How Berhalter outwitted Southgate in USMNT draw vs England

Some clever tactical tweaks helped the USMNT control much of the game in a 0-0 draw

AL KHOR, Qatar – While they’ve cooled things off for a while as they compete head-to-head at the World Cup, Gregg Berhalter and Gareth Southgate have developed a friendship in recent years, sharing ideas and fellowship as they implement youth-driven overhauls of their respective national teams.“I’ve enjoyed my interactions with Gregg,” Southgate told reporters the day before his England side faced off against Berhalter’s United States in their Group B clash at Al-Bayt Stadium. “Over the last few years I’ve learned a lot from him.”At the time that sounded mostly like politeness. Southgate led the Three Lions to the semifinal of World Cup 2018 and the final of Euro 2020, and they currently sit fifth in the FIFA World Rankings. Berhalter’s Gold Cup and Concacaf Nations League titles just don’t hold quite the same cachet for most observers.Berhalter doesn’t seem like the sort to rub it in his face. But next time they link up out of range of the cameras and microphones, Southgate might just have to admit he got a lesson from his North American mate in the Qatari desert on Friday.Berhalter made several tactical tweaks that blunted the threat posed by England’s talent-laden XI, starting with targeted pressing and an unexpected move to a 4-4-2 formation while defending. Christian Pulisic paired up top with surprise starter Haji Wright ahead of a mostly flat midfield shape with Tyler Adams and Yunus Musah central and Weston McKennie flared out to one flank while Tim Weah manned the other.“Obviously it worked,” said McKennie, one of his side’s top performers in a scoreless draw. “You guys saw, we had the ball often, they weren’t able to really break through so many times, I don’t think we gave them a lot of chances to get in behind and to get goalscoring opportunities. And it worked for us as well, we were able to break them down, have space out wide.”

(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

It continued with a number of subtle shape shifts as the game played out, keeping the English side guessing.“We wanted to highlight our defensive shape that would change from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3. If we did that, effectively, we wanted to hit them in transition, offensive transition, and we think we gave them some problems in that,” explained Berhalter in his postgame press conference.“We wanted to make it compact. We want to work from a compact block in the beginning of the game. And throughout the game, we switched it up a little bit just to keep giving them different looks. And give them credit, they kept adapting as well. They moved from, four on one to four on two to three on one and it was a handful for us, for sure.”The tweaks unsettled England, as the flowing moves forward that tore Iran apart occurred only in fits and starts. A managerial game of cat and mouse unfolded over the course of the match, and by the final whistle both the statistical data and the general run of play favored the USMNT.“It was a really tough opponent. They defended incredibly well,” said Southgate after his side were largely outplayed and out-thought in a game that boosts U.S. confidence ahead of a must-win against Iran. “To come off the high of the performance the other day [a 6-2 win over Iran] and find that same energy, level of quality, was always going to be a challenge. Their front six make it so difficult to play through and get at their defense.”

Adams claimed that he and his teammates weren’t informed of the shape shift until the day before the match. The organization and fluidity with which they executed the plan — and the details shared by their coach — stretched the credibility of that statement, however.

(Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

“That was something that we saw with their defending in the last game and we wanted to key in on it. Basically triple-stacking the right side of the field, Serge [Sergiño Dest] getting the ball, being able to bypass his defender to find Weston free and then [English left back] Luke Shaw would have a decision to make,” Adams said.“He’s either going to leave Timmy [Weah] and release to Weston or he’s going get held by Timmy, and that was a focus of ours. So glad to see that. England did that a little bit in the second half with Mason Mount also popping wide, and it’s difficult to deal with. You’ve got to be smart about it. You got to understand when to pressure, when not to pressure, but it definitely put us in some good positions to continue advancing the attack.”Southgate shared a glimpse of his side of the chess match, which leaves both squads in need of a positive result on Group B’s final matchday in order to move on to the round of 16.“We didn’t quite get our pressure right. [Yunus] Musah was dropping low and we got a little bit stretched without the ball, and McKennie pulling a little bit wider caused us a bit of a problem, which we needed to resolve at halftime,” he said. “So we needed to be more aggressive on our pressure, bit more compact as a team. Obviously Pulisic comes into clever areas with [Antonee] Robinson going outside him as well. So there’s lots of questions for the players to answer within the game.”

