The 2022 World Cup will begin in Qatar on November 20th. The U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) has qualified for the tournament, but some recent underwhelming results in games have fans worried heading into the competition. In the September international window, the U.S. had two fixtures against Japan and Saudi Arabia, hoping to prepare the team for the World Cup. These games were played at neutral sites in Europe and would be the last time the team would be together before the World Cup. Now the players are resuming their club team season for a few weeks before the World Cup begins. As fans looked toward the tournament, there was a feeling of optimism. After the matches against Japan and Saudi Arabia, that mood quickly turned to worry.
The U.S. has tremendously talented attackers like captain Christian Pulisic, who failed to score a goal in either game played this September. The offense wasn’t the only thing lacking in the exhibition matches. Almost all aspects of the game, from striker to midfield to defense, were underwhelming for the Americans. The only real bright spot for the USMNT over the two games may have been the play of Arsenal Goalkeeper Matt Turner. Turner had six saves in the 2-0 loss to Japan and two saves for a shutout in the 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia (Per FotMob.com). While the games were just friendlies with nothing on the line, experts favored the American squad in both matchups. The performances let many fans down and left many criticizing American coach Gregg Berhalter.
So, the question for many USMNT fans has become, “is the American side ready to compete in the World Cup”? The short answer is no. Not because they performed poorly in the past two games but because the team is young, inexperienced, and fighting injuries before the tournament even starts. The U.S. will play in Wales, England, and Iran in the group stages of the tournament. The top two teams from that group will advance to the knockout rounds.
In the past two games, the USMNT was missing players Antonio Robison, Yunas Musah, Zach Steffen, Jordan Pefok, and Chris Richard due to injury, or Berhalter did not call them up. All these players are potential starters for the team this November. The uneasiness of the games against Japan and Saudi Arabia left fans with worries that will not go away until we see what the team does in Qatar. Only World Cup games will show where the team is and if they can compete at a high level on the world stage.