haji Wright in as his strikers during this camp, and has looked at just shy of a dozen center forwards over the last year. There’s also been more than a little talk of moving Tim Weah inside once Gio Reyna is healthy, but to be fair, the USMNT probably has to correct that to “if Gio Reyna is healthy” at this point. It’s an understandable impulse, though, as camp kicked off without any one player seizing the position.

Coming out of this camp, though, it looks like Ferreira has opened up a bit of a lead on the pack. Yes, his four-goal outburst came against FIFA’s 170th-ranked team, but the starting No. 9 should be scoring four on Grenada, right? That’s doing the job.

Really though, the tell was that in El Salvador, down 1-0 and having had little success going forward, Berhalter brought Ferreira in for Wright in what was supposed to be a big test for the latter. One feels for Wright, whose big chance in this camp came in conditions that were such a mess that Berhalter shifted away from the normal formation and tactical approach, but when a coach makes a move like that, it’s a big indicator.

It doesn’t feel like we learned that much about Wright in this camp, if we’re being honest, but what we did learn is that a) Berhalter has a ton of faith in Ferreira, who remains the only viable false No. 9 in the pool, and b) the USMNT seems to play better with a center forward dropping off the front line rather than staying up as a more conventional target. Of the nine goals they scored in this window, eight came with Ferreira on the field.

It doesn’t feel like Ferreira is so locked-in that his form with FC Dallas no longer really matters. If he goes cold in July and August, the competition will be as unclear as it was coming into this camp. However, right now, he has to be the odds-on favorite to start against Wales at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in 157 days.

Unclear situation in goal

Ethan Horvath, Sean Johnson, and Matt Turner all got caps in this camp, but no one truly had the kind of game that really underlined their candidacy as one to watch.

Horvath certainly had the worst time of the trio. As with Wright, Berhalter marked out the El Salvador game as a big test for Horvath, who hasn’t been playing much at Nottingham Forest. Unfortunately for Horvath, the home team’s lone shot on goal flew past him as he telegraphed that he was expecting a cross and was caught out of position. It’s only one moment in many, but realistically it’s probably going to stick in the coaching staff’s thoughts when they’re selecting the World Cup roster.

This situation feels like one will only be resolved at the club level. Johnson has the clearest grasp of a starting role, but MLS is not the Premier League. Horvath may have an angle on a Premier League starting role, with Brice Samba saying he wants to leave Nottingham Forest, but it seems safe to expect Horvath to have new competition arrive in the summer transfer window.

That leaves Turner and Zack Steffen, both of whom are likely to enter the season at big-time clubs, but not as starters. Steffen’s place in the Manchester City hierarchy is clear, but Turner at least has the chance, as the new guy at Arsenal, to make a real first impression in preseason. If he creates a battle for the No. 1 spot with Aaron Ramsdale, he’s probably starting in Qatar. If not though, this question is going to carry into November.

Expect to see 3-2-2-3 in Qatar

Berhalter has long wanted to have his team be able to play different shapes in and out of possession, and he’s often come back to some kind of 3-2-2-3 look, generally asking a nominal fullback on paper to push higher up the field in possession.

In this camp, we saw a 4-3-3 on paper become 3-2-2-3 against Morocco, with Antonee Robinson going from left back to left winger, with Christian Pulisic shifting inside and dropping off the front line and Reggie Cannon tucking in from right back. Berhalter has to be happy with the result in that game, as the USMNT not only won 3-0, but created plenty of clear chances.

We saw 3-2-2-3 come back against El Salvador at halftime, and even when Paul Arriola was sent off, the alteration from Berhalter saw the U.S. play out of a 3-1-2-3 in possession, and with Robinson’s comfort in particular, it seems to be a serious option for the USMNT any time they need a goal, or when it’s 0-0 and they want to pursue a positive game state early.

The one question that remains unresolved? This version of 3-2-2-3 doesn’t seem compatible with Sergiño Dest at right back. Maybe Berhalter has a different alteration planned for Dest’s return, or maybe he’s got worries about the Barcelona man’s durability and playing time situation.

Either way, at this point, Berhalter’s tactical choices are about planning for the World Cup, rather than tinkering. The USMNT is setting plans into motion at this point, and some version of the 3-2-2-3 in possession is sticking around.

Aaronson makes his case

Aaronson has largely been a wide forward for the USMNT, even while playing centrally on a more or less full-time basis with Red Bull Salzburg this past season.

However, Aaronson played most of his minutes as a midfielder in this window, and looked at home in his natural position. With Pulisic and Tim Weah seeming like the best options as the wide forwards and Berhalter’s desire to be able to shift from 4-3-3 into 3-2-2-3, it’s a situation worth keeping an eye on, especially as Aaronson moves over to Leeds this summer.

It’s not that the USMNT needs a new central midfielder. Yunus Musah was excellent in this window, and both Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams are very well-established. It’s more than Aaronson’s continued progress is starting to make the case for leaving him out of the best 11 more difficult, and that he brings more of a goal threat running from midfield than anyone else in the pool. Aaronson’s eventual role in Qatar may be tied to Ferreira’s, as a goal-dangerous central midfielder making runs through the middle pairs pretty ideally with a false No. 9.

It’s a tricky situation to sort out at the moment, but you’re never going to hear a coach complain about having too many good midfielders.

[lawrence-related id=3379,3385,3369]

Berhalter says Wright didn’t capitalize on his USMNT chance at El Salvador

“It doesn’t rule him out for anything in the future”

The U.S. men’s national team is very much searching for its go-to goalscorer, but for Haji Wright, Tuesday’s muddy 1-1 draw with El Salvador didn’t do much to advance his cause.

