USMNT set October roster: Pulisic out with injury, McKennie back from suspension
By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
The United States men’s national team will have a different look up front for the next set of World Cup qualifiers.
Injured stars Christian Pulisic and Giovanni Reyna are among the five forwards who started at least one match for the USMNT during September’s three qualifiers but are not on the 27-man roster U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter named Wednesday for the October games against Jamaica, Panama and Costa Rica:
Goalkeepers: Sean Johnson, New York City FC (MLS); Zack Steffen, Manchester City (England); Matt Turner, New England Revolution (MLS)
Defenders: George Bello, Atlanta United (MLS); John Brooks, Wolfsburg (Germany); Sergiño Dest, Barcelona (Spain); Mark McKenzie, Genk (Belgium); Shaq Moore, Tenerife (Spain); Tim Ream, Fulham (England), Chris Richards, Hoffenheim (Germany); Antonee Robinson, Fulham; Miles Robinson, Atlanta; DeAndre Yedlin (Turkey)
Midfielders: Kellyn Acosta, Colorado Rapids (MLS); Tyler Adams, Leipzig (Germany); Gianluca Busio, Venezia (Italy); Luca de la Torre, Heracles (Netherlands); Sebastian Lletget, LA Galaxy (MLS); Weston McKennie, Juventus (Italy); Yunus Musah, Valencia (Spain); Cristian Roldan, Seattle Sounders (MLS)
Forwards: Brenden Aaronson, FC Salzburg (Austria); Paul Arriola, D.C. United (MLS); Matthew Hoppe, Mallorca (Spain); Ricardo Pepi, FC Dallas (MLS); Tim Weah, Lille (France), Gyasi Zardes, Columbus Crew (MLS)
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Pulisic (ankle) and Reyna (hamstring) were injured during the previous international window. They haven’t played for their respective European club teams, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund, since. And while Berhalter left open the possibility that one or both could be healthy enough to rejoin the group ahead of the match against the Ticos, that probably isn’t realistic.
"I think that it is unlikely, just due to where they're at — not even involved in team training yet," Berhalter told reporters on a Zoom call shortly after the squad was announced.
With Jordan Pefok, Josh Sargent and Konrad de la Fuente left out entirely this time after each getting a start last month, the six attackers summoned — Brenden Aaronson, Paul Arriola, Matthew Hoppe, Ricardo Pepi, Tim Weah and Gyasi Zardes — have to step up.
Aaronson was excellent in September, starting in El Salvador and scoring versus Canada and Honduras. Pepi figures to keep his spot up top after his Man of the Match performance in the 4-1 win in San Pedro Sula. And Weah, who like Arriola and Zadres missed the first three qualifiers because of injury, figures to slot straight into Reyna’s spot on the right wing.
"He's in a good run of form right now," Berhalter said of Weah. "I really like how he's been playing, and we think he's going to help us."
With two of the three games at home — the Americans meet the Reggae Boyz on Wednesday in Austin, Texas, travel to Panama on Oct. 10 and close the window against Costa Rica three days later in Columbus, Ohio — the U.S. needs to be more direct offensively. One of the main ideas is to create scoring opportunities by getting in behind opposing defenses and pulling defenders out of position.
"I just didn’t think we did that effectively enough, particularly in the first two games," Berhalter said. "These guys will stretch the back line. What that does is open up space in the midfield and lets us play more effectively."
Having Weston McKennie back in the mix should help, too. The Juventus midfielder was suspended for the past two qualifiers after breaking team rules. But he remains a key member of the USMNT on and off the field — even more so with both Pulisic and Reyna out.
"As far as I'm concerned, this is something that's done," Berhalter said. "He's still going to be held accountable for his behavior — everybody's going to be held accountable — but this isn't something that we hold on guys, and that's not the type of culture we have in the group, and it won't be moving forward.
"His behavior was unacceptable," Berhalter added. "He took responsibility for it, and we move on."
McKennie will have help in the middle of the field. Hard-running Yunus Musah is healthy again and could spell McKennie or Tyler Adams off the bench or when Berhalter rotates his lineups — he started 21 players in September — to keep everyone fresh.
Luca de la Torre and Gianluca Busio, the 19-year-old former Sporting Kansas City prospect now starting for Venezia in Italy, offer a little more on the attacking side. Busio played for the U.S. during the Gold Cup, but this is his first appearance in qualifying.
"He plays like an older player," Berhalter said of Busio. "We won’t hesitate to put him in. We know we need rotations. We know we need people who can start the game and also make an impact coming off the bench. So we think he's going to be a contributor this camp."
Experience reigns supreme on the back line. DeAndre Yedlin’s 67 caps lead the squad. Fellow vets Tim Ream and John Brooks are there, too, as are youngsters George Bello (19), Chris Richards (21), Mark McKenzie (22), Barcelona’s Sergiño Dest (20) and the two Robinsons, central defender Miles and left back Antonee (no relation).
There was no place for Walker Zimmerman or 18-year-old fullback Joe Scally, who just missed the cut and will be strongly considered for future camps, the coach said.
Finally, in goal, Berhalter all but confirmed that a new starter has emerged. Matt Turner got the nod earlier this month after Steffen injured his back, then tested positive for COVID-19. Now, with Steffen playing sparingly for Manchester City — and possibly not flying to Panama along with Fulham’s Ream and Antonee Robinson because of British travel restrictions to certain countries — it looks like Turner’s job to lose.
"Matt is an example of taking advantage of his opportunity," Berhalter said.
Shorthanded or not in October, the USMNT is hoping to do the same.
One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