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USMNT player ratings: Adams, McKennie, Ream help secure World Cup draw vs. England

A smart adjustment from Gregg Berhalter ends with an impressive draw

The U.S. men’s national team stepped it up against England, securing a 0-0 draw in which they had the better of the game’s few chances.

The USMNT may have been slightly disappointed with one point against Wales, after dominating in the first half and leading until the final stages, but it’s hard to have too many serious complaints after they held the Three Lions to virtually no serious chances.

We’ll have deeper analysis in the future, but during the World Cup we’ll be giving a quick breakdown of each USMNT player’s performance.

Our scale:

  • 1: Abysmal. Literally any member of Pro Soccer Wire’s staff would have been been able to play at this level.
  • 6: Adequate. This is our base score.
  • 10: Transcendent, era-defining performance. This is Maradona vs. England in 1986.

Tracking every Nike pair noted sneakerhead USMNT’s Gregg Berhalter has worn during the World Cup

Gregg Berhalter has some HEATERS.

Any fan of the US Soccer Men’s National Team knows that Gregg Berhalter is a huge sneakerhead.

The dude has so much heat, man. From the Travis Scott Jordan 6 to the “Red Thunder” Air Jordan 4 and so much more, it’s pretty clear that Berhalter has some gems in his collection.

He’s going to be bringing some of those gems out at this year’s World Cup. He’s got 7 pairs on tap, specifically, writes USA Today’s Nancy Armour.

“For a sneakerhead, that’s an extremely hard — and expensive — feat to pull off. But Berhalter is completely committed to it. When asked how many pairs he was bringing to the World Cup in Qatar, he said seven. You do the math.”

So what pairs is he flexing on everyone with? That’s exactly what we’re here to see. What follows below is the Gregg Berhalter sneaker tracker. We’ll keep track of every pair of sneakers USMNT’s head man wears during their stint at the World Cup this year.

This is going to be fun.

Watch our sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery 

USMNT expecting ‘physical’ challenge from Wales in World Cup opener

Berhalter: “The starting point is…matching their intensity”

AL-RAYYAN, Qatar – The U.S. men’s national team expect to get stuck in, and be stuck into in kind, when they make their long-awaited return to the World Cup against Wales on Monday night.

As long as the eight years since their last run at this event may have felt for fans of the United States, the Welsh have been waiting an actual lifetime for this moment — their last World Cup bow was in 1958 — and their current squad has amassed substantial tournament know-how in the last two European Championships.Then there’s the iconic, still-deadly Gareth Bale.“I’ve said all along, you’ve probably heard me say this, that I think they’re underrated,” USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter said of Wales at a press conference one day before the game. “They’re an experienced team, international competition experience, solid back line, robust players, very physical, talented difference makers up top with Bale, [Daniel] James, Kieffer Moore.“Solid midfield, wingbacks that get forward. So overall, I think it’s a really solid team. And for us, the starting point is again — I’ve said this six times already — but it’s just matching their intensity and coming with a competitive mindset, because we know that’s going to be needed in the match.”

Acosta: Bale ‘a catalyst’

Wales’ current generation has showcased collective spirit and tactical intelligence to reach this point. And with most of their players regulars in the top two divisions of English soccer, the Dragons are familiar with the rough-and-tumble side of the game. It was Bale’s LAFC teammate Kellyn Acosta, however, who spoke of the need for a muscular approach to the Welsh talisman in hopes of limiting his impact on the match.

“Don’t let him get to his left foot! Simple as that, right?” cracked Acosta in a conversation with reporters earlier this week. “No, I mean, special players make special plays, and he’s a guy who you definitely have to worry about. Because once he gets into the game and finds space and becomes comfortable and confident, he’s very dangerous.“And he’s going to be a catalyst for them, so he’s a guy that we definitely have to have eyes on, a guy that we literally [have to] start kicking him around the field and make him feel us and limit his time and space.”

