The Gregg Berhalter era began in the desert with a 3-0 friendly win over Panama in January 2019 in front of 9,040 people in Glendale, Arizona.
The journey to Qatar has spanned 56 matches: a sometimes thrilling, occasionally dreary trip from the cacti and air-conditioned sprawl of the oblivious Phoenix suburbs to the dense skyscrapers and ignoble stadiums of the peninsula hosting the globe’s highest-profile sporting event.