USMNT

USMNT UNLOCKED

Published

4 years ago

October 13, 2022

Last Tuesday, I watched the USMNT look toothless and confused versus a terrible version of the Saudi Arabia national team (all domestic, some from the Saudi 2nd division!). Then the next night, I turned on the US U20MNT versus Paraguay and saw something completely different. I saw a team that controlled the ball, dominated it, and produced scoring chances often and with regularity. It is exactly how you must think Berhalter wants the USMNT to play. So, why after almost four years with Berhalter as the coach, can the USMNT not muster any goal threat against super weak opponents, much less good ones, outside of a few games? I think I have the beginning of a reason, a key to unlocking the problem.

First, let us try and understand why the U20s look so good. I think there are two reasons: one is talent advantage and the other is highly technical players in all positions. There is no doubt the US U20s are better than the teams they faced (even though they lost a game they dominated to Mexico). But the USMNT has played games where they were much more talented, man for man, than the opponent with mixed results. The latest is against the Saudi Arabia domestic squad. Therefore, it is not so important to investigate the first reason as a deficit of talented players is not the problem.

The second reason, technical players in all positions, is a more fruitful avenue and the key to understanding why the USMNT struggles at times. Mikey Varas, the U20 coach, rotates quite a bit during the tournament, but he usually puts 10-11 technical players on the field. He accomplishes that, many times, by taking a large surplus of technical central midfielders and playing them at winger, striker, and defensive mid, if he has to. Just to clarify, when I talk about technical players, they don’t have to be Iniesta or Messi. They have to have three things: a good first touch, the ability to play on the half turn, the ability to pass to the correct foot for the teammate, and the situation.

If we look at some games where the senior team has looked as good as the U20s, versus games where they have looked lost, we can see that having technical players, and no weak links, is a minimum requirement to play how Berhalter, supposedly, wants them to play. Most USMNT rosters to date, though, do not contain 11 sound technical players. This is where we need to discuss a type of player that is common in pro soccer and on many USMNT rosters: the Riser. A “Riser” (could also be called a “Faller”, but let’s stay positive) is a player that can mostly do the technical things above, or do them most of the time. The key to the Riser is that they tend to do them most consistently when they are with technical players and on the best fields. When they are playing with non-technical teammates or on poor fields, they tend not to execute as well technically. Some also seem to have long stretches when they are technical then stretches when they are not.

Here are players from rosters since the pandemic shut down sorted into Technical, Risers, and Non-Technical:

Technical	Risers	Non-technical
Pulisc	Pepi	Acosta
Reyna	McKennie	Long
Dest	Miles R.	Yedlin
Richards	Zimmerman	Turner
Scally	Steffen	Cannon
De La Torre	Horvath	Morris
Tillman	Johnson	Lletget
Aaronson	Jedi	Zardes
Ferreira	Arriola	Bello
Weah	Sargent	Moore
Musah	Pefok	Vines
Adams	McKenzie	Roldan
	Hoppe
	Williamson
	Sands

It is possible that the U20s have Risers mixed in too. It will become clear that it is the ratio of the players that seems to matter. Any Risers on the U20s are blending in because they are surrounded by Technical players. We can also quibble about the above lists, but it won’t make a large practical difference if one or two players are in columns you have a problem with.

The first case study is to look at the Saudi game at the start and after Reyna is subbed for Arriola because of injury. If you look at the performance with Reyna it wasn’t great; but it was much more coherent and better at getting near the opponent’s box than the time after he leaves. To illustrate this, the USMNT had the ball at the feet of the attacker moving at the backline of Saudi Arabia six times in the roughly 30 minutes Reyna is on the field. Over the next 30 minutes with Reyna off the field, this occurred once.

Here is the lineup before and after:

Before After

Technical 4 3

Risers 3 4

Non-Technical 4 4

This is a small change, but the USMNT has tended to perform better when they have more Technical versus Non-Technical players. Especially, on good fields and at home, the Risers in these situations tend to play best and help.

At the 60 minute mark, the USMNT makes three subs and this is what the lineup breaks down as:

At 60’

Technical 5

Risers 4

Non-Technical 2

With Technical players again outnumbering Non-Technical, the USMNT generated six instances of attacking the backline with the ball.