(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

The USMNT surely wouldn’t be the first opponents to attempt that on Bale, who reiterated that he’s not worried about whether he’s fit to play.“I tried to avoid [Acosta] kicking me the last two weeks before we came!” joked the former Real Madrid star, who also claimed he’s “right where I want to be” in terms of fitness in Wales’ press conference. “So no, it’s nothing, I’m used to getting kicked on the field. So yeah, nothing’s changed as far as the referees there. Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be a fair but difficult game tomorrow that both teams are looking forward to, and I’m sure it’ll be played in a great spirit.”Bale’s persistent history of soft-tissue injuries continued after his midsummer arrival in MLS, limiting him to 370 minutes and three goals. Then again, one of those goals was the sensational late equalizer in extra time of the MLS Cup final that proved decisive in LAFC’s championship win.“Obviously an amazing player, a legend. We know he’s extremely skilled, you can see it in the MLS Cup final when he comes on,” said USMNT defender Aaron Long on Saturday. “And he comes on for not that much time and makes a huge impact. So if he’s healthy, I’m sure he’s starting, and yeah, an amazing player, extremely dangerous.”

USMNT not sleeping on Moore

Bale’s threat is well known. A teammate with a smaller reputation, but a substantially larger frame, was another topic of conversation in the leadup: Bournemouth striker Kieffer Moore, a towering 6-foot-5 target man who provides the Welsh with a useful outlet up top in addition to a finishing nous that’s reaped eight goals across English Championship and Premier League play this calendar year.

(Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)

“He’s a big threat. We [Leeds United] figured that out playing against Bournemouth this year,” said Tyler Adams of Moore. ““He provides a completely different game plan to any team that you put him into. So yeah, obviously, he’s amazing in the air, but he’s probably very underrated in his technical ability and finishing around the goal. So for our center backs, I’ve even already had a word with them. We talked about it in our scouting meeting already: you got to have a body on him at all times.”It adds up to a substantial first test in Qatar for the US youth movement that’s raised so many hopes across American soccer since the dark days of 2017’s qualification failure.“It’s a fantastic group of guys. And what I’ve seen is the maturity grow over the last three and a half years with this group,” said Berhalter. “Now I see a tremendous amount of focus within the team. And I think this focus is going to help us go for success. And time’s going to tell if we’re able to play with the best teams in the world.”

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Tyler Adams: We have ‘no idea’ who will captain USMNT at the World Cup

Adams, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Walker Zimmerman have all worn the armband in 2022

With four days left before the U.S. national team’s World Cup campaign kicks off, Tyler Adams has admitted he has “no idea” who the team’s captain will be in Qatar.

Rather than naming one consistent captain, USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter has opted for a rotating cast of players wearing the armband during his tenure.

So far in 2022, Adams has worn the armband three times, while the USMNT has also been captained by Christian Pulisic five times, Weston McKennie once and Walker Zimmerman three times.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Adams said that he and his teammates were still in the dark over who would wear the armband against Wales on Monday.

“We have no idea who the captain is going to be yet,” Adams said. “Obviously, since Gregg has taken over it’s been a shared responsibility amongst our ‘Leadership Council’ quote-unquote and we have a bunch of guys that can wear that armband.

“We all lead in various ways. Of course, I’ve worn it at times and feel very comfortable wearing it but I have total belief in my other teammates as well that if that’s a decision that’s made, that’s a decision that’s made.”

The Leadership Council is a group of six players that are tasked with serving as the team’s representatives. From a Sports Illustrated story last year:

Instead, there’s the Leadership Council, a group of six players elected by their peers who consult with Berhalter on issues big and small. The Council acts as a conduit between coaches and players, and as a vehicle to empower emerging U.S. leaders. Established as a permanent fixture in the fall of 2019, it represents a noteworthy approach in world football, as well as the end of a long line of established, big-name U.S. captains, from Claudio Reyna and Carlos Bocanegra to Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley.

