Taylor Twellman explains how not having Weston McKennie changes things. (1:18)
The United States men's soccer team will have to decide later this year whether to head to the World Cup in Saudi Arabia or not.
The USMNT will play Mexico at the famed Azteca in Mexico on March 24 followed by a home match against Panama three days later. The Americans will play Costa Rica in San Jose on March 30.
The team will report to training camp in Houston this weekend.
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The U.S. is in second place in the eight-team group, level on points with third-place Mexico and fourth-place Panama. The top three teams will qualify automatically, with the fourth-place team going to a playoff against a representative from Oceania in June.
The U.S. would need five points from the three matches to guarantee automatic qualification.
The last two times the U.S. team played at the Azteca, they ended in draws, and the team only managed one draw in Costa Rica.
Sergino Dest went down with a hamstring injury in Barcelona and the announcement came on the day. Dest's name was included on the roster announcement, but a U.S. Soccer spokesman said Berhalter was waiting on official word on the severity of Dest's injury. The club said that Dest would not play in the game against Real Madrid on Sunday because he was set for scans. It's over.
Following the squad announcement, Berhalter said: "We feel bad for Sergino and again this will be a case of the next man needs to step up." We have options if we need to replace him.
We have George Bello, who is playing left back for Arminia Bielefeld. We have Joe Scally who plays at Gladbach, we have Sam Vines who is playing in Belgium, and we have Shaq Moore who is in Tenerife. We have a number of guys to replace him, but Sergino is one of a kind and it will be hard to replace him.
Even with Dest on the roster, the left-back position looks thin. Weston McKennie, who broke two bones in his left foot last month, will miss the rest of the Serie A season.
If Dest is unable to play, Reggie Cannon and DeAndre Yedlin are expected to fill in. LAFC's Kellyn Acosta and Heracles' Luca de la Torre will likely get the bulk of the minutes.
The good news is that Reyna is back in the squad for the first time since he injured his hamstring. He hasn't played a full, 90-minute game with the club since that time and had a minor injury in February. Matt Turner is out with a lower leg injury and is replaced by Horvath.
The center-back is looking in, with Walker, Miles, Robinson, James, Sands, and Palmer-Brown preferred. Long and Palmer-Brown have been called for the first time for a World Cup camp, with Long having previously been out with an injury.
Following his exclusion from the squad, he vowed to work his way back into the team.
I accept this as the coach's decision, but I won't accept that I can't change it before the final World Cup roster selections. My plan is to fight as hard as I can to get back to the US.
My American identity is at stake, an identity that has been questioned for many years. We have all been down and out at different times, but we always fight back.
There are many questions surrounding who will start at strikers, with Berhalter selecting three.
Adams, Steffen, Weah, and Yedlin are on a caution watch. They will be suspended for the next match if they get a yellow card in the next three games.
There is a fullOSTER.
The goalkeepers are: Sean Johnson ( New York City FC), Sean Horvath (Nottingham Forest).
Goalkeepers: Reggie Cannon, Sergino Dest, Aaron Long, James Sands, and DeAndre Yedlin.
Midfielders include Kellyn Acosta, Tyler Adams, Luca de la Torre, and Yunus Musah.
The forwards are: Jordan Pefok (Young Boys), Jordan Morris ( Seattle Sounders FC), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), and Christian Pulisic.
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