USMNT sees Gold Cup as chance to identify talent, set course toward Qatar 2022

By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

Compared to last month’s rousing CONCACAF Nations League win over archrival Mexico — a coming-of-age victory for an immensely talented but absurdly young United States men’s national team — the first two matches of the Gold Cup were predictably anticlimactic.

That’s about to change.

The U.S. team's 6-1, feel-good rout of tiny Martinique on Thursday — combined with the squad's win over Haiti last weekend to open the regional championship — sent the Americans to the quarterfinals before Sunday’s group stage finale against Canada (5 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App). But far stiffer tests await Gregg Berhalter’s mostly second-string squad.

Chelsea's Christian Pulisic, Juventus' Weston McKennie and the rest of the U.S.’s growing list of bona fide, European-based stars aren’t with the national team this month, of course; most have already returned to their brand-name clubs to prepare for the upcoming season.

But some of the regulars are here. Kellyn Acosta, Reggie Cannon and Sebastian Lletget — all of whom featured in that triumph over El Tri — are hoping to cement or broaden their roles. 

A host of bubble guys and youngsters — such as striker Daryl Dike, who scored twice Thursday — are trying to force their way onto the varsity before the all-important qualifying games for next year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar begin this fall.

Helping the U.S. hoist another trophy certainly can’t hurt their chances.

"If we win the Gold Cup, that means probably that individuals are playing well and the team is playing well, and that should only help my personal chances," said Walker Zimmerman, who’s auditioning this month for the wide-open center back role next to Wolfsburg’s John Brooks in Berhalter’s first-choice lineup.

Although the Canadians will be without Alphonso Davies and their other European club standouts Sunday, the match figures to set the tone not just for the business end of this tourney but also ahead of World Cup qualifying. The U.S. will face Les Rouges again Sept. 5 in the second match of the expanded 14-tilt "Octagonal." 

The rivalry between the neighbors has erupted since Canada shocked the U.S. in 2019 with a convincing Nations League victory in Toronto — the USMNT's last loss to a CONCACAF foe. The Americans need all three points Sunday to top Group B.

"We have a goal to win the group, and to do that, we need to beat Canada," Berhalter said after Thursday’s contest. "We know there’s going to be some really competitive games coming up."

Whatever happens Sunday, three win-or-go-home games will follow, also against teams that stand between the U.S. and its first World Cup appearance in eight years. A finale against Gold Cup favorite Mexico on Aug. 1 in Las Vegas would present another opportunity for the Americans to prove that El Tri’s domination of the series for much of the past decade is over.

Restoring the team’s collective confidence is crucial. The squad Berhalter inherited three years ago was at its lowest point in more than a generation after the spectacular failure to reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

It’s a new team now, one filled, for the first time, with key contributors for some of the sport’s leading clubs. The Nations League title was their first triumph together for their country, but returning to the global stage and making a deep run — "Changing the way the world views American soccer" is its mandate — is the ultimate aim.

"This is only the beginning," Berhalter told his players in the locker room following the 3-2 victory in extra time. "We start winning, we keep winning."

That message has stayed consistent this month. "Our priority is to win the Gold Cup," Berhalter said on a conference call with reporters shortly after announcing his roster.

His second priority is to identify players who can help the U.S. in the months ahead. There are still pressing questions at several positions. 

In goal, starter Zack Steffen of Manchester City has been worryingly injury-prone, and Ethan Horvath remains relatively untested at both the club and international levels, despite his heroics off the bench in the Nations League final. 

MLS backstops Brad Guzan (Atlanta United), Sean Johnson (New York City FC) and Matt Turner (New England Revolution) are competing for the No. 3 role and maybe more, with Turner the apparent front-runner for now.

Up top, things are even more open. Young forwards Dike (21), Matthew Hoppe and Nicolas Gioacchini (both 20) and veteran Gyasi Zardes are trying to unseat incumbent Josh Sargent, who has yet to establish himself as a consistent scorer. (Gioacchini and Zardes both scored against Martinique.) It’s also possible that 31-year-old Jozy Altidore, the third-leading scorer in USMNT history, could eventually return to the fold.  

"By the end of this tournament," Berhalter said, "we’re going to have virtually the entire player pool prepared for the fall and World Cup qualifying."

Now that the ticket to the second round is booked, every game for the foreseeable future is at least a must-not-lose.

There’s nothing anticlimactic about that. Let the drama begin.

One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN.