Knock, knock, knocking on Berhalter’s Door: Guys on the Fringe

With the announcement of Berhalter’s Gold Cup roster and the NL past us, we have an idea of Berhalter’s player pool. But what about the guys left out? With the exception of Chris Richards, who would have been in the NL camp if he didn’t have a hamstring injury, here are the list of guys who will be pushing to get into the team. Note that it’s going to becoming amazingly difficult to break into the squad as WCQ will demand us play our best players and not experiment much. So all these players will have to step their game up to get a chance.

Berhalter’s Boys going into WCQ
- GK: Steffen, Horvath, Ochoa, Turner, Johnson, Guzan
- FB: Dest, Yedlin, A. Robinson, Cannon, Vines, Bello, Moore
- CB: Brooks, Richards*, Miazga, McKenzie, M. Robinson, Zimmerman, Sands, Ream
- MF: McKennie, Adams, Musah, Yuiell, Acosta, Busio, Williamson, Roldan
- AT: Pulisic, Reyna, Weah, Lletget, Aaronson, Arriola, Lewis
- FW: Sargent, Pefok, Dike, Hoppe, Zardes, Gioacchini

Who are our contenders?

***** = starter candidate
**** = ready now
*** = strong contender
** = dark horse
* = on life support
+ = injury recovery depends

• GK Josh Cohen, 1992, Maccabi Haifa - no calls up yet. It’ll be tough to get into the top 3 but the Israeli Premier League Player of the year might move in. **
  
• GK Tim Melia, 1986, Sporting Kansas City - God forbid that we need to do so, but Melia could be an old reliable who you use in a pinch. *
• RB Bryan Reynolds, 2001, AS Roma - maybe you could say that Reynolds is already on the inside. But I’m not 100% sure yet. He needs to get regular minutes next season. ****
• RB Kyle Duncan, 1997, NY Red Bulls - Duncan has a lot of work to do. He needs to hope he sneaks into January Camp. But I doubt he’ll ever be a USMNT regular. *
  
• RB Aaron Herrera, 1997, Real Salt Lake - Like Duncan, he’s competing for a January Camp spot at the earliest. Similarly, I doubt he’ll ever be a MLS regular. *
• RB Julian Araujo, 2001, LA Galaxy - honestly, I think turning down the Gold Cup will doom him for the rest of the cycle. Berhalter had to move on and focus on his guys, and Araujo is good, but not so good, that he has to be a senior player right now. ***
• RB Joe Scally, 2002, Borussia Moenchengladbach - If Scally becomes a regular player for Gladbach this next year, Araujo will be in the rear view mirror. Still, right back is crowded. *
• RB Tim Chandler, 1990, Eintracht Frankfurt - I don’t know whose cornflakes he peed in, but you would think he would get a shot. If he stays in the rotation for Frankfurt, I could see him getting a call up. ***
  
• CB Cameron Carter-Vickers, 1997, to be determined, Where will CCV land up next year? We don’t know but his decision will make or break him for this cycle. For instance, if he goes somewhere like Newcastle, and starts, he’s going to surge up the charts. ****
• CB Erik Palmer-Brown, 1997, to be determined. Like CCV, his next career move will make or break him with the national team for this cycle. ***
  
