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We’re around two months away from the United States men’s national team playing their final tune-up matches before Copa America against Colombia and Brazil. With Concacaf Nations League success now behind them, it’s time to look forward to the most important competition for the USMNT ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Copa America is one of the tournaments that will define Gregg Berhalter’s time in charge as they look to answer questions of if they can defeat top opposition.
The USMNT have now climbed to 11th in the FIFA men’s rankings and will enter Copa America as the third highest-ranked team behind Argentina and Brazil, just ahead of Colombia. The shift in rankings was due to knocking off Mexico to win yet another tournament in the Concacaf Nations League but the USMNT will still need to prove that they deserve the ranking.
When one of their best results under Berhalter is a draw against England in the 2022 World Cup, this could turn into a question of what could have been if the USMNT can’t play to their potential to secure a signature win. Some of these issues are due to lack of depth and things going on within the player pool which is why it’s a good time to examine who is trending in the right or wrong direction as critical matches draw closer.
Tyler Adams is healthy and it’s music to everyone’s ears. While Bournemouth are being careful with the midfielder, he has proved why he was signed for the club. The engine of the USMNT, it was seen immediately what they’ve been missing without him and that’s not even including his stunner of an opening goal in the Nations League final against Mexico.
With Adams on the pitch, everyone is more confident pushing forward and his distribution has also improved which allows the USMNT to pin their opposition back. Covering an immense amount of ground, Adams allows everyone else to get back to what their best at, in turn creating a more dangerous team overall.
Tim Weah didn’t look sharp during the Nations League but that’s to be expected when he has struggled for playing time with Juventus. Players need consistency to shake off rust except in the case of guys like Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna who are the same for USMNT no matter how much playing time they receive for their clubs, but at Weah’s position, there is competition ready to step up. From Reyna to Brenden Aaronson and even Haji Wright, Berhalter will have no shortage of options at his disposal.
For now, Weah is still the guy on the wing and the USMNT need him to be as well. Few players have as unpredictable of a nature as Weah which can provide Folarin Balogun with more space to operate but if he’s struggling with touches, he can’t use the good qualities in his game.
Wright has had a meteoric rise in 2024. Along with Josh Sargent, Wright is one of the hottest strikers, not only in the USMNT player pool but in the entire world with nine goals and an assist so far this calendar year. Pushing the USMNT past Jamaica in Nations League, Wright also showed what he can do in a critical situation which is important to earning Berhalter’s trust as an impact substitute.
At the moment, Wright has passed Josh Sargent in the striker pecking order but there could be room for both as it’s a good problem for Berhalter to have.
It’s not really Ricardo Pepi’s fault that he’s on the outside looking in at the moment because this was supposed to be a development year for him in the Netherlands with PSV. Stuck behind Luuk de Jong, Pepi’s playing time is limited this season. He was doing the best he could with the lack of minutes earlier in the season but with only three goals in 2024, he hasn’t had the same impact.
Usually, this wouldn’t be an issue but with so many in-form strikers to choose from it’s only natural that one has to be squeezed out slightly. Pepi is someone who has always bounced back and there’s no reason to believe that he won’t do the same yet again.
Playing time is still a concern for Reyna but he has now begun to inch on the pitch for Nottingham Forest in their past few games. He won’t unseat Morgan Gibbs-White for a starting role but for the USMNT, Reyna needs to get consistent minutes so that he’s able to start critical games without fitness concerns. Reyna’s 43 minutes played in the last two matches for the Tricky Trees are more than he logged in the first six games that he’s been available for the club combined.
Following a strong Nations League where Reyna showed why he needs to be on the pitch for the USMNT whenever possible, it’s good that some of that form is translating to Forest now and maybe he can be in a position to push for starts sooner than later.
Not only did Joe Scally fail to take advantage of an opportunity to boost his stock starting in place of the suspended Sergino Dest during the Nations League but his Borussia Monchengladbach side has also struggled to keep clean sheets in the Bundesliga too. That’s not all down to Scally’s play but when he’s also not putting up strong attacking numbers, it’s hard to justify his inclusion in the national team picture. Scally doesn’t have much competition at the moment but if other right backs come knocking on the door, Berhalter will need to see what he has in them.
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