The US men’s national team logged a convincing performance Wednesday evening at FC Cincinnati's TQL Stadium, beating fellow World Cup participant Morocco by a 3-0 scoreline in one of four June window matches, continuing Qatar 2022 preparations.
The driver behind much of that result? Former USMNT defender DaMarcus Beasley pointed to competition for places at November’s tournament ratcheting up.
“You know what this kind of shows me a little bit? It’s that none of these players showed today that they feel that they’re the starter,” the veteran of four World Cups said on MLSsoccer.com’s watchalong show. “They all played with something to prove. They all did.”
Beasley’s remarks come after head coach Gregg Berhalter handed debuts to three players in striker Haji Wright, attacker Malik Tillman and fullback Joe Scally. Wright scored on a second-half penalty kick after a goal-filled season at Turkish side Antalyaspor, Tillman recently filed a one-time switch from Germany after coming through Bayern Munich’s youth system and Scally’s gone from an New York City FC homegrown to German Bundesliga starter at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
But the former Chicago Fire FC and Houston Dynamo FC star feels the competition goes far beyond those making a late push for a roster spot, with Beasley noting how some key players are missing through injury.
“I think Berhalter has a real problem on his hands when Gio Reyna gets healthy because how are you going to fit [Yunus] Musah, Reyna, [Timothy] Weah, [Brenden] Aaronson, Pulisic – I would even throw Christian in there, I know he’s the captain,” said Beasley, who earned 126 caps. “All those guys, there’s only, what, three spots? Four spots really? Where [are] you going to put them?”
That’s perhaps a good problem to have, with form and fitness two driving forces for what’ll reportedly become a 26-man roster for the USMNT in Qatar (up from 23 players in previous tournaments). During Wednesday night’s broadcast, ESPN commentator Taylor Twellman referenced a conversation where Berhalter said he felt about 19-20 spots were already locked up.
It leaves places to be earned, and starter and substitute roles will be sorted among those who already have the inside track.
“Understand that none of these guys played like know that they’re the starter,” Beasley said. “They all played with something to prove and you saw it today I think with their goals, their movement. How they played with each other, with purpose.”
USMNT players have three more chances to impress this window, facing World Cup-bound Uruguay on Sunday before two Concacaf Nations League games June 10 (home to Grenada) and June 14 (at El Salvador). They’ll also play twice overseas during the September window in the final USMNT camp before the World Cup in November and December.
Some key questions continue to surround the goalkeeper spot, a center back partnership and a lead-the-line striker.
