THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL team is set to renew its rivalry with Mexico in an official competition when it takes on Mexico in the semifinal of the CONCACAF Nations League on Thursday night. After a nearly two-week camp, the U.S. team is set to take the field under interim manager B.J. Callaghan.

With that, there is a lot to talk about regarding the game as well as some other American transfer news. Let’s get started with the game.

USMNT issues vs. Mexico

The USMNT will look to defend its CONCACAF Nations League title and will have to go through Mexico in Thursday’s semifinal. In 2021, the USMNT defeated Mexico 3-2 in extra time in the final and then the following month defeated Mexico in the final of the Gold Cup, also in extra time.

But there are a lot more questions now surrounding the USMNT. Obviously, the USMNT will be operating under its second interim manager of the year as B.J. Callaghan takes over from Anthony Hudson who departed for a job in the Middle East. In 2021, the USMNT had been playing under Gregg Berhalter for nearly two years. In that game, the USMNT unexpectedly began with a 3-4-3 formation to exploit the wings. The defining moment came when Ethan Horvath stopped an Andrés Guardado penalty in stoppage time to preserve the win.

In this game, however, the USMNT will enter into the game with much uncertainty. While the team and staff have been preaching that it has been operating as “business as usual,” it has been over six months since the players have been under a set manager and inertia can only carry the team so far.

But let’s look at the big issues.

No-Adams approach

Playing without captain and No. 6 midfielder Tyler Adams is a big deal. The USMNT actually began the 2021 final without Adams and it compensated for his absence with the 3-5-2 formation. Weston McKennie and Kellyn Acosta operated centrally and made defense a priority (the attack was in the wings). That is certainly one way to compensate without Adams. Typically when the team continues its first-choice 4-3-3 formation without Adams, Acosta plays the No. 6. But Acosta has been dealing with an injury and was left off this roster.

That leaves us with the questions for Thursday night.  Can Johnny Cardoso can fill that role? The Brazilian-raised Cardoso has been frequently called up but has never had anything close to the responsibility of starting against Mexico. Could McKennie shift to that role despite being mostly a box-to-box or attacking midfielder? Would Callaghan revert to a 3-4-3?

All options have significant questions.

Balogun & Pepi

Callaghan also has big questions about center forward. Folarin Balogun is the biggest story for the U.S. team leading into the showdown with Mexico. His commitment to the USMNT gives the team a potential solution to its biggest weakness.

But one of the common themes that followed Balogun’s commitment has been the insistence from Callaghan and the players that Balogun was going to need to compete for his spot. Does that mean he is going to start his first game available? Ricardo Pepi is popular on the team and while he didn’t put up the numbers Balogun did, Pepi still had a great season.

Callaghan is going to have to read the locker room and decide if Balogun bypasses Pepi and gets handed an enormous start right after he commits. But even if Pepi starts, Balogun likely gets on at some point.

Player Form

One of the biggest stories of this team is just what a tough season it was for so many of the team’s players. When interviewed this week, players such as Brenden Aaronson said that it was such a relief to be with the U.S. team – especially on the heels of being relegated with Leeds. This is certainly true. But is it realistic to think that there won’t be at least a little hit to the confidence level when a critical mass of key players all had seasons to forget.

Aaronson and McKennie were relegated out of the Premier League with Leeds. Sergino Dest hasn’t played a club minute since January after falling out of favor at AC Milan.  De la Torre and Yunus Musah narrowly avoided relegation in La Liga (with neither player scoring all year). Christian Pulisic had a very difficult season with Chelsea and his minutes declined. Tim Weah played mostly at fullback because it was the only way for him to get on the field. Matt Turner didn’t play a Premier League minute all season.

Even players who played well – like Chris Richards and Gio Reyna – only did so in very limited minutes.

Those players above are likely to make up the majority of the U.S. team’s starting lineup or main substitutes. The most obvious conclusion to make is that a team with most of players struggling is not poised for success.

A big question will have to deal with what Aaronson said during camp. Can players really divorce their club form/confidence when they arrive with the USMNT? We will likely find out very early in the game what is the confidence level and form of the USMNT players.

Berhalter’s next step

It’s been a weird time for Gregg Berhalter. The former USMNT manager is still in the mix to be rehired as the USMNT head coach. During this camp, both Tim Weah and Christian Pulisic have spoken in favor of him coming back.

