Soccer’s next international break is on the horizon and it will determine the United States men’s national team’s 2022 World Cup fate. The window has the last three matches of the qualifying cycle. The opener is maybe the biggest match of the qualifying cycle: the USMNT’s trip to Mexico to take on El Tri in Estadio Azteca on March 24 (a match you can catch on Paramount+).
The USMNT follow that up with a home match against Panama, and close things out with a trip to Costa Rica. If the USMNT can take care of business they’ll cruise to World Cup qualification. The Americans sit second in the Concacaf qualifying group with 21 points, tied with Mexico, and four points behind first-place Canada. But more importantly the two teams have a four-point cushion ahead of fourth-place Panama. Top three qualify automatically while fourth place goes into the inter-continental playoff.
Given all that, this should have been a relatively straightforward window. But,injuries have complicated things for the U.S. With Weston Mckennie sidelined, Gio Reyna going down again and both Zack Steffen and Matt Turner hurt in goal, there are tons of questions about who will even suit up for the squad. So, we’ve got our group of USMNT experts (CBS Sports’ Mike Goodman, Charles Booth and Roger Gonzalez) together to talk through who should play in these all-important matches for the USMNT.
Let’s start at the back and work our way forward.
1. Who is even going to play in goal?
Charles Booth: With injuries to Matt Turner and Zack Steffen, choices are thin at this position for Gregg Berhalter. Steffen especially is a concern as he missed the last round of World Cup Qualifying due to a back injury before now being ruled out with a shoulder injury. It’s quite concerning and even if Steffen is available, starting these matches with no training or game time this year would be a risk. Luckily for Berhalter, there may be a new…
Source : cbssports
