The Most Interesting Players On The USMNT’s First World Cup Qualifying Roster

The United States men’s national team has laid quite the foundation since it failed to make the World Cup in 2018. Now, on the heels of a pair of trophies this summer in the Nation’s League and Gold Cup, the team will set its sights on righting that wrong and punching its ticket to Qatar in 2022.

Things will begin next month in World Cup Qualifying, with the team having three matches in the upcoming window: a trip to El Salvador on Sept. 2, a showdown with Canada on Sept. 5, and a test against a tricky Honduras side on Sept. 8. Here is the roster Gregg Berhalter selected to make the trip:

It’s a talented group, the kind of reminder that the talent pool that the men’s program boasts is deeper than ever before. If you’re looking for a few names beyond the obvious worth keeping an eye on, we’ve got your back:

GK: Ethan Horvath/Zack Steffen/Matt Turner

Perhaps no position has been thrown into more tumult this summer than goalkeeper, and this is not a bad thing. Manchester City’s Zack Steffen has long been viewed as the overwhelming favorite to stand in net when the U.S. began qualifying, but a few things have happened over the last handful of months to throw this into some serious doubt.

While Steffen hasn’t for sure lost the job, it is possible one of the other two choices could have taken it. Horvath was the hero of the USMNT’s Nation’s League triumph over Mexico, coming in after Steffen picked up a knock and recording a number of impressive saves, including one on a penalty late in the game that sealed the win for the U.S. He then got his club situation all sorted out, going from Club Brugge in Belgium to Nottingham Forest in England’s second division.

But perhaps the bigger challenger to Steffen’s post is Turner, the New England Revolution’s ace shot stopper who played every minute of the USMNT’s Gold Cup win. Turner did not allow a single open play goal, only being beaten on a penalty kick while the team was still in the midst of group play, and backed up his reputation as being the best pure shot-stopper that MLS has ever produced by being named the tournament’s best goalkeeper. As the Gold Cup went on, the alleged biggest knock against him — his distribution — did not seem to be as big of a question. And unlike Steffen (who is stuck behind Ederson, among the best goalkeepers in the world, and only plays in cup competitions) and Horvath (still getting settled in England), Turner plays every single week.

Basically, Berhalter is incapable of making a bad choice with the options at his disposal. The question now is whether one of these three are able to establish themselves as the clear-cut No. 1 before the next World Cup Qualifying window in October. Even if no one does, there’s plenty of time to get this all sorted out.

Miles Robinson

The man whose extra time goal sealed the Americans’ victory over Mexico in the Gold Cup, Robinson is a name that USMNT fans have been waiting to see for quite some time. There may not be a better 1 v. 1 defender in the entire player pool than the 24 year old Atlanta United standout, whose ability to sense danger and clean up messes was on full display during his first tournament with the national team last month.

We know that Wolfsburg’s John Brooks, should he remain healthy (a gigantic if for the German-American defender), likely has his name written in ink as Berhalter figures out his best XI. The most pressing question is who starts alongside him. There are a handful of interesting options — Bayern Munich’s Chris Richards (not on this roster) is atop that list if he gets his club situation all sorted out and lives up to his considerable potential, while roster inclusions like Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, James Sands, and Walker Zimmerman all seem to have Berhalter’s trust to some extent.

But in terms of a guy next to Brooks — an elegant center half whose ability to pick a pass is, for my money, second to none among players in the pool right now — Robinson’s ability to respond to fires before they ever begin smoldering and put them out very well might be the best fit. Should Berhalter opt for that pairing at any point in this window, Robinson will have one heck of an opportunity to grab that spot by the horns and run with it.

Kellyn Acosta

Acosta is easily the most established guy on this list, he’s just here for the simple reason that he has been magnificent for the Americans all summer. One of the few inclusions in both tournaments, Acosta did a job in the Nations League final in the midfield and, eventually, at fullback, then was a colossus in the Gold Cup final, dominating the midfield defensively and picking pass after pass to open up the American attack. Only Christian Pulisic has more goodwill with USMNT fans among still-active players who took the pitch on that fateful night in Trinidad and Tobago back in 2017 than the Colorado Rapids’ man does right now, largely because of what Acosta did this summer.

