World Cup preview: United States
The Americans return with a youthful, gifted squad after missing out in 2018
Previous World Cup appearances: 1930, 1934, 1950, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
Best finish: Semifinals (1930)
Group stage schedule: vs. Wales (Nov. 21), vs. England (Nov. 25), vs. Iran (Nov. 29)
Note: All stats accurate as of Aug. 17, 2022.
The breakdown
How they qualified:
The U.S. automatically advanced to the final round of Concacaf qualifying thanks to their FIFA world ranking. They took 25 points (7W, 4D) from the 14 games to claim the region’s third and final automatic World Cup spot. Their +11 goal difference was the second-best of the eight teams that participated in the last round of qualifying.
Names to know:
Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United) — Aaronson’s rapid rise at the club level coincided with his emergence as a crucial figure for his national team during World Cup qualifying. He played the most minutes of any attacking player during qualifying, scoring twice and contributing an assist. A Supporters’ Shield winner with the Philadelphia Union and two-time Austrian Bundesliga champion, Aaronson moved to the Premier League this summer. He produced five more successful pressures than any other Premier League player in the first two matchdays1.
Tyler Adams (Leeds United) — The first U.S. international to score in the Champions League quarterfinals on the men’s side2, Adams led the team with 12 starts during qualifying. He made 103 appearances across all competitions in his four seasons with RB Leipzig before joining Leeds over the summer. The 23-year-old is now in his third stint playing for former U.S. international Jesse Marsch, who also coached Adams at the Red Bulls and Leipzig.
Weston McKennie (Juventus) — McKennie only played in half the qualifiers but scored twice and logged the 10th-most minutes of any player. He’s played in the Champions League 19 times between his stints with Schalke and Juventus. In his first two seasons with the Italian giants, he made 75 appearances and netted 10 goals. McKennie started five of the U.S.’ six games at the 2019 Gold Cup, where they lost to Mexico in the final.
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) — Pulisic will be 24 at the start of the World Cup and needs just 10 more goals to move into the top five on the U.S. all-time scoring list3. He tied for the team lead with 12 goal involvements during the 2018 qualification cycle and scored a team-high five goals as the U.S. booked a spot in Qatar. The team’s most experienced player in European competition, Pulisic has seven goals and six assists in 43 career Champions League games.
Jedi Robinson (Fulham) — The Everton academy product saw action in 13 of the 14 World Cup qualifiers, starting 11 of them and cementing himself as the preferred left back. His five goal involvements during qualifying were tied with Pulisic for the most on the team. He started 33 times for Fulham during their Championship-winning campaign in 2021-22. Robinson may not be an actual jedi, but he’s not too far off.
Potential breakout star: Yunus Musah (Valencia)
Musah made his national team debut on Nov. 12, 2020. Less than a year later, he was starting World Cup qualifiers. He turns 20 during the tournament and already has over 2,700 La Liga minutes under his belt, though more than half his appearances have come as a substitute. That will eventually change, and a good showing in Qatar could accelerate the process.
The bottom line
Reason for optimism: There’s never been a team like this
There is a realistic scenario in which the U.S. fields a lineup with players from Arsenal, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and Juventus along with four or five other regular starters in Europe’s top five leagues. This is easily the most technically gifted squad in the history of the U.S. men’s national team.
Biggest question: Who starts up top and in net?
No one was able to grab hold of the No. 9 spot during qualifying, leaving head coach Gregg Berhalter with a minimum of five viable options at the striker position. The situation in net isn’t any clearer, as form and playing time will continue to fluctuate for Zack Steffen and Matt Turner in the leadup to the tournament.
Here’s the deal:
Getting out of the group is a fair expectation. All bets are off after that for a group used to playing against the world’s best at the club level. Don’t put too much stock into their qualifying performance because they’re not built to thrive in the bizarre world that is Concacaf. They’re built for tournaments like this one.