Tag: Johnny Cardoso

USMNT World Cup roster to be revealed on November 9

Who will make Gregg Berhalter’s list?

We’ll know the 26-player U.S. men’s national team roster for the 2022 World Cup in less than a month.

U.S. Soccer announced Thursday that they will announce the full squad heading to Qatar on Wednesday, November 9, at Brooklyn Steel in New York City.

ESPN2 and ESPN+ will broadcast the event, with coverage beginning at 5:00pm Eastern. Gregg Berhalter and some players from the squad will be present in person.

In World Cups past, the run-up would mean a roster reveal coming out as far as a month before the tournament. However, with Qatar holding the World Cup in November and December, in the thick of the European club season, the announcement will come just 12 days before the USMNT opens its schedule against Wales on November 21. Many players will likely have one more round of club matches the following weekend before joining up with the USMNT and heading to a pre-tournament training camp in Qatar.

Expect Berhalter to stay young

USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter is expected to call up one of the youngest squads going to the World Cup. Per data from U.S. Soccer, the average age of the USMNT in their 14 qualifying matches was 23.82, making them by some distance the most youthful group to qualify for the tournament.

Berhalter will have some tough calls to make over the next few weeks. A dispiriting pair of friendlies against Japan and Saudi Arabia saw few players improve their stock, and while important players like Christian Pulisic and Ricardo Pepi have since gotten into better form with their clubs, fans are justifiably nervous with the group’s struggles in their last pair of rehearsals.

It feels as though there are few roster mysteries, provided that some key players stay healthy. Recent call-ups like Johnny Cardoso and Sam Vines appear to be on the outside looking in, while striker Brandon Vazquez has said that Berhalter told him it was too late to integrate him.

With Berhalter seemingly not particularly moved by Jordan Pefok’s excellent start with Union Berlin, the strike force question also seems close to settled. Center back should see the most heated competition, though that stems in part from injuries and poor showings in September for several candidates.

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Cameron Carter-Vickers to miss USMNT September friendlies

Berhalter is now dealing with a fifth injury-related absentee

Cameron Carter-Vickers is the latest player to end up unavailable for the upcoming U.S. men’s national team friendlies against Japan and Saudi Arabia.

The Celtic center back was on Gregg Berhalter’s initial roster, but will not participate in the USMNT’s September friendlies after picking up an as-yet-unspecified injury in training.

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglu told the Daily Record early on Sunday that the 24-year-old would likely miss the USMNT camp, and that they hoped to have him available coming out of the international break.

“We’ll see how he is. I think he’s out of the US camp,” said Postecoglu. “We are hoping, post-international break, he won’t be too far away.”

Speaking at halftime of ESPN‘s broadcast of the Columbus Crew hosting the Portland Timbers, Berhalter confirmed that Carter-Vickers would not participate in friendlies against Japan (September 23 in Dusseldorf) and Saudi Arabia (September 27 in Murcia).

“Cam will be out of this camp, which is unfortunate,” said Berhalter. “We wanted to get him in and get him around the group this camp, but unfortunately he won’t be in. We are working on a replacement as we speak.”

Carter-Vickers is the latest USMNT player to end up unavailable in this window. Antonee Robinson and Tim Weah are both dealing with ankle sprains, though both players are believed to be close to a return. Zack Steffen was supposed to be out in order to rest and overcome a knee injury, but started for Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Berhalter then called in Internacional midfielder Johnny Cardoso as a replacement for Yunus Musah, who picked up what Valencia has said is a minor groin injury after the initial roster was announced.

Who will Berhalter call in to replace Carter-Vickers?

There was no immediate announcement of the USMNT’s choice to replace Carter-Vickers, but it stands to reason that Berhalter will add a center back to a squad that is currently down to just three (Aaron Long, Chris Richards, and Walker Zimmerman) rather than boosting numbers at a different position.

Mark McKenzie and Erik Palmer-Brown feel like the leading candidates at this point. While McKenzie has been in and out of Genk’s lineup so far this season, he has more of a history under Berhalter. However, Palmer-Brown has started every game for Troyes in Ligue 1, which may be enough to see him push ahead in what is probably a last chance to stake a claim on a World Cup spot for both players.

Berhalter also mentioned Matt Miazga as someone he’s been monitoring after announcing his squad, meaning the FC Cincinnati man is also a candidate here. While Berhalter also mentioned Fulham captain Tim Ream, it came with a note about how the style of play Ream does well in is not a good mesh with the USMNT’s system. A similar situation is likely to keep John Brooks out of the reckoning, even after the USMNT veteran sealed a move to Benfica.

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It looks like Johnny Cardoso is getting a USMNT call to replace Yunus Musah

Cardoso has been capped three times by the USMNT, most recently in December 2021

It appears that Johnny Cardoso of Brazilian side Internacional will get a U.S. men’s national team call-up to replace the injured Yunus Musah for the team’s upcoming friendlies.

Musah was part of a 26-player roster for the USMNT’s final two World Cup tune-ups against Japan and Saudi Arabia, set for September 23 and 27.

But the Valencia midfielder has picked up a knock, as revealed by his head coach Gennaro Gattuso at a press conference on Friday.

“He has a little discomfort. It is not a big thing. He has not trained today,” the coach said. “I have to talk to the doctor after the press conference because he has a small injury. I don’t know if he will be able to play in the game [vs. Celta Vigo on Saturday], but he has not trained today.

“Musah will not be going [to USMNT camp] either if his small problem is confirmed.”

The Athletic said that a Valencia spokesperson confirmed Musah would not be joining up with the USMNT for the team’s friendlies.

Musah’s replacement appears to be Cardoso, according to a report from Brazil as well as MLSsoccer.com

When speaking to the media after naming his roster this week, U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter praised the 20-year-old, saying he nearly made the cut originally.

“At center mid Johnny Cardoso is playing every week in Brazil, and we like what he’s doing, his team’s doing really well,” Berhalter said.

Cardoso has made three appearances for the USMNT, all of which have come in friendlies. The most recent cap for Cardoso was a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina in December 2021.

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