A sports director for a local Texas news station gave a hilarious tirade at United States men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter after Ricardo Pepi was snubbed from the World Cup roster.

On Wednesday Berhalter’s USA World Cup roster was revealed with the shocking exclusion of teenage striker Pepi. Instead, Haji Wright was selected. KTSM 9 News sports director Colin Deaver wasn’t having it at all.

The surprising United States men’s national team roster was revealed on Wednesday giving fans a better idea of who head coach Gregg Berhalter could have in his USA World Cup starting XI.

This potential USA World Cup starting XI lineup considers the current form of players, Berhalter’s history of starting certain people, recent position identifications (Brenden Aaronson being listed as a midfielder) and the best possible options.

Let’s look at what we’ve cooked up.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar begins Sunday, Nov. 20, with the curtain-raiser at Al Bayt Stadium between the host nation and a fortunate Ecuador. Why's Ecuador so lucky? Because, as the latest World Cup odds 2022 show, Qatar is by far and away the worst seeded team in the eight groups.

Monday, Nov. 7, marks exactly two weeks until the USMNT opens World Cup play against Wales at Al Rayyan Stadium. The event is almost upon us, and it all becomes very real Wednesday when manager Gregg Berhalter reveals his final 26-man roster at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

Toward the end of September, it looked like LAFC was about to unlock the best of Gareth Bale. He hadn't scored in his last seven appearances (totaling 245 minutes) after finding the net twice in his first four (96 minutes), but more importantly, the 33-year-old Welshman had just recorded his second start.

In three weeks, the USMNT begins its World Cup campaign in Qatar. Much is still to be decided for the final roster — especially at the goalkeeper position.

During the September international break (with Zack Steffen omitted as a precautionary measure as he recovered from injury), Matt Turner started against Japan and Saudi Arabia. Turner had a strong showing against Japan, and was arguably the top American performer that day, before having little to do in a dull match versus the Saudis in Spain.

From a USMNT perspective, the MLS Cup Playoffs have only served to reinforce the poorly trending narrative around the team.