The USMNT will face Wales on Monday to open Group B, before taking on England and Iran.

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Pepi says he did his part to make USMNT World Cup roster: ‘I scored my goals’

The 19-year-old felt he couldn’t have done much more to secure a roster spot

Ricardo Pepi was disappointed to miss the U.S. national team World Cup roster, but insisted he’s at ease over his omission because he couldn’t have done much more to make the squad.

On the back of a disappointing first half-season at Augsburg, Pepi sought out a loan move to secure more minutes and scoring opportunities as he looked to lock down a World Cup place.

The 19-year-old got a loan to Dutch side Groningen and has delivered in the Eredivisie, scoring six goals in just nine games so far.

That led many observers to conclude Pepi would have a spot in Qatar secured, especially after Gregg Berhalter called him into September’s friendlies when the striker was not in strong scoring form.

But a trip to Qatar, where he would have been the youngest USMNT roster member, was not to be for Pepi. Speaking after scoring another goal for Groningen on Sunday in a 3-2 loss to Fortuna Sittard, Pepi said that while he is disappointed, he is proud of his recent exploits in the Netherlands.

“[It’s] disappointing because I felt like I gave myself the best opportunity to be on the World Cup roster,” Pepi said in an interview with OOG Radio.

“I felt like I had a chance but [it’s] also not disappointing at the same time because like I said, I did my thing. I went out there, I played many minutes, I scored my goals. So I’m really happy with that situation. At the end of the day, it’s a coach’s decision that I can’t control.”

Pepi said that after Berhalter told him he would not be on the roster, he tried not to dwell on the omission and immediately started to look ahead.

“After he told me that I wasn’t in the selection, I just had to listen to what he said. And I didn’t really ask any questions,” Pepi said. “I felt like once he told me I wanted to flip the page as soon as possible and just focus on the game now. I can’t keep thinking about why I didn’t make it or why I did.”

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Turner in, Steffen out: Why Berhalter made the massive call for USMNT goalkeeper

Steffen not being the starter wasn’t a shock, but missing the roster entirely? Very few saw that coming

It always seemed like the U.S. men’s national team’s decision in goal was going to be a tough one, but no one expected it to go like this.

Gregg Berhalter named a USMNT World Cup roster without goalkeeper Zack Steffen, his most frequent first choice since taking over the job. Matt Turner, Ethan Horvath, and Sean Johnson are in the squad instead, while Steffen — even after moving on loan to Middlesbrough to get more playing time than he had seen at Manchester City — is out.

Plenty of observers wouldn’t have been shocked to see Turner get the start against Wales on November 21. Turner was one of the only players to come out of the September window without disappointing, and while he’s not first-choice at Arsenal, the timing of this World Cup means that the London side’s Europa League matches have kept him in action more or less weekly. His rapid ascent is, on some level, the story here.

The shock is that Berhalter felt the solution wasn’t simply going with Turner, but that Steffen wasn’t even second-choice, or third.

Speaking to reporters in a press conference in Brooklyn after the roster was unveiled, Berhalter didn’t go too far into the reasons behind his decision. It was plain that he didn’t make the choice lightly, calling it “heartbreaking,” but that still leaves the question of “why” unanswered.

Steffen hasn’t been at his best

On a surface level, one key here is pretty straightforward: Steffen has not played well since moving to Middlesbrough. Berhalter said as much, telling ESPN’s Fútbol Americas that the USMNT coaches felt they “needed more out of Zack” for club and country over the past 18 months.

Berhalter might be onto something on that front. Steffen had a high-profile error in his biggest Man City assignment, letting Sadio Mané tackle the ball off of his foot and into the net in last year’s FA Cup semifinal. His move to Middlesbrough began with him missing on a cross against Queens Park Rangers, giving away an easy goal in his second appearance at the club.

The list could go on here, which makes the point: Steffen, for all of his ability, has been unreliable in some fairly straightforward situations, and it’s not all that surprising that Berhalter has lost some confidence in a player he had long believed in.

