Home
The USMNT ended its January camp with a high-energy, low-quality 0-0 draw against Colombia on Saturday night. It was a match that suited Kellyn Acosta's ability to be everywhere all at once in midfield, and it provided us with a glimpse into the shattered goalscoring confidence of Matthew Hoppe. Time is still on the 21-year-old's side.
The most important thing is that 12 players earned their international debuts during the games against Serbia and Colombia, while interim boss Anthony Hudson is going to have to wait for March's clash with Grenada to get his win percentage above zero.
Otherwise, here are the main takeaways from the entire exercise.
3 things we learned from the USMNT's January camp
#1. Jesús Ferreira is off the depth chart.
It's been a long time since Ferreira dropped four goals on Grenada in Austin, TX. Since then, he's ghosted through the MLS Cup Playoffs, his start against Holland in the World Cup Round of 16 and now a friendly against Colombia.
He's a goalscoring threat in MLS, but it almost looks like — if Ferreira wants to play in Europe or continue his international career — he could be remolded into a midfielder like Joelinton at Newcastle. The further away from the opponent's box he gets, the more effective Ferreira becomes.
When it comes to the race for the No. 9, Brandon Vázquez outshined Ferreira in camp and now we've got Josh Sargent, Daryl Dike, Haji Wright and Ricardo Pepi all scoring goals in Europe.
#2. Gregg Berhalter's summer of 2021 is about to look really, really good.
The sense of ennui around the USMNT is frustrating. Before kick-off Saturday against Colombia, TNT commentator Luke Wileman described interim manager Hudson as "a pair of safe hands" given his various roles with U.S. Soccer over the past three years. It's a joke. It should be one of the most difficult jobs in the country to attain, with every single decision heavily scrutinized, but here we are with a guy who played sparingly in the fourth-tier of American soccer before becoming the worst manager in Colorado Rapids history. We need to be more critical than just calling him "safe."
The United States goes into the summer defending its crowns in both the Nations League and Gold Cup, earned in spectacular fashion during a heady 2021 summer that highlighted our young talent, depth and the credentials of Berhalter.
It's been confirmed that Hudson will almost certainly lead the USMNT in both competitions this summer while U.S. Soccer hires a new sporting director and then a full-time manager.
There's no way the U.S. wins both the Nations League and Gold Cup this summer. I wouldn't be surprised if they went trophyless.
#3. The U.S. is strangely loaded at left back.
When it comes to left back, depth at the position is usually lacking for teams across all levels of the sport, but the U.S. is suddenly looking stacked there. Antonee Robinson is going to be in his prime come 2026, and 19-year-old Kevin Paredes — who's made an impressive start at Wolfsburg — is an exciting option.
During this camp, 19-year-old talent Jonathan Gómez — targeting a breakthrough at Real Sociedad — got the start against Serbia, and then John Tolkin — a 20-year-old entering his third year as a consistent starter for RBNY — looked really sharp on his international debut against Colombia.
The USMNT doesn't return until March, when the team finishes its Nations League group stage with matches against Grenada (Mar. 24) and El Salvador (Mar. 27). Those games take place in a FIFA international window, so it'll be interesting to see what sort of roster Hudson assembles with everyone available.