Two of the most extreme differences in performance during qualifying was Away to Panama and Home to Panama. In the former, the team was lifeless and didn’t record a shot on goal. In the latter, the team was ball dominant, incredibly dangerous, and routed Panama 5-1. The former was probably the worst performance and the latter one of the better. Let’s look at how the lineups for the two sorted out between our three player types:

Away Home

Technical 2 5

Risers 3 5

Non-Technical 6 1

The technical skill between the two lineups is glaring. In the Away match, we actually had more Non-Technical players than Technical and Risers added up. In this case, Risers will be Fallers because almost all the other players are Non-Technical. This might be one of the most non-technically proficient lineups we have played outside the Gold Cup. That last bit is interesting and I will discuss it at in the next case study.

Other factors are on the road, on the road in Concacaf, and poor field and a hostile crowd for the Away match. I believe these kinds of variables just make Risers into Fallers. The US U20s have played in Mexico twice, Argentina and Honduras and have not really looked any worse than the few games they played in the USA. So, I don’t believe a team of almost all or all Technical players has problems with fields, crowds, and travel as a team with Non-technical and Risers, like the USMNT.

The second case study is between the 2021 Gold Cup Final and the Home World Cup Qualifier versus Mexico. Both games were at home, on good fields, and both were good results but accomplished two very different ways. Here are the lineups broken out:

GC Final WCQ

Technical 0 4

Risers 5 6

Non-Technical 6 1

Here are the stats from the two games

Stats Summary: GOLD CUP WCQ’ing

Shots: 14 / 22 18 / 8

Shots on Goal: 5 / 5 5 / 4

Corner Kicks: 6 / 11 5 / 3

Fouls: 31 / 20 12 / 13

Keep in mind that the Gold Cup Final went 120’ while the Qualifier only 90’. But it is easy to see that while the USA won both games, they were very different games. In the Qualifier, the USMNT dominated Mexico in a way never seen before. Frankly, they looked like the U20s vs Paraguay or like Bayern Munich versus Augsburg. Playing Mexico, at home, on a good field turned all the Risers into the best version of themselves. The lack of Non-Technical teammates was also a big reason. When you know your teammate will control the ball and do something productive with it, every time, you can play faster and move off the ball in anticipation.

The USA won the Gold Cup with what is a lineup even worse than the lineup that would lay such a dud in Panama a few months later (many of the players were the same too!). Not only did they win, but they controlled the game, but did not dominate the ball. What is different between that game and the Panama away qualifier is that the tactics were different. Berhalter adapted to his non-technical roster by not playing how he tried to play in Panama or against Saudi Arabia. The team didn’t play it out of the back, they used long balls and pressing to control the game and scored on a set piece to win it.

There is nothing wrong with playing that way. Whether it will, “change the way the world views American soccer,” is not really the point. No view will change if we play like we did against Saudi Arabia and exit the World Cup quickly. Well, the views of the few fans of the team that will be tuning in to the World Cup will change, for the worse. Berhalter has to field teams of mostly technical players and fill in only when necessary with Risers. Unfortunately, the USMNT talent pool lacks Technical players at every position and injuries have repeatedly sapped many in every window.

This brings us back to the Gold Cup. When Berhalter is forced, through his own negligence in finding and integrating Technical players, injuries, and suspensions to field teams with a large number of Risers and Non-Technical players, he needs to adjust the tactics to those of the Gold Cup. Not continue to send the players out to execute a game plan that they cannot execute.

We have the key! When the lineup allows, this team can play beautiful Total Football and be ball dominant. When the lineup doesn’t allow that, Gregg needs to change tactics or we will lose.

USMNT

The Next USMNT Star That Never Was: Revisiting America’s Biggest Teenage Prospects

Published

2 weeks ago

September 25, 2026

Marcus O'Malley

Thomas Deschaine (@uskeeper on X and us_keeper on Instagram)

With the next wave of highly rated teenagers likely to be brought into the #USMNT during the 2030 World Cup cycle, I decided to look back at some of the young players who were once hyped as the next stars of the U.S. Men’s National Team but never established themselves as regular internationals.

Freddy Adu would seem to be at the top of this list. While he never became a regular for the #USMNT or the world-class face of U.S. Soccer many expected, he still earned 17 caps, scoring 2 goals and adding 3 assists. In many ways, he accomplished more at the international level than most of the players who are listed below combined.

Which former USMNT prospects did I miss, players who are no longer playing or are past their prime, who deserve to be on this list?

Cody Cropper – GK – 0 caps

U.S. youth international and longtime goalkeeper prospect who reached the Southampton and MLS systems but never earned a senior cap.

Junior Flores – AM – 0 caps

Creative midfielder who joined Borussia Dortmund’s system as a teenager and was viewed as a major U.S. prospect, but never reached the senior USMNT.

Eddie Gaven – MF/W – 8 caps

Teenage MLS phenom who became a league standout, but despite eight USMNT appearances, his international career never developed further.