It’s not just gaffes, either. There is no perfect metric for sorting good goalkeeping from bad, but in one important advanced category, Steffen is faring somewhat poorly among Championship goalkeepers. Post-shot expected goals per shot on target is an attempt to measure how difficult a goalkeeper’s shot-stopping load has been, effectively gauging just how hard it is to make saves based on a season’s shots on frame.

In that metric, using data from FBref, Steffen is 16th out of 25 Championship goalkeepers with more than 10 starts on the season, meaning that the saves he’d have to make are less difficult than most of the other starters around the league. However, his post-shot expected goals minus his actual goals allowed, on a per-90 basis (an evaluation that gets close to defining shot-stopping ability, or at least a combination of that and good fortune) sees him 19th out of the same 25 players.

In other words, Steffen has underperformed despite facing, in relative terms, a fairly modest challenge.

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Interestingly, though, the data isn’t really better for Horvath, who is facing the fourth-easiest post-shot expected goals per shot on target with Luton Town, but only returning the 17th best post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed.

You can read that as an indicator that Horvath is part of a more organized defense, and that neither is doing anything special in the saves department. Both have had some gaffes as well, and the apples-to-apples comparison here doesn’t exactly fill one with confidence.

What you can’t do is parse very much in terms of who should be backing Turner up. Horvath may be in (slightly) better form, but Steffen’s experience with the USMNT is more extensive, and he’s played in Berhalter systems for most of his professional career. Generally speaking, in a case like this, a coach goes with the known quantity, but Berhalter is taking the opposite tack.

Hierarchy a key

The closest thing to a peek into what Berhalter was thinking came in that same Fútbol Americas interview, and it may have less to do with form or data than a word Berhalter only used once, but that says so much: hierarchy.

“Part of it was looking at the players that we do have, and exactly the roles that they would fill at the World Cup,” said Berhalter. “We feel confident that we have three really good goalkeepers, and the hierarchy in the goalkeeper line I think is set pretty well.”

What Berhalter means by hierarchy here is that Turner is a clear starter, rather than someone who was still battling for the job. It’s the kind of move you make to settle someone’s confidence, as opposed to keeping that fight for the No. 1 shirt going to stoke the competitive fire. To go so far as remove Turner’s seeming top competitor for the job, Berhalter’s read has to be that the Arsenal man is competitive enough as is, and that the wise move is to demonstrate just how strongly he feels about starting him at the World Cup.

There are other ways to do that, though, which could include just clearly announcing that Turner will start if healthy. And it only sort of gets at how Horvath got the call over Steffen. Both would be backing Turner up, so why not take both and have them competing to be the alternative? Iron sharpens iron, as the old saying goes.

The thing about that adage is that the sharpening comes from friction, and that’s probably what Berhalter doesn’t want in his team right now. Unity and cohesiveness seem to be the preference over having the most intense competition at this point. For the USMNT, the battle for playing time in goal appears to be more or less over, and the time to settle into and embrace the roles available has begun.

That thought process requires picking a second-choice goalkeeper that can thrive in that specific role, which is to say which player can give you his very best despite the hierarchy handing him some unwanted news.

It’s rare for a starting goalkeeper to have any particularly special appearance coming off the bench, but Horvath has just that: a near-legendary performance replacing Steffen in the 2021 Nations League final against Mexico, helping the USMNT get a massive win in terms of shifting the tone and perception of the team.

That’s very likely not Berhalter’s only data point in evaluating which player would be more likely to deliver if called upon as a substitute. Horvath did well for Nottingham Forest last season when Brice Samba missed games due to injury, and had to sub into the club’s promotion playoff final in stoppage time and help Forest cling to a one-goal advantage. He’s been able to perform when he wasn’t necessarily expecting to have to step in.

