THE UNITED STATES national team is two games through its four-game June run but the first two games offered the best opportunity to learn given the World Cup-quality opponents. There still will be an opportunity to build up chemistry and work on tactics, but there are some important questions raised and lessons learned from the first two games of the summer.

The U.S. team has shown some positives from the first two games, but the team remains a work in progress. Here are some observations from the first two games.

Striker remains open

After first two games, the question over the striker position isn’t any clearer. The current situation is that the player pool consists of many players who have produced at the club level but who haven’t yet made a big impact for the national team. Haji Wright and Jesus Ferreira are in this camp while the extended pool has Jordan Pefok and Daryl Dike – who was great at the club level for 18 months prior to his latest injury. There are also players like Josh Sargent and Ricardo Pepi who are in a funk at the club level.

It made sense that Berhalter took Ferreira and Wright to this camp. They are the two most in-form forwards who are healthy at the moment. While Wright buried a penalty in the win over Morocco (given to him by Pulisic, who earned  the penalty), neither had scored from the run of play or from a set piece either has earned.

The question for Berhalter then becomes will he continue to ride the hot hand and call-up whoever is hot? Or will he settle on his options now and work with them to build-up chemistry.

Ferreira and Wright still both are able to help the team even if they’re not scoring. Typically that wouldn’t be good enough, but it’s better than simply disappearing. Ferreira has a good soccer sense and gets into dangerous positions. He also combines well with his wingers. Wright is strong and physical. He also can make runs into the attacking half that open the game up.

When you compare that with Pefok, it is different. Pefok can finish, but if he’s not finishing well or the service isn’t there, he disappears.

Anything can happen but at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Berhalter sticks with Ferreira and Wright.

Central defense partner

Berhalter brought in four central defenders to this camp: Walker Zimmerman, Aaron Long, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Erik Palmer-Brown. With the two toughest games in June already completed, it’s safe to say that Walker Zimmerman will leave this camp in strong contention. He’s not simply a lock to make the World Cup team, he’s likely a starter and an important part of the team. His distribution out of the back in addition to his defense has been very good.

The other three are still in a battle. Long has played fairly well with some good moments and some tough moments. Carter-Vickers also was pretty good in his one half against Morocco. Palmer-Brown struggled against Uruguay in the second half but is still in the mix.

Most likely, Berhalter will take four central defenders, even with a roster increased to 26 players because it is rare that the fourth central defender plays. The only way he might take a fifth central defender is if the three-man backline becomes more of a preferred formation.

If you consider that Chris Richards is likely to make the World Cup team if healthy, that makes one from the current camp likely to be cut. If John Brooks is still really in contention, then two from the current camp could get cut. Other options like Mark McKenzie, James Sands, and Tim Ream are all probably on the “outside looking in” right now.

For the remaining two games, Berhalter will probably give opportunities to Carter-Vickers and Palmer-Brown – along with Long. The quality of opponents probably makes it tough to draw conclusions but it will be interesting to see how they play tactically.

My guess is that that leaving this camp, the front runners to be the four central defenders at the World Cup are Zimmerman, Richards, Carter-Vickers, and Long. Heading into September, I can see Berhalter wanting to use that camp to test the chemistry of a Zimmerman-Richards pairing.

Backup fullbacks

Few would argue that if everyone is healthy, the starting U.S. national team fullbacks are Antonee Robinson and Sergino Dest. Whether it be in a three-man backline or a four-man backline, those two have been first-choice players for well over a year now and both are still going strong.

But there is a question of backups. This is an important question two given that Dest and Robinson have both had injuries in their past and few would assume that the U.S. team will be 100% healthy come the World Cup since the U.S. team has only very rarely ever been 100% healthy.

On the right side, there is Reggie Cannon and DeAndre Yedlin backing up Dest.

On the left side, there has been George Bello and Sam Vines having stints as Robinson’s backup.

Meanwhile, Berhalter has used Sergino Dest also as a backup left back (while then opting to play his backup right back). There is also Joe Scally who can play both the left and the right.

