There are no full camps left, no friendlies to spring feelings of fan consternation remaining, no more in-person auditions to spare. The next time a U.S. men’s national team roster is announced, it will be the one that’s geared for Qatar and the 2022 World Cup.
It’s never that straightforward, though. Manager Gregg Berhalter has already cautioned that even after his Nov. 9 squad announcement, things could potentially change due to injury, given that there’s a weekend of club games abroad before the U.S. convenes in the World Cup host nation for a week of buildup to its group opener vs. Wales. But save for the last-minute, unwanted substitution, there’s little left that can be done to alter the calculus in building the U.S.’s 26-man squad.
Berhalter had estimated before the lackluster friendlies of the past week that he probably had 80–85% of his World Cup squad already sorted, and after a pair of goalless outings against Japan and Saudi Arabia, it’s tough to say how much his mind really could have changed beyond that—the caveat being that what happened in training behind closed doors could ultimately have proven influential. In the match situations, though, no forward distinguished himself in the brief window, while the big winners were likely Matt Turner, a goalkeeper already all but assured of going to the World Cup, anyway, and the lengthy list of injured regulars who were forced to miss out—and whose presence was sorely felt. And in the end, it appears the individual roster races may have dragged down the collective performance, at least according to the U.S. manager.
