Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen was the shock omission as United States coach Gregg Berhalter revealed his 26-man squad for the World Cup on Wednesday.
Steffen, who moved to Middlesbrough on mortgage this season with the intention to safe extra enjoying time forward of the World Cup, had lengthy been thought to be Berhalter’s first alternative goalkeeper when accessible.
However the 27-year-old discovered himself frozen out of Berhalter’s plans for Qatar, the place the United States play Wales, England and Iran within the first spherical.
Arsenal reserve goalkeeper Matt Turner, Luton Town’s Ethan Horvath and New York City’s Sean Johnson had been named because the trio of goalkeepers for Qatar.
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Berhalter wouldn’t be drawn on why Steffen had been deemed surplus to necessities, as an alternative specializing in the strengths of Horvath, Turner and Johnson.
“I think in some of the cases it’s more about what we have than what we don’t have,”
Berhalter replied when requested about Steffen’s omission.
“With the three goalkeepers we have on the roster we feel great. We saw a lot of progress with Matt Turner in this last six months, we know Ethan Horvath has been competing at a good level with Luton in the Championship, and Sean Johnson has been a mainstay with this group since day one. So we’re comfortable with that.”
Why the sudden change of coronary heart?
Berhalter mentioned Turner was prone to be the USA’s beginning goalkeeper in Qatar.
“We’re going to determine that when we get into camp, but I would say the lean is towards Matt being the number one,”
the US coach mentioned.
The different notable omission was teenage striker Ricardo Pepi. The 19-year-old who’s at the moment on mortgage at Dutch facet FC Groningen, had impressed throughout qualifiers with three targets in wins over Honduras and Jamaica.
“In the case of Ricardo that was a really difficult conversation that I had to have with him,”
Berhalter mentioned.
“It’s always difficult when a guy helps you get to the World Cup, he scores three goals in World Cup qualifying, and isn’t going to be part of the program.”
Berhalter has as an alternative opted for the physicality of Norwich striker Josh Sargent, citing the 22-year-old’s expertise of soccer in England as an element given the USA’s first spherical opponents in Qatar.
“Josh is competing in the Championship, he played in the Premier League last year,” Berhalter mentioned. “We’re playing Wales and England and both teams are stocked with players from those leagues.”
Turkey-based Haji Wright and FC Dallas striker Jesus Ferreira had been additionally named amongst the forwards.
“Haji is in great form with his team in Turkey, and Jesus has been good for us – a guy who really understands the game plan and how to execute it,”
Berhalter mentioned.
The US will take a squad made up of gamers based in Europe, with the likes of Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, Leeds’ Brenden Aaronson and AC Milan’s Sergino Dest all named on the roster.
The United States open their World Cup Group B marketing campaign on November 21.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Luton Town/ENG), Matt Turner (Arsenal/ENG), Sean Johnson (New York City FC)
Defenders: Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG), Sergino Dest (AC Milan/ITA), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach/GER), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls)
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG), Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles FC), Tyler Adams (Leeds United/ENG), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)
Forwards: Jesus Ferreira (Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Josh Sargent (Norwich/ENG), Timothy Weah (Lille/FRA), Haji Wright (Antalyaspor/TUR)
© Agence France-Presse