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Gregg Berhalter’s official 26-man United States men’s national team roster for the World Cup was revealed and wow was it full of surprises. Some big USMNT World Cup roster snubs came with the shock inclusions.
Here is the USMNT World Cup roster.
Player name (Club Team, Caps)
Goalkeepers (3):
- Ethan Horvath (Luton Town, 8)
- Sean Johnson (NYCFC, 10)
- Matt Turner (Arsenal, 20)
Defenders (9):
- Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic, 11)
- Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC, 33)
- Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls, 29)
- Tim Ream (Fulham, 46)
- Antonee Robinson (Fulham, 29)
- DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami, 75)
- Sergiño Dest (AC Milan, 19)
- Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 3)
- Shaq Moore (Nashville SC, 15)
Midfielders (7):
- Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United, 24)
- Kellyn Acosta (LAFC, 53)
- Tyler Adams (Leeds United, 32)
- Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo, 12)
- Weston McKennie (Juventus, 37)
- Yunus Musah (Valencia, 19)
- Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders, 32)
Forwards (7):
- Christian Pulisic (Chelsea, 52)
- Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund, 14)
- Tim Weah (Lille, 25)
- Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders, 49)
- Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas, 15)
- Josh Sargent (Norwich City, 20)
- Haji Wright (Antalyaspor, 3)
Now to the snubs.
3 Biggest USMNT World Cup Snubs
3. Zack Steffen
The fall of Zack Steffen has been unreal. A year ago, no U.S. fan would’ve believed in their wildest dreams that the 27-year-old goalkeeper wouldn’t be representing the USMNT at the World Cup if they qualified.
Steffen has been dealing with a nagging knee injury this season and hasn’t been in the best form for Middlesbrough. Through 16 games in goal for Middlesbrough he’s been scored on 19 times.
His goalkeeping for the USMNT during World Cup qualifying was also spotty at times, but to be left off the roster entirely with 29 caps was a shock. Some pundits believe it could have been some behind the scenes activity that got Steffen snubbed.
"I still wonder if there's some part that has gone on behind the scenes with Steffen and Berhalter, but you can't say Berhalter wasn't brave in his decision."@StuHolden discusses Zack Steffen being left out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup roster for the U.S. pic.twitter.com/jUc9EI0S1E
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 9, 2022
2. Malik Tillman
When 20-year-old Malik Tillman switched his nationality from Germany to the United States in May 2022 it looked like it was the start of something special. At the time he was a Bayern Munich youngster with plenty of promise.
A move to Scottish club Rangers proved that the kid was special.
From midfield all the way to the back of the net!
Malik Tillman— U.S. Men's National Soccer Team (@USMNT) October 16, 2022
Tillman has played some quality soccer with Rangers this season and has notched four goals in the process. Coincidentally, he scored for Rangers while the USMNT roster was being announced.
It felt like he was going to be the next Julian Green. Tillman only had four appearances for the U.S. but could provide a special spark. Instead Berhalter decided to go with the likes of Cristian Roldan.
1. Ricardo Pepi
This is without a doubt the biggest snub on a U.S. roster since Landon Donovan didn’t get to go to Brazil in 2014. OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it was still the biggest shock on the night.
Berhalter has had high hopes for Pepi since the moment the young striker chose to represent the U.S. instead of Mexico. Pepi then looked to be the answer to the USMNT’s striker vacancy when he scored three goals in his first two World Cup qualifiers.
Then came a year-long goal drought for club and country. His big move to Augsburg turned into a nightmare until he eventually was loaned to Groningen. Many had written off the teenager, but Berhalter still selected him for the September friendlies to give him his confidence back.
Pepi rediscovered his scoring with Groningen with five goals in his first six games. Good form paired with a call-up to the September friendlies looked like a perfect combination to make the roster.
Berhalter chose Haji Wright and left Pepi at home.
"Are you kidding me, Haji Wright?! See this is the one that gets me pissed off."@AlexiLalas on Haji Wright's inclusion in the USMNT roster ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ffo1oCENTO
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 9, 2022
Honorable Mentions
- Jordan Pefok
- Reggie Cannon
- Paul Arriola