But one of the biggest lines in Pulisic’s statement was: “He brought us a long way. I think a lot of people and a lot of guys in the team especially would agree with that.”

Players talk with each other and Pulisic has his finger on the pulse of the team better than anyone. If suggests that many in the team feel the same way as him, that’s probably the case. Berhalter likely has significant support.

Still, it’s hard to envision that he has even a 50-50 chance of being rehired. It might not be a longshot, but my guess is that it is unlikely. U.S. Soccer is very different right now. Matt Crocker, J.T. Batson, and Oguchi Onyewu are now in positions of power. Berhalter needs to convince an entirely different set of people who likely have their own vision. It still seems to me that when a wave a new people come into positions of power, they probably don’t want to pivot to the same decisions of their predecessors.

Still, knowing the Berhalter likely has the backing of a majority of players isn’t something that can, or should, be quickly dismissed.

But if Berhalter doesn’t come back to the USMNT, what is next for him. There have been rumors that Sparta Prague and Club America are interested but Club America seems to be looking elsewhere.

Is Vieira a candidate?

French journalist Julien Laurens issued a report on Wednesday for ESPN that Patrick Vieira is a candidate for the USMNT head coaching position. Many rumors are just that, but this one seems to be more believable than most. Vieira is out of a job after leaving Crystal Palace.

He’s coached in the United States before – with a positive tenure at NYCFC. He’s then gone on to coach Nice in Ligue 1 and Crystal Palace in the Premier League. As a player, he has an unbelievable resume which includes winning the World Cup with France, four Serie A titles, three Premier League titles, and five FA Cups.

If he has interest in the USMNT, he probably is on the shortlist.

Transfers update

As mentioned on ASN this week, it is going to be an enormously busy transfer window for American players. You can expect news almost daily. Some of it will be real, some of it won’t be. Some of it will be laughable.  

The Athletic is reporting that New England is buying out Jozy Altidore’s contract. That seems rather obvious. Bruce Arena has been frustrated with Altidore’s fitness and in a recent Open Cup loss, he said Altidore had to “suck it up” about not being subbed out. The Revolution have been looking to get the former USMNT striker back into shape for awhile. Last spring, he was sent on loan to Mexico to get games. If it’s still not working, it’s probably best for everyone for him to leave. Now we have this rumor:

???? According to ESPN, American striker Jozy Altidore has received interest coming from AEK & PAOK. The 33 year old's contract with New England Revolution has most recently been bought out pic.twitter.com/PU5FBOS8Yk

— Hellas Football (@HellasFooty) June 15, 2023

Ryan Malone announced on his Instagram page that he was leaving Hansa Rostock of the 2.Bundesliga. Malone, 30, has a great story. He played Division III college soccer before bouncing around the semipro levels of Germany before getting a job with Hansa Rostock two years ago. He’s been instrumental in them avoiding relegation twice. The Massachusetts native has fought hard to make a pro career. But now he seems like he wants to focus on what is best for his family and he is hinting about looking to return back to the states.

The first of what will likely be many rumors about Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams came out on Tuesday. This one links the USMNT duo to Newcastle United. It’s going to be very hard to decipher truth from reality in these types of reports. It seems likely that there could be some level of interest but interest (like similar phrases such as “on the radar”) can technically mean anything.

Acosta nears citizenship?

The Athletic reported on Tuesday that FC Cincinnati designated player No. 10 Luciano Acosta, from Argentina, is in the advanced stages of acquiring American citizenship.

Acosta is playing like one of the very best players in MLS this season. When you watch him, he’s got a very high level of skill that you expect from a top DP.

Fantastic goal from Acosta. Night of Bangers continues pic.twitter.com/bqVs2krGr1

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) June 11, 2023

But there are two concerns. Predicting the timeline for American citizenship is very difficult. Often, it takes much longer than expected. Second, he is 29. He clearly has good years ahead of him, but how wise is it to spend time integrating him into a team when Father Time could soon come calling for him? Maybe he could help in the short-term, but without the need to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the USMNT needs to be thinking long-term.

Apart from soccer, acquiring American citizenship is a personal milestone for any immigrant into the country and congratulations to Luciano for that.