Luis Gil – AM – 2 caps

One of the most hyped American midfield prospects of his generation; debuted for RSL at 16 but never translated that promise into a sustained USMNT career.

Emerson Hyndman – MF – 2 caps

Highly rated central midfielder who broke through at Fulham and earned two USMNT appearances, but never established himself internationally.

Perry Kitchen – DM/CB – 5 caps

U.S. youth captain and defensive midfielder who became a regular MLS starter, but his senior international career stalled after five caps.

Will Packwood – CB/DM – 0 caps

Birmingham City prospect who became the youngest American to play in the English Championship, but injuries severely disrupted his development.

Marc Pelosi – LB/CB – 0 caps

Highly regarded defender who moved to Liverpool as a teenager, but injuries and limited senior opportunities derailed his path to the USMNT.

Gedion Zelalem – MF – 0 caps

Arsenal wonderkid and one of the most highly regarded U.S. prospects of his generation. Injuries and inconsistent senior opportunities slowed his development, and he never made a senior USMNT appearance.

The number of young USMNT players in this September/October window is something we haven’t seen in quite some time. Some will catch the eye of newly extended USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino, while others may not, but all of them have an opportunity during this cycle to make their case for World Cup qualifying and, ultimately, a spot on the 2026 World Cup roster.

It all starts now, and it should be fun to follow their development over the next four years.

USMNT

Building the Next Generation: Who Should Be on Pochettino’s USMNT Radar?

Published

1 month ago

August 25, 2026

Thomas Deschaine

Thomas Deschaine (@uskeeper on X and us_keeper on Instagram)

Header_NextGen

With the USMNT manager in place and the new cycle underway it’s time for recently extended Mauricio Pochettino to get some new young players on his radar and what better time to do this than the September/October double FIFA window.

There are several U-23 players like Josh Wynder, Jalen Neal, Rokas Pukstas, Diego Kochen, Jonathan Gomez, Caleb Wiley, Cole Campbell, Chris Brady, Gaga, Slonina, Niko Tsakiris, Damion Downs, and Benjamin Cremaschi who have no caps order less than a handful with the USMNT.

Will USMNT snubs or overlooked players opportunities be during the 2030 cycle look like? Players like Diego Luna, Tanner Tessmann, Aidan Morris and Camron Carter-Vickers to name a few, we have to wonder how or if they will be part of this cycle of players. I would suggest some will likely get the opportunity in the early part of the cycle but will need to be performing n with their club to remain getting called back into camps.

Integrating a few of these youth USMNT players during each window for the first half of the cycle will allow Pochettino to evaluate them up close and see if there might be a role for them during this next cycle.

It’s extremely important that the USMNT have a few on their current U-20 teenagers’ breakthrough and become a reliable part of the USMNT in the second half of the cycle.

The below players will have an opportunity to play in next years U-20 World Cup being hosted by Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan as well as hopefully if their clubs release them being part of the 2028 Olympics USA Football squad to hopefully medal for the first time since 1904 when the US had two teams win Silver and Bronze. I think it’s also important to look at these players alongside some of the core USMNT in the upcoming window to see how they can integrate with one another.

Mathis Albert-17-Winger

Noahkai Banks-19-Centerback

Cole Campbell-20-Midfielder/Winger

Zavier Gozo-19-Winger

Julian Hall-18-Winger

Malik Jakupovic-17-Striker

Adri Mehmeti-17-Central Midfielder

Peyton Miller-18-Left Midfielder/Winger

Neil Pierre-18-Centerback

Cavan Sullivan-16-Attacking Midfielder

Whether we see all of these players, or just a handful, through the first half of the cycle, hopefully leading into another Copa América appearance, it’s clear that the time has come for Pochettino to begin integrating the next generation of USMNT players into the senior pool. How quickly that transition happens will be one of the most interesting storylines to follow.

USMNT

Mauricio Cuevas Taking “Huge Step Forward” in Liga MX

Published

2 months ago

August 9, 2026

Alex Calabrese

CHICAGO — Four years on from captaining the United States to their last CONCACAF Under-20 title, Mauricio Cuevas is quietly stepping back into the spotlight. Still only 23 years old, the talented right back just moved abroad, leaving his boyhood Los Angeles Galaxy for Liga MX side Santos Laguna in a summer move that slipped under the radar.

“To be able to get sold to a big club like Santos is a huge step forward for me,” Cuevas said in an exclusive interview this Saturday. “From the first day, I knew the challenge coming into it because the club hasn’t been meeting expectations in the past few years. Coming in and trying to be a difference-maker is something that I wanted. It’s a new challenge for me, and overall I’m just super excited.”