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

To understand Berhalter’s line of thinking, it’s helpful to think of the goalkeeper corps not as the best goalkeepers available, but the best goalkeeper available, and then the best option to be that player’s back-up. That may be splitting hairs, and it may be galaxy-braining the situation, but one thing the USMNT has been consistent about under Berhalter has been considering every decision thoroughly. Fans can and do disagree with the outcomes, but you can’t seriously argue that Berhalter makes his choices casually.

As for Johnson, a player who has been behind Steffen in Berhalter’s eyes for years, it helps to know your USMNT history. The program has long embraced the line of thinking that your third-string goalkeeper’s most important skill is in the locker room and on the training ground. Nick Rimando in 2014 and Tony Meola in 2002 can both speak to that. Both were still playing at a high level, but the thing that got them into those squads, the X factor for them against their competitors, was their positive influence on the rest of the team.

Yes, your third goalkeeper could play, but they very likely won’t. What they will do, every time, is have some impact on the rest of the group from an interpersonal standpoint, and Berhalter acknowledged that in his press conference on Wednesday.

“Looking at a guy like Sean Johnson, who’s been with this program since day one, been with us since day one, and we think he’s a really valuable piece of the team,” said Berhalter.

Think about it: Johnson is going to Qatar knowing that he’s almost certainly there as the third option, and that he’s not going to see the field. What Berhalter needs in that case is a player that embraces that role, rather than being disappointed he’s not the starter. It’s only natural for Steffen to have the latter mindset at this point, having been the starter for so much of the last four years. For lack of a better way to put it, if the third goalkeeper is there mostly to maintain good vibes, someone who is (understandably) frustrated and disappointed isn’t really going to be in the right place to give others a boost.

All of which adds up to an unusual situation when it comes to evaluating the USMNT’s analysis of Steffen. It’s almost like he narrowly lost out on three different one-on-one battles: he’s not playing as well as Turner, so he’s not the starter. He’s not thought of as having the same ability to step in as a surprise, so Horvath gets the role of primary back-up instead. And then, when it comes to helping others maintain positivity and focus, Johnson apparently has the edge.

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USMNT injuries: Berhalter gives updates on four World Cup roster players

Gregg Berhalter named 26 players to his World Cup squad, but not all of them are currently healthy.

Gregg Berhalter named 26 players to his World Cup roster on Wednesday, but not all of them are currently healthy.

Some, like Miles Robinson, Sam Vines and Chris Richards, had already been ruled out for the tournament. Others are healthy enough to make the roster, but aren’t quite ready to play right away.

Here we take a look at four important U.S. men’s national team players who are still working their way back to fitness.

Pep Guardiola told Tim Ream he’d be playing for him if he were 24, not 34 (he’s 35)

The Man City boss is a big fan of Ream — now he just needs to get his age right

Tim Ream is winning a lot of new fans with his displays for Fulham this season, including Man City head coach Pep Guardiola.

Now Pep just needs to work on getting Ream’s age right.

Ream was included in the U.S. national team’s World Cup squad on Wednesday, as Gregg Berhalter rewarded the defender for his excellent campaign in the Premier League.

Speaking on ESPN’s “Futbol Americas” after releasing his roster, Berhalter recounted a conversation between Ream and Guardiola after last weekend’s Premier League match between Man City and Fulham.

“Tim Ream just played against Man City and after the game, Guardiola walks up to him and says, ‘If you were 24 instead of 34, you’d be playing for me,'” Berhalter said.

“So Tim said, ‘It’s too bad I’m not 34, I’m 35.'”

‘Have you watched any Fulham games lately?’

Despite his strong campaign with Fulham, Ream was a somewhat surprising inclusion on the World Cup squad because he hasn’t played for the USMNT in more than a year.

Asked at a press conference about selecting Ream, Berhalter responded:  “Have you watched any Fulham games lately? Then you know why we brought him in.

“He was in the Premier League three years ago, and he struggled, the whole team struggled. And he went to the Championship and he started performing better, and they got promoted. And now he’s in the Premier League, and he’s a top performer for his team. It’s really hard to ignore stuff like that.

