UNITED STATES national team head coach Gregg Berhalter today named his 27-player roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Jamaica in Austin on October 7^th, away at Panama on October 10^th, and against Costa Rica in Columbus on October 13.

With this roster there is a lot to break down. The September window offered some clues about who consists of the core group of players, and this roster mostly keeps the core group of the team together from both summer tournaments as well as the first three qualifiers.

The form of some of the players had dictated changes – but the biggest story will be the injuries that will keep both Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna out of action. There are also the rules in the U.K. and other European-based countries that prevent players based there from traveling to red-list countries such as Panama. That loss of firepower will fore others to step up.

Here is the roster as well as my thoughts.

The Roster: (Club/Country; Caps/Goals)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 9/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 23/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 10/0)

DEFENDERS (10): George Bello (Atlanta United; 4/0), John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 45/3), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona/ESP; 13/1), Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 7/0), Shaq Moore (Tenerife/ESP; 11/1), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 46/1), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim/GER; 3/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 15/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 12/2), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray/TUR; 67/0)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 40/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 17/1), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 6/0), Luca de la Torre (Heracles/NED: 3/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 32/8), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 25/7), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 6/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 28/0)

FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/AUT; 10/5), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 8/0), Matthew Hoppe (Mallorca/ESP; 5/1), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; 1/1), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 13/1), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew; 62/14)

A big shift in offense

The biggest takeaway from this roster is the huge shift in offense. It is a rather big shake-up at this stage in the game. Even with Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic both out with injuries, there are other significant changes.

Gregg Berhalter dropped both Josh Sargent and Jordan Pefok from the roster in a pair of bold decisions on the No. 9 position. In addition, Daryl Dike was not added to the team as a replacement. 

Part of this, regarding Sargent, could be explained with the U.K rules that would prevent him from going to Panama. 

There is plenty of evidence to justify not bringing in Sargent (even for the first and last games) as he has struggled for both the national team recently as well as since moving to Norwich from Werder Bremen. The decision to remove Pefok, however, is more noticeable. While he hasn’t scored much for the national team, he has been scoring goals in droves for BSC Young Boys.

Instead, it looks like a huge vote in confidence in Ricardo Pepi who had a phenomenal debut with the team against Honduras with a goal and two assists. Pepi will also be joined by the return of Gyasi Zardes – who has been playing well for Columbus.  Tim Weah and Matthew Hoppe can also both play the No. 9 position as well.

Both Zardes, Weah, and Hoppe were not on the September roster and their inclusions have shifted out players who have been prominent with the team since it returned from the COVID shutdown last year.

The wing position is also a big shake up. Without Pulisic and Reyna, Berhalter has also elected to drop Konrad de la Fuente. That is perhaps a little surprising as the Marseille winger earned the start in the team’s first qualifier. The Miami-area native, however, has gone cold in France lately after his big start since his move from Barcelona.

This decision, however, is probably likely to draw some attention as the number of pure wingers (who play only that position for their clubs) is small. Weah fluctuates between wing and forward, Brenden Aaronson is mostly a central No. 10 in Austria – even players like Yunus Musah and Cristian Roldan play the wing as a second position. The return of Paul Arriola makes him one of the few pure wingers on this roster.

The bottom line is that among the wingers and center forwards, you have Sargent, Pefok, de la Fuente dropped (along with Reyna and Pulisic) in favor of Hoppe, Zardes, Weah, and Arriola.

That is a big shakeup.

McKennie returns

The big story of the last window was the dismissal of Weston McKennie for violating team rules. It was later reported that he had left the hotel room and brought back at least one guest – which were in violation of team policy.

McKennie played the team’s first game, a 0-0 draw with El Salvador, and struggled. He was dismissed upon the team’s return to Nashville. Since his return to Juventus, McKennie has continued to play and his form has been up and down.

This camp is going to be revealing. It is certainly possible that he will show up with a chip on his shoulder and eager to make a statement. That would be a big boost to the team’s midfield. Mckennie will have a lot of eyes on him, and he could be heavily motivated to show his value to the team.

While nothing is set, look for McKennie to address the media early in camp to put the recent memories of September to bed and instead focus on the future.

