USMNT on road to World Cup redemption

The United States men’s national soccer team (USMNT) opened up the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador on Thursday, Sept. 2 (0-0), followed by a match against the Canadian National Team on Sunday, Sept. 5 (1-1), and finally a match against Honduras on Wednesday, Sept. 8 (4-1).

After failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, this round of World Cup Qualifying is a make or break for USMNT Head Coach Greg Berhalter and his team. The USMNT features some of the best generational talents that U.S. Soccer has ever seen. This includes the likes of Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, of whom both play on top European clubs, Chelsea and Juventus, respectively.

So, hopes were high when the USMNT took the pitch during the international window. The team got off to a rocky start against the Salvadorans and Canadians, coming out of both matches with just two points. These two matches did not reflect how USMNT Greg Berhalter or fans pictured the beginning of the CONCACAF Octagonal. The second half of the final match did provide a glimmer of hope for the team as they went on to pour on four goals against the Honduran side, securing three points and a much-needed road win.

Ending the September international window with only five points, and sitting in second place alongside Canada, is sure to be a disappointment. But, after the quality of play that was displayed in the matches against El Salvador and Canada, and a terrible first half against Honduras, the team can count themselves lucky to have secured those five points. Alongside injury and personnel issues, the squad is going to face a tough October international window when the USMNT faces Jamaica (home), Panama (away) and Costa Rica (home).

The squad will have time to regroup before the next set of games, giving time for the team to recover. Pulisic was recovering from a COVID-19 diagnosis, goalkeeper Zack Steffan missed due to back spasms and a positive COVID-19 case, Gio Reyna and Sergio Dest were both injured, McKennie was sent back to Italy for breaking team COVID-19 protocols and Daryl Dike was out of form.

Questions still need to be answered, and soon. If not, Berhalter may find himself in the hot seat or out of a job.