Unless Berhalter opts to play Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna in the midfield (and I doubt it, as he’s listed as a winger on this roster) or rides with LA Galaxy talisman Sebastian Lletget (one of his favorites and someone who has performed well when asked to be a role player and not the straw that stirs the drink for the U.S.), the thought of an Acosta-Tyler Adams-Weston McKennie midfield might be too fun of an opportunity to pass up. All three have some amount of positional versatility — each of them can play as a traditional central midfielder, while McKennie is capable enough of pushing forward and Acosta/Adams are adept at being in a more holding role.

Ultimately, the fascination I have with Acosta comes from whether or not he plays alongside Adams and McKennie — both of whom are pretty close to being locked-on starters in every big match for the next 16 months — or in a role where he backs up one or both of them. If he starts, that might be an indication that this is the first-choice midfield for now. If not, Acosta as a Swiss army knife-type of player is one heck of an option.

Konrad de la Fuente

Let’s get saucy. There might not be a player in the pool with a more fun highlight tape than de la Fuente, a 20-year-old Miami native who came up in Barcelona’s youth academy and moved to French side Marseilles this summer. The sample size couldn’t be much smaller, but de la Fuente looks like a potential nightmare on the wing, the kind of 1 v. 1 dribbler and chance creating monster who can unlock a defense with one moment of magic. Watch this assist:

It’s very, very, very early, but through the gigantic sample of two games, de la Fuente is tied for third in Ligue 1 in Goal Creating Actions. Keeping up that pace would obviously be a gigantic ask, but the good news is his game lends itself to being awfully productive whenever he takes the pitch — his ability with the ball at his feet is real. How he holds up in CONCACAF play will be interesting to watch.

The big thing with de la Fuente is that Pulisic, the team’s obvious first-choice left winger, contracted COVID last week and is in isolation. While he was vaccinated and said he wasn’t exhibiting symptoms, it is unclear when he’ll be able to join the national team. For what it’s worth, he seems confident he’ll be able to join the team in Nashville for the Canada match, but if he’s not fit (Berhalter said he’s day-to-day) and there are minutes to be had, de la Fuente brings the kind of game-breaking dribbling that the team might lack without the Chelsea star. If he plays and plays a ton, he has the potential to be a striker’s best friend, and on that note…

Ricardo Pepi

Meet the biggest inclusion on the roster. Pepi is a Mexican-American dual-national that both El Tri and the USMNT were pushing really, really hard to land. One of the most promising No. 9 prospects in North America for some time, the 18-year-old FC Dallas standout’s nine goals are tied for the seventh-most in MLS this year. No other teenager in the league has more than four. There are plenty of things that a striker can be asked to do — drop into the midfield, link up play, spray passes to wingers, hold up play, press when the other team has possession, etc. — but at the end of the day, the name of the goal is taking your feet or head or whatever else and putting the ball in the back of the net. Pepi is not purely a poacher, but he is very good at finishing chances.

A player who, it has been speculated, could some day smash MLS’ transfer record whenever Dallas receives a suitable offer for his services, Pepi comes into the side at a time when the United States is still looking for a clear-cut answer up top. The two other strikers on this roster are Josh Sargent and Jordan Pefok, both of whom have gotten plenty of run for the national team in recent months and, in Sargent’s case, years. Perhaps Pepi’s in as a result of other options, like Daryl Dike and Gyasi Zardes, being sidelined due to injury, and maybe he only gets run out there as a substitute (if even that). But if he plays, either as a substitute or by getting a start, and the opportunity to open his national team account arises, don’t be surprised if he takes advantage.

He can still theoretically file a one-time switch to play for Mexico due to a recent rule switch from FIFA that gives a little more flexibility to young players to figure out what is best for them. But he seems like he’s made up his mind, telling FCDallas.com, “I said that when I made this decision it would be with the heart. It’s been made with the heart. If I put that jersey on, I am fighting for it until I can’t fight anymore. So yes, I am ready to play.”