• CB Justin Che, 2003, FC Dallas - He’s probably not one for this cycle, unless he blows up this year. Center back is a position that requires experience and leadership and he might be too young unless he proves exceptional. **
• CB Aaron Long, 1992, New York Red Bulls - his injury really set him back and gave others an opportunity. But if anything the NL showed that we need Long healthy and in form. If he bounces back, he’ll get another shot. +
• L/CB Kik Pierie, 2000, FC Twente - If Pierie wants to play in the World Cup, this cycle, he should be ready to commit in the next couple months or be ruled out. ****
• LWB Kevin Paredes, 2003, DC United - Paredes us one who is surging recently, and at left wing back no less. He should get his shot at the January Camp, and we’ll see from there. ***
• LB John Tolkin, 2002, New York Red Bulls - He’s one who should be competing for a January Camp slot. From there, who knows? But it’s probably too soon for him this cycle. **
• LB Jonathan Gomez, 2003, Louisville City - Gomez is one if he plays his cards right, transfers to the right club, starts playing, and lives up to the hype, then, you could see Gomez be one of the guys who could break into the first team squad. **
• DM/LB Leon Flach, 2001, Philadelphia Union - I was disappointed to not see Flach at the Gold Cup but at some point, you can only take so many people. He’s still very young and he’s having a good year. He should get his shot at January Camp to demonstrate his worth. ***
• DM Moses Nyeman, 2003, DC United - Nyeman is having a really good year and should get a call up in January. But it won’t come sooner than that. **
• DM Johnny Cardoso, 2001, Internacional - He’s hot, he’s cold, he’s still very young. We need more consistency out of him, but a good run of form should give him a shot with the big boys sometime. ***
• DM Owen Otasowie, 2001, Wolverhampton - Otasowie isn’t getting a lot of press lately, and that’s because he hasn’t locked down a spot yet. He’s one who could become a USMNT player or never be heard of from again. ***
• DM Chris Durkin, 2000, Sint Truiden - Durkin is doing well in Belgium and you have to think he’ll get his shot soon enough. *
• DM Andres Perea, 2000, Orlando City - Berhalter did a lot to get him, but he did not impress when called up. But he’s doing better and should get another shot in a January Camp. *
• MF Luca De la Torre, 1998, Heracles - I was very disappointed to not see Luca at the Gold Cup. He was a lock, in my opinion. But now, he’s pushed himself down the depth chart and needs to build off a good year last year. He should still get a call up again at some point in the qualifying campaign. ****
  
• MF Tanner Tessman, 2001, FC Dallas - Tessman needs to do more but she should be in the drivers seat for a January call up. *
• MF Christian Cappis, 1999, Brondby - If Cappis can impress at Brondby, I could see him sneaking in a WCQ roster. But he’s on the outside looking in. *
• MF Frankie Amaya, 2000, New York Red Bulls - now that he’s out of Cincinnati, and with Clark leaving soon, he should be the main man for one of MLS flagship clubs. January Camp should be an opportunity for him to impress. *
• MF Paxton Pomykal, 1999, FC Dallas - Pomykal needs to figure things out because a man of his potential shouldn’t be a scrub for an MLS team. At this point, he’s not even a January Camp. But the potential is still there. *
• AT Julian Green, 1995, Greuther Firth - I was disappointed that Berhalter ignored him. But if he does well in the Bundesliga, he should be in a camp sooner than later. ****
• AT Richie Ledezma, 2000, PSV Eindhoven - When will he return? How will he return? That’s the question. If he can bounce back quickly, he could push out a number of players. +
  
• AT Cole Bassett, 2001, Colorado Rapids - Bassett should be in the driver’s seat for a January Camp, but I don’t see a call up before then. **
  
• AT Djordje Mihailovic, 1998, CF Montreal - I believe unless he pulls a horseshoe out his ass, he’s not going to get another shot. But who knows? Stranger things have happened. *
  
• AT Joel Sonora, 1996, Banfield - If he can become a key player at Banfield, you have to think he might get his shot, right? *
  
• AT Alan Sonora, 1998, Independiente - same story as his brother. Could sneak in for a call up if he does well. *
• AT Caden Clark, 2003, RB Leipzig, on loan at RB New York - Clark has a really good shot at pushing his way into the team. Even though he was projected to be part of the team at the Gold Cup, once he settled in at Leipzig, he will likely be a regular and strong contender to make the 23 for the WC. ****
• RW Tyler Boyd, 1994, Besiktas, loan/sale to be determined - Boyd is still a man with the potential to be a USMNT player. He just needs to figure out his club situation. ***
• RW Chris Mueller, 1996, Orlando City - Missing the Gold Cup really hurt Mueller who is losing his shot at the national team. But he could still get another shot at January Camp. **
• RW/RB Brooks Lennon, 1997, Atlanta United - Quietly, he’s having a very good season at Atlanta. He might get a shot, at winger, at the January Camp. We’ll see from there. *
• RW/FW Cade Cowell, 2003, San Jose Earthquakes - I was very disappointed that Berhalter didn’t select him. I don’t know how man could select Lewis over Cowell. But it shouldn’t be long until even Berhalter can’t ignore that. ***
• LW Konrad de la Fuente, 2001, Olympique Marseilles - Konrad should skyrocket and become an instant figure if he becomes a regular for Marseilles. The talent has always been there. He just needs to prove it. ****
  
• LW Alex Mighten, 2002, Nottingham Forest - This is a dual national we should easily be able to get and he looks to have a bright future. Still, it might be too soon for him this cycle. ***
• LW Jordan Morris, 1994, Seattle Sounders - We can only hold our breath to see how he returns. Meanwhile others are licking their chops to make him irrelevant. +
  