Wright—on fire with Antalyaspor in Turkey and having scored in his USMNT debut against Morocco earlier this month— started up top at Estadio Cuscátlan, a move Gregg Berhalter said in the build-up was due to it being the more valuable CONCACAF Nations League game in this window from an analysis perspective.

However, trailing 1-0 and having had few real looks as a team in the first half, Berhalter substituted Wright at halftime, bringing in Jesús Ferreira in his place.

“It’s always difficult when players get an opportunity and don’t fully capitalize on it. It’s not nice for a coach, it’s not nice for the player, it’s not nice for the group,” Berhalter told reporters following the match. “We’re all rooting for Haji to be a force. We purposely played more direct in the first half, because we thought he could be the force that would unsettle them. And it just wasn’t his night tonight.”

Berhalter’s choice to be more direct went as far as a formation change, with the 4-3-3 commonly used being ditched for an old-school 4-4-2, with Wright operating as a target man ahead of Christian Pulisic. The conditions apparently dictated that change, with Fox Sports 1 saying on their broadcast that the team had planned to make that shift if the field was too sloppy to approach the game in a normal fashion.

That proved to be the case, as the water-logged pitch was a mud pit at kickoff and got worse from there. With both teams going long on a regular basis, the USMNT never really got their attack in gear, and Wright departed the game having had just one look at goal (a contested 31st-minute opportunity that he skewed wide of the frame).

Berhalter indicated that those circumstances were on his mind, and made clear that he doesn’t think this was the one and only audition for Wright or anyone else.

“It doesn’t rule him out for anything in the future. We don’t work like that,” explained Berhalter. “Now it’s about him going back to his club and continue to score goals and do his thing. But you know, it was an unlucky night for him tonight for sure.”

[lawrence-related id=3370,3369,3141]

USMNT ’embraced the challenge’ in Nations League draw with El Salvador

Berhalter: “This is what builds teams”

It wasn’t aesthetically pleasing, but the U.S. men’s national team saw positives amid the acrimony and the muck at Estadio Cuscátlan after Tuesday night’s 1-1 CONCACAF Nations League draw with El Salvador.

“As we watch the weather come in yesterday, and the rain start pouring down, we knew it was gonna be a challenging game,” said USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter in the post-game press conference. “Really proud of the guys, the way they embraced that. They didn’t hesitate. They didn’t complain. They didn’t complain yesterday in training, they didn’t complain today in the game. They just went about their business.”

Berhalter’s side fell behind on a goal that was equal parts stunning (Alexander Larín’s shot came from seemingly nowhere) and potentially morale-sapping, given that it involved a clear misread from goalkeeper Ethan Horvath.

The situation grew worse when Paul Arriola was sent off just minutes after entering the game, a play that drew protests from USMNT players and nearly sparked a scuffle between the teams.

However, they fought back with a stoppage-time equalizer from Jordan Morris, ending the June camp without a loss. For Berhalter, getting something out of the circumstances was a big deal.

“The group grows with moments like this,” explained Berhalter. “After the game, Jordan Morris walks into the locker room, and everyone starts to cheer, and everyone’s uniform is a dark brown color. You know, the shoes are a mess, the staff is all dirty. This is what builds teams.”

Morris, who hadn’t scored for the USMNT since a brace against Cuba in November 2019, agreed. “It was a tough game, obviously. Tough conditions, tough environment, playing against a good team. I thought the fight in the team was really, really good.”

Berhalter, while noting a halftime formation change to a more familiar 4-3-3 after starting the match in a 4-4-2 that the Fox Sports 1 broadcast said the USMNT planned in case the conditions deteriorated, credited the team with upping the intensity of their play as the main reason they came back.

“It’s not a normal game where you come from behind,” said Berhalter. “We had some some referee decisions that were questionable, I think. You had the weather conditions whether it be pouring rain, or the field conditions, the mud that we’re dealing with, some gamesmanship by the opponent.”

We talked before the game about embracing the battle, embracing what this game was going to be like, and the guys did an excellent job of doing that.”

Morris went one step past simply embracing the conditions, going so far as to call the downpour and the mud “fun.”

“These are kind of some of the fields I used to play on as a kid, being from Seattle. Obviously not the mud, but the rain, I love playing in the rain,” said Morris. “I was just embracing that moment. I think the team as a group just embraced the challenge.”

[lawrence-related id=3369,3166,3102]

Que EE. UU. juegue con equipo B en el Azteca es el colmo para El Tri

¿Falta de respeto al Tri? Estados Unidos juega con la estrategia y aparentemente no veremos a un Pulisic o Reyna en el Estadio Azteca

El clásico de Concacaf definirá la noche de este jueves cuál de los dos equipos podría perfilarse a una virtual clasificación a Qatar 2022, si México ante su gente o Estados Unidos que busca la primera victoria en el Estadio Azteca.

Pero una posibilidad se ha manejado entre la prensa estadounidense, que el técnico Gregg Berhalter alinee a un equipo B ante México, sabedores de lo difícil que es jugar en suelo azteca y del terrible récord que tienen en eliminatorias ante sus vecinos del sur 0-3-3 para el USMNT.

© Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Y parece que no es una mala estrategia para EE. UU. salir con cuadro alternativo ante México sabedores que la derrota está presupuestada y evitas el desgaste de tus mejores elementos en la altura de la Ciudad de México y cuando por delante tienes el juego ante Panamá, cuarto sitio de la clasificación de local en Orlando.

¿Falta de respeto al Tri? Estados Unidos juega con la estrategia y aparentemente no veremos a un Pulisic o Reyna en la cancha del Estadio Azteca, aunque todas las figuras estadounidenses están disponibles e hicieron el viaje.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]