The United States Men’s National Team returns to action for the first time since the Gold Cup, and even though it is just a couple of friendlies, it is still an important time for the USMNT. Gregg Berhalter will begin his second coaching stint with the USMNT, with his squad set to take on Uzbekistan on September 9th and Oman on September 12th. This will be the first time that the United States has faced off against either of these nations, and they will be looking to dominate at the start of Berhalter’s second stint.
The USMNT Roster
The 24-man roster that Berhalter called up for the USMNT went as follows:
Goalkeepers (3): Drake Callender, Ethan Horvath, Matt Turner
Defenders (9): Sergino Dest, Kristoffer Lund, Mark McKenzie, Kevin Paredes, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Miles Robinson, Joe Scally
Midfielders (6): Johnny Cardoso, Benjamin Cremaschi, Luca de la Torre, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Malik Tillman
Forwards (6): Brendan Aaronson, Folarin Balogun, Cade Cowell, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah
A Few New Faces
While supporters of the USMNT would recognize a majority of the squad, there are a few new names on the roster that some may not know. The first one on the list would be midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi.
Cremaschi is an 18-year-old midfielder who plays for Inter Miami in the MLS and has also impressed when playing for the club. Cremaschi is eligible for both the United States and Argentina, so calling him up to camp and getting him some playing time in a couple of friendlies is a good move by Berhalter in hopes of recruiting him to the United States.
The other name would be 21-year-old defender Kristoffer Lund, who currently plays his club football at Palermo in Serie B. Lund previously represented Denmark in the youth stage of international football, but recently filed a one-time switch with FIFA to switch to the United States. The left-back position was one with not much depth for the USMNT, as they have Antonee Robinson and no one really else. Lund could prove to be important in this camp and fight for the important backup spot on the main squad.
All in all, it was a strong squad that Gregg Berhalter decided to call up for these friendlies. While all the big names were not called up, with those mainly being due to injury, the United States still has a top squad available. It will be interesting to see how the team looks in Berhalter’s second stint, and maybe there will be some changes in the playing style for an improved performance.
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