• LW Dante Sealy, 2003, FC Dallas - He’s an outsider now, but he could be a guy that transfers abroad and makes his case. I wouldn’t bet on it this cycle though. *
• FW Jesus Ferreira, 2000, FC Dallas - He missed a big opportunity by not making the GC roster. But he showed well enough that he could be a guy that could sneak in for an actual first team squad and not have to just wait for January Camp. **
• FW Ricardo Pepi, 2003, FC Dallas - if he keeps scoring like he is, he’s going to get a call up sooner than later. He should be in the driver’s seat for a January Camp. **
• FW Rubio Rubin, 1996, Real Salt Lake - He was on fire early this season, but he has since not done so well. Still, he should be looking good for January Camp, and then, we’ll see. **
• FW Folarin Balogun, 2001, Arsenal - we all need to keep an eye on him next season as he should become a first teamer for Arsenal. If he does well, he could bump off a lot of guys and earn a call up sooner than later. But he had to commit. ****
• FW Santiago Munoz, 2002, Santos Laguna - If he’ll commit, he could sneak into the squad as a very promising player. And as much as Mexico is trying to poach our players, we should poach theirs. ***
• FW Malick Sanogo, 2004, Union Berlin - He’s probably too young for this cycle. But if he’s as good as the hype, and if he’ll commit, it would be nice to have a promising striker. **
• FW Haji Wright, 1998, Sonderjyske - He’s an outsider. But he’s an outsider that if he starts banging in goals, he’ll get a shot. *
• FW Andrija Novakovich, 1996, Frosinone - Nova has been on the cusp of a call up but still just not being quite good enough. He needs to play somewhere where he’s playing and scoring first tier soccer. *
  
• FW Sebastian Soto, 2000, Norwich City - I’m about to give up on Soto, but it’s always when you’re about to pull the plug on someone like Soto, they prove you wrong. Still, will it happen? I doubt it. But I still have my eye out. *

 

One thing I failed to mention is how difficult it’s going to be for new players to break into the team. For those guys who refused a call-up, you have to think they kind of shot themselves in the foot. Because, I know, if I’m Berhalter, I’m calling in just the best 23 available every time, each month, from now until March 30th.... unless we qualify early.

I don’t even know how we’ll squeeze in time for a January (or should it be December camp?). After the Gold Cup, the focus is about to be solely on WCQ. And I don’t see where a lot of new guys are going to get their chance, unless they start playing for Real Madrid or what not.

Unless, Berhalter wants to bring in +3 to every camp, rotating them into the team, to determine if they might get a shot later. But it’s do or die time.

 

I would say that, right now, this looks to be our player pool for World Cup qualifying...

underline: lock (not to start but to receive calls)
+ Add
< at risk
~ Drop
! Injury
? Monitor
* Dual-national

- GK Zack Steffen, Matt Turner, Ethan Horvath, Brad Guzan, David Ochoa, Sean Johnson, Josh Cohen?

- FB Sergino Dest, Reggie Cannon, DeAndre Yedlin, Antonee Robinson, George Bello, Sam Vines, Shaq Moore<, Bryan Reynolds+, Kevin Paredes+, John Tolkin?, Joe Scally?, Kyle Duncan?, Aaron Herrera?, Jonathan Gomez*, Julian Araujo*

- CB John Brooks, Chris Richards, Matt Miazga, Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson, Walker Zimmerman, James Sands<, Tim Ream~, Donovan Pines~, Aaron Long!, Cameron Carter-Vickers+, Erik Palmer-Brown+, Justin Che?, Kik Pierie*

- MF Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Gianluca Busio<, Kelyn Acosta<, Eryk Williamson<, Cristian Roldan<, Jackson Yuiell<, Luca De la Torre+, Johnny Cardoso+, Julian Green+, Owen Otasowie?, Tanner Tessman?, Moses Nyeman?, Leon Flach?, Christian Cappis?, Chris Durkin?, Andres Perea?, Jacob Montes?