New Challenge in Mexico

As a teenager, Cuevas showcased himself as one of the country’s most exciting young fullbacks. Known for his technical prowess and set piece ability, the L.A. area native spent time at Belgium’s Club Brugge before returning to the Galaxy in 2023. There, he won an MLS Cup in 2024, appearing 78 times in total before his departure this summer.

“It’s always tough leaving home,” Cuevas said. “Obviously, it’s my boyhood club. My family still lives there, and I was great with all the guys at the club as well. I knew everybody, from the staff and the front office to the coaches. It’s never easy when you’re leaving home.”

“Honestly, the people in Torreón and Santos have all welcomed me with open arms since the first day. They’re all amazing people. It’s an amazing club and an amazing city.”

The move to Liga MX made sense from a number of angles; Santos manager Renato Paiva wanted a new right back, Cuevas’s Galaxy contract was winding down, and his Mexican passport made a move south of the border quite easy. Since joining, Santos have faced an extremely difficult run of games against CF Monterrey, Atlas, Club América, and New York City FC — all of which Cuevas started.

“It’s been great, to be honest,” Cuevas said of his adjustment to life in Torreón. “There hasn’t been much of an adjustment tactics-wise or playing-wise because Renato, our head coach, has similar concepts to what we had at the Galaxy. The players are really good as well. There’s so much quality on the team.”

“The only thing I’ve probably had to get adjusted to is the weather. It’s a little too hot out there, the sun is beaming a lot. But I love it, man. It’s a super-calm city. It’s beautiful, with great food and great people.”

Back in the U.S.

The game against NYCFC came in Leagues Cup, a competition with a razor-thin margin for error. To advance past the first round, teams ideally need to earn at least seven points from their three matches; after losing to New York City, qualification for the knockout rounds is now nearly impossible for Santos. They’ll face Gregg Berhalter, Robert Lewandowski, and the Chicago Fire on Sunday (8 p.m. Eastern Time on Apple TV) in a game where anything but a win in 90 minutes would certainly eliminate them.

“I think we go into every game with the belief that every game is a must-win for us, so that doesn’t really change much. We know now that there’s more on top of that, we have even more reason to win. We’re just focused on ourselves tomorrow. We had a long travel day yesterday, so it’s all about recovery now and setting a game plan that puts us in the best position to win.”

Having started against the Fire at Soldier Field in 2024 and facing former youth national team teammates Chris Brady and Sergio Oregel, Cuevas will hope to give something extra in this game and help keep Santos alive in the tournament.

“Any tournament that this club steps into, we always have that goal in mind of wanting to bring that trophy back to Mexico, back to Torreón with us. We’re a competitive club. We’re one of the best clubs, history-wise, in Mexico, so we know what this badge carries.”

USYNT Hero

Coincidentally enough, the U.S. U-20s advanced to a fifth consecutive CONCACAF final on Friday, setting up a date with hosts Mexico at Estadio Azteca on Sunday. The semifinal win also qualified the U.S. for next year’s Pan American Games in Lima, ensuring qualification for back-to-back editions.

In addition to being a central figure in the last U.S. U-20 CONCACAF victory in 2022, Cuevas was part of the last Pan Am Games team in 2023; the U.S. finished fourth in an unusual competition that included several intriguing names like Sergio Oregel, Brooklyn Raines, Danny Leyva, and a then-relatively unknown Alex Freeman. For Cuevas, that tournament was a special memory, and one he remembers fondly.

“I remember the whole trip, to be honest. I made a lot of great friends and met a lot of great people on and off the field, from the staff to the players – people I’m still in contact with. There are some that are in Liga MX as well, Nico (Carrera), Antonio (Carrera), Danny (Leyva).”

“Every player from that age group and that camp has been doing great. It’s lovely to see, to be honest, seeing everybody shine.”

On the immediate horizon for the U.S. is Sunday’s U-20 final (6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on FS2). The Americans will be hoping that this year’s final is more reminiscent of Cuevas’ age group (a 6-0 final win over the Dominican Republic) than the 2024 edition (a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Mexico). As is often the case, the U.S. and Mexico will be without many of their top youth players for the tournament due to its concurrence with club games, but that has opened the door for others.

“We have two players from (Santos) that are representing Mexico, so congrats to them,” Cuevas said. “Huge shout out to (LA Galaxy’s) Ruben Ramos as well and Dylan Vanney, who are with the U.S.; they’ve been killing it. I’m just happy for all those guys. Proud of those guys.”