The backup right and left back situations are both unsettled but are both different. Berhalter seems as if he is comfortable with either Yedlin or Cannon. On the flip side, Berhalter is likely uncomfortable with any of the backup left back options right now.

Scally battled hard against Uruguay but ultimately didn’t make a solid case he is ready right now – albeit is certainly one for the future. George Bello has had a bunch of chances but really struggled positionally with Arminia Bielefeld the second half of the season and has never looked compelling with the full team.

As of now, the position hasn’t really addressed itself well during this camp. If that doesn’t change in the final two games, perhaps Berhalter will callup different faces in September.

There are always players who emerge late in the cycle to earn a spot and the fact that the U.S. team is concerned over a back-up left back, as opposed to a starting one, is a big sign of progress. Club form could be key but two names to follow would be DeJuan Jones and John Tolkin. Neither of these players are capped but Berhalter indicated Tolkin was in consideration for this camp while he also had Jones in camp with the team in January.

As for Vines and Bello, they are both in the picture. Bello might get minutes in the final two games albeit now against teams who struggle in CONCACAF. For these players, it will come down to the start of the Belgian season for Vines and the 2.Bundesliga for Bello.

Midfield competition

Right now, the midfield positions look solid for the U.S. team. If the U.S. team rolls with the typical 4-3-3 formation with a healthy roster, Adams and McKennie are starters. Musah has typically been a starter but it’s not as much of a lock to start as the other two. That’s because Brenden Aaronson has been given a chance to start centrally in the midfield – where he is most comfortable. Thus far, Aaronson has played well and Aaronson might have more of a lethal final ball than Musah right now.

Berhalter should be comfortable the midfield right now. He has options he is comfortable starting and the backups are in good position too. Kellyn Acosta might not be a great No. 8 with the U.S. team right now, but he has shown to be a good backup for Tyler Adams at the No. 6. The more advanced “dual No. 8” roles can go to two of McKennie, Musah, or Aaronson.

Assuming there will be a 26 player roster, Berhalter will probably take 6-8 midfielders. Adams, Acosta, McKennie, Musah, and Aaronson are five.

The remaining backup options for the No. 8 or No. 10 positions could see a little bit of competition. At this camp there are Luca de la Torre and Christian Roldan, who are dependable. In terms of other here are also players like Gianluca Busio, Djordje Mihailovic, Richard Ledezma, and potentially others knocking at the door who are more distant options – such as Cole Bassett, Paxton Pomykal, or Alan Sonora.

Gio’s return

One big question to consider is Gio Reyna and how he might fit in once he returns. Since the Nations League last year, Reyna’s appearances with the national team have been few and far between. He’s coming off what was essentially a lost season with Borussia Dortmund.

Reyna, 19, is a great talent but the U.S. team has been progressing without him. If he gets healthy in time for Qatar, he’ll go to the World Cup – but what is his role? It’s impossible to say as you can never really tell with a player who had a lost season. Sometimes they rebound strong but other time it can take awhile to get back in that rhythm.

For Reyna, is he going to start in the midfield over either Aaronson or Musah? If he’s a winger, does he unseat Pulisic or Weah? He’s not in a position now where he looks like a lock starter. Potentially he could get that back if he hits the ground running at Dortmund in preseason and the early parts of the season while then looking sharp in September with the U.S. team.

But that’s a lot of “ifs” and it’s too early to project when he wasn’t even healthy enough to make this camp. Right now, he’s looking like a spot starter or a super-sub.  

Goalkeeper looks safe

With this current camp, one position that has given itself a little more clarity is goalkeeper. The first two games have seen Matt Turner and Sean Johnson put in really solid shifts to boost their resumes.

Turner is a lock to make the World Cup team but is he the starter? If the World Cup was right now, he would probably start. It all comes down to the playing time in August in September. Zack Steffen might push for a loan and that could help his case if he starts and performs well.