AT Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Brenden Aaronson, Tim Weah, Sebastian Lletget, Paul Arriola<, Niko Gioacchini~, Jonathan Lewis~, Konrad de la Fuente+, Caden Clark+, Cade Cowell?, Chris Mueller?, Tyler Boyd?, Cole Bassett?, Paxton Pomykal?, Alan Sonora?, Joel Sonora?, Dante Sealy?, Alex Mendez?, Duane Holmes? Djordje Mihailovic?, Jordan Morris!, Richard Ledezma!, Alex Mighten*

FW Daryl Dike, Jordan Pefok, Josh Sargent, Matthew Hoppe, Gyasi Zardes<, Jesus Ferreira?, Ricardo Pepi?, Rubio Rubin?, Andrija Novakovich?, Haji Wright?, Sebastian Soto?, Santiago Munoz*, Malick Sanogo*, Folarin Balogun*


And if I narrowed this roster down to what we’ll count on in the next year, minus someone doing something of note to break in:

- GK Steffen, Horvath, Turner, Ochoa / GK seems closed

- FB Dest, Yedlin, Reynolds, Cannon, A. Robinson, Vines, Bello / FB seems closed

- CB Brooks, Richards, Miazga, McKenzie, Zimmerman, Robinson, Carter-Vickers, Sands / CB seems closed

- MF Adams, McKennie, Musah, Busio, Acosta, / CM is the most open spot. We’re still unsettled so a player who has a good start can really improve his chances for a call up.

- AT Reyna, Pulisic, Weah, Aaronson, Lletget, Konrad, Clark / AT could open up but someone will really need to impress.

- FW Dike, Pefok, Sargent, Hoppe / unless a FW proves better this is our core group.

 

In short, after this Gold Cup, don’t expect a whole lot of new players introduced into the team unless they are playing out of this world.

 

Because spots are closing, it makes me wish we could squeeze in at least one experimental roster with our best B team before WCQ ends. There are a lot of guys I wish to see but doubt it’ll happen because the priority, right now, is building the A team.

 

Lol, damn autocorrect.

 

Someone had mentioned it somewhere that the remedy to this issue might/will be that we have larger roster sizes for camps.

As an example, we might call up 30 for August.

Hypothetical (* = extra):
- GK Steffen, Turner, Horvath

- FB Dest, Cannon, Yedlin, A. Robinson, Bello/Vines* (or Reynolds)

- CB Brooks, Richards, 2 of McKenzie-Miazga-M.Robinson-Sands-Zimmerman, Carter-Vickers* (or Palmer Brown*)

- MF Adams, McKennie, Musah, 1 of Yuiell-Acosta-Busio-Roldan-Williamson, De la Torre* (or a number of others)

- AT Pulisic, Weah, Aaronson, Reyna, Lletget, Konrad*, Clark*

- FW Sargent, Dike, Pefok, Hoppe*, Pepi/Balogun*

...That’s the only way I know that we can try to introduce new guys into the team. Sort of a, ‘ if it’s your first camp or you’re just on the outside, you can come in and train, but you won’t play this time.’

 

January? camp is going to be a big deal, but when are we going to have it. We would be negligent to miss it.

 

There are some guys who could improve the team, who won’t get a shot until then.

 

Caden Clark will be out. So too will probably Tessman, Busio, Dike, Gomez, Che, and Bello.

I will want to see more Sands, Turner, Zimmerman, Miles, and Vines/Bello

We can still call in Arriola, Lletget, and Acosta. We can check back in from Yuiell, Zardes, Roldan, Williamson, too, if needed and they’re in good form.

It’d be good to see a return from Morris and Long.

I want called in, or at least monitored, Ochoa, Cowell, Pepi, Flach, Tolkin, Paredes, Nyeman, Duncan, Bassett,... maybe Ferreira, Rubin, Perea, Herrera, Romero, Amaya, Araujo, Mihailovic, Pomykal, and Mueller too. Plus anyone who stands out between here and then.

Positionally, left back, defensive mid, and goalkeeper are the three positions that could see their stock improved.

 

If I could name one XI, I would like to see as a completely experimental line-up in December/January...


Starting XI
—————Ferreira————-
Paredes———————-Cowell
———Acosta——Lletget——-
Vines—————————Duncan
——-Miles—Sands—Zim——-
——————Turner—————

End:
—————*Pepi——————-
*Bello—————————Cowell
———*Flach—*Nyeman———-
*Tolkin—————————Duncan
———Miles—Sands—Zim——-
—————*Ochoa——————

...We could learn a lot from that game plan. Granted, I sort of did something weird where I change the XI to effectively get all 4 left backs I want to see (minus Gomez who should be going to Europe anyways). We continue to get to see if Miles-Sands-Zim can play CB. Let’s play both Turner and Ochoa (to keep him from defecting). Also, let’s let Flach and Nyeman have their shot. And Cowell needs a go. Oh, and I want to get Pepi into camp.