“And by the way, he’s been a guy that’s been with us since day one. So to me, all the pieces were aligned to bring him back into the squad. Based on what we’re seeing, the level he’s playing at, he’s ready to play in a World Cup for sure.”

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USMNT forward Pepi misses World Cup roster despite red-hot form

Pepi’s outstanding form with Groningen wasn’t enough for the USMNT

The U.S. men’s national team will go to the World Cup without one of its most in-form goalscorers.

Ricardo Pepi, who has rediscovered his form in recent months after a loan move to Groningen, was surprisingly left off the USMNT roster for Qatar. Pepi has five goals and two assists in his first eight appearances since making that move, and had been a regular call-up for Gregg Berhalter even while struggling through his first European season at Augsburg.

That burst of success in the Eredivisie, and the restored confidence that came with it, seemed to secure his place on Berhalter’s roster. Instead, the USMNT head coach delivered a shock, dropping Pepi and calling on Jesús Ferreira, Josh Sargent, and Haji Wright as his three strikers.

“In the case of Ricardo, you know, that was a really difficult conversation that I had to have,” Berhalter told ESPN moments after the news dropped. “It’s always difficult when a guy helps you get to the World Cup, he scores three goals in World Cup qualifying, [and] isn’t going to be a part of the program.”

“It’s more about who we did add that we felt good about,” added Berhalter, preferring to highlight what the other strikers did to secure their places over critiquing Pepi’s play. “Josh is competing in the Championship, he played in the Premier League last year. We’re playing Wales and England, both teams are stocked with players from those leagues. Haji Wright is in great form with his team in Turkey, scoring nine goals already so far. And Jesús has been good for us, and a guy who really understands the game plan and how to execute it.”

Wright ‘in great goalscoring form’

Berhalter didn’t quite hone in on what Pepi had been missing to fall down the depth chart so late in the process, but he did give some insight into how Wright managed to climb above him.

The Antalyaspor striker wasn’t even seen as Pepi’s biggest challenger, with most of the signs pointing towards Pefok being the next man up. Wright has been very consistent in the Turkish top flight, but his last appearance with the USMNT saw Berhalter openly declare that he hadn’t capitalized on his opportunity. While Berhalter chalked the situation up to it “not being [Wright’s] night,” the choice to haul him off at halftime was widely read as the end of the California native’s World Cup hopes.

Speaking to reporters after announcing the roster, Berhalter explained some of what gave Wright the advantage in the end.

“We felt like Haji is in great goalscoring form,” said Berhalter, adding that while Wright is possibly less physically strong than Pefok, his speed was a factor in the decision. “Haji has pace. He’s got the ability to go one-v-one. He’s got finishing with his head, both feet. He’s performing really well in the Turkish League.”

Berhalter was so bullish on Wright’s form that he even drew a direct comparison between the USMNT man and Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi.

“Let’s not forget that the starting striker from Belgium also plays in the Turkish League and has five goals, and Haji has nine goals. And the Belgium guy’s probably playing for a better team, also. So I mean, this is not an easy league to score goals in, and he’s doing a good job.”

Batshuayi does in fact suit up for Fenerbahçe, the Istanbul-based giants that are currently five points clear atop the Turkish Super Lig table. Wright — who has nine of his club’s 19 league goals this season — and Antalyaspor are eight places and 13 points further down the table.

It’s not a totally even comparison. Batshuayi has only appeared in seven games since moving to Fenerbahçe a little over two months ago, and between league games and Europa League contests has scored a goal for every 75 minutes played, as compared to Wright’s rate of 117 minutes per goal. But even still, drawing a line between the two players clearly serves to highlight just how strong Wright’s form is in Berhalter’s eyes.

Berhalter added that the nature of this World Cup, with a lack of pre-tournament friendlies and prep time, made him place more weight on individual form than he might have otherwise.

“We don’t have three games before the World Cup now. We have a week of training, and that made it extremely difficult,” said Berhalter. “If we would have made the decision mid-September, Jordan Pefok would have probably been a lock to be in, based on his form in Union Berlin. But since then, it’s a different story. Now Haji’s come on more.”

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