As for Johnson, he made a strong case to be the team’s third goalkeeper. He’s been around the team the entire cycle and has been, and will be playing regular minutes this entire year.

Ethan Horvath is very tough to read right now. There are reports that Nottingham Forest starting goalkeeper Brice Samba wants a transfer. Normally, that would be good news for Horvath except for the fact that Forest is reportedly after English international Nick Pope. If Forest is willing to spend that money on Pope, then it is the same situation Horvath dealt with Brugge when the club brought in Simon Mignolet. Only this time, he can’t wait for years.

It seems most likely that right now, the three goalkeepers heading to Qatar are Turner, Steffen, and Johnson with Turner right now having the strongest case to start.

YNT updates

Turning away from the senior U.S. national team and shifting down to the youth national teams, which are going to have an extremely busy month.

On Monday, the United States U-19 team defeated England 2-1 in Marbella, Spain. The U.S. team had a slight advantage in age as England opted to field a roster entirely of its 2005 birth year. The United States had a 20-player roster with six players born in 2004 and 14 born in 2005.

In the win over England, the U.S. goals were scored by Atletico Madrid B’s Rodrigo Neri and Orange County’s Korede Osudina. Neri’s goal (seen below) came just minutes after he was subbed on. England played with a man down after the 60^th minute.

Vídeo del gol de Rodrigo Neri hoy, con el que el #USMNT Sub-19 remontó a Inglaterra. La jugada inicia con un muy buen pase largo de Kobi Henry. Tras una serie de rebotes, alguien centra al área y Neri (At. Madrid) remata a gol… ¡a los 2 mins de entrar! ?????????? #USYNT pic.twitter.com/7EHMs9HpG5

— Jaime Ojeda (@jaimeor96) June 6, 2022

The U.S. U-19 team (like the U.S. U-18 team) exists almost as a second team to the United States U-20 team. Many of the players are eligible for the following cycle but are too young for the U.S. U-17 team. This is a way of keeping these players involved with the program between youth cycles.

It also gives players a platform to potentially compete for the United States U-20 team this cycle. The current U.S. U-20 team will attempt to qualify for both the 2023 U-20 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics but if the team qualifies for the U-20 World Cup, the cycle will continue for almost another year to prepare for the that tournament.

If you look at the U-20 cycles, there was always heavy turnover between qualifying and the World Cup. With such a long gap between the two, this cycle there could be more over a turnover. It could very well start with this U-19 group.

Two players to pay close attention to are Joshua Wynder and Brooklyn Raines. Wynder was the U-19 captain against England and he plays central defense – which is a huge position of need for the current U-20 cycle. Wynder was actually a surprising omission for the U-20 team for qualifying given the way he has been playing Louisville City and the fact he (along with players like Obed Vargas) is among the top 2005-born players in the United States. If the U.S. U-20 team qualifies for the World Cup, Wynder has an excellent chance of making a quick rise through the team.

Now there is the U.S. U-20 team which is set to travel to Honduras later in the week ahead of its opening group stage game against St. Kitts and Nevis on June 18.

That roster is still not announced but there are a few nuggets. Sounder At Heart reported that U.S. Soccer reached a deal with the Sounders for the release of Obed Vargas and they reported that Vargas will join the team after the group stages.

Releases are a massive issue with this team and ASN understands that Kevin Paredes, Justin Che, Caleb Wiley, Gaga Slonina, and Bryan Gutierrez. Once considered a top prospect, Malick Sonogo is not on the team although it is unclear if he was either cut or this was a coach’s choice. The same for Dante Sealey who is also not included.

On the flip side, head coach Mikey Varas will have the three Philadelphia Union core of Jack McGlynn, Paxten Aaronson, and Quinn Sullivan – the latter of whom scored four goals in the two March games in Argentina. Cade Cowell is likely going to participate along with the New York Red Bull duo of Caden Clark and Daniel Edelman. From abroad, Varas could have midfielders Rokas Pukstas from Hadjuk Split and Alejandro Alvarado from FC Vizela.