Big additions: Musah, Richards, de la Torre

Outside of the offensive shakeup, there were three big additions to this team.

In the midfield, Yunus Musah, who was not part of the September roster as he only recently returned to the field following a preseason injury. The No. 8 from Valencia was a huge “dual national recruit” earlier in the year, but he went as an unused substitute in the final rounds of the Nations League in June.

In recent games at Valencia, Musah has done fairly well but it has been obvious he is still getting to the point where he is fully fit.

Luca de la Torre is another addition to the midfield that will please fans. The San Diego native has been a regular starter for Heracles in the Eredivisie and while that club is midtable in that league, his numbers are typically excellent. He doesn’t score or assist too often, but he does pass well (with a long range), he is rarely dispossessed, and wins his duels.

Chris Richards is a player Berhalter rates highly but unfortunately hasn’t been able to use much in 2021. The young central defender has gone on another loan from Bayern Munich to Hoffenheim where he has continued to impress. This past weekend he was named to Kicker’s Bundesliga team of the week.

It will be interesting to see how central defense is lined up. Miles Robinson has played well for club and country. Berhalter has given Mark McKenzie important minutes in 2021. Tim Ream is seen as the team’s savvy veteran. That leads to John Brooks – who is one of the team’s most accomplished defenders but is also a player not playing well.

Other notable omissions/inclusions

As with any roster, there are always some players people are surprised were left out. We’ve discussed Jordan Pefok, Josh Sargent, and Konrad de la Fuente already – but there are others.

Joe Scally has been very impressive at both right and left back for Borussia Monchengladbach but he is still at a very early stage in his career. Even if he made the roster, he would be behind Dest and Yedlin on the right. Antonee Robinson is the starting left back and Berhalter probably wants another left-footed back-up (while Dest can also play on the left).

The addition of Shaq Moore is somewhat surprising. Moore hasn’t been playing much for Tenerife in Spain’s second tier and has been a backup since returning to the club from the Gold Cup. His addition might raise questions about Julian Araujo not yet being willing to accept a call-up.

Julian Green was not named to the team again and Berhalter appears content with the other options at each of the positions Green plays – No. 8, wing, or second forward.

Jesus Ferreira wasn’t named to the team and that was a surprise. The young FC Dallas attacker has been in red-hot form lately and Behralter has spoken highly of is previous appearances with the national team.

Matt Miazga’s omission shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Yes, he started for Deportivo Alaves in a recent win over Atletico Madrid, but Berhalter clearly favors Brooks, Robinson, Richards, McKenzie, and Ream right now. Other central defenders who were cut were James Sands and Walker Zimmerman and both of those players are in the mix with Miazga.

Ethan Horvath was left off the roster and his struggles at Nottingham Forest probably made it a smart decision to remain with his club and attempt to win the starting job there.

Overall thoughts

There are also quibbles anyone could have, but this is among the strongest rosters possible for the U.S. team to field with the massive injuries to Reyna and Pulisic – likely the team’s two best players.

The team has a lot going for it. Robinson and Dest are top fullbacks. Central defense is loaded right now. Adams-McKennie-Musah could be an impressive midfield. Kellyn Acosta is a perfect back-up in many different midfield positions with De la Torre being a deserving newcomer. The team should also feel comfortable with Aaronson and Weah on the wings.

The questions remain

• 1)      Who starts in goal?
• 2)      Is Pepi ready to be “the guy” or will it be mostly Zardes up top?
• 3)      Is there enough depth on the wings?

While talented, it's easy to forget how young and inexperienced this team is.

Thirteen players are age 23 and younger:The squad averages 20 caps and 10 appearances in official competition. The average age is 24 years, 203 days.

Nine players are looking to make their World Cup qualifying debut: Gianluca Busio, Luca de la Torre, Matthew Hoppe, Sean Johnson, Shaq Moore, Yunus Musah, Chris Richards, Zack Steffen and Tim Weah.

That being said, Berhalter is alleviating the youth and inexperience with continuity and chemistry. In total, 18 players return from the September round of qualifier and 24 players were part one of the team's two championships during the summer ( 14 in the Nations League, 12 on the Gold Cup, and two on both).

This window will once again be a test of depth but the U.S. has the players to get it done.