The US men’s national team will start their preparation for Qatar 2022 with a series of pre-World Cup home games this summer. The first friendly match will be against Morocco, and then they will play Uruguay before starting their journey in the Concacaf Nations League.
The US clinched their berth for the World Cup in March on the final matchday. In Qatar, they will play in Group B, where they’ve paired alongside England, IR Iran and the winner of the UEFA play-off (Ukraine, Wales or Scotland).
While head-coach Gregg Berhalter surely wants to try the best players available, it could come as a shock for some fans to learn that Barcelona’s Sergiño Dest wasn’t called to play this summer tour. Here, check out the reason behind this decision.
The reason why Sergiño Dest won’t be playing for USMNT this summer
Dest didn’t make it into the roster for the preparation matches for Qatar because he has been dealing with an injury in the semitendinosus muscle in his right hamstring, as Barcelona reported in a statement on April.
He couldn’t play the last Barcelona’s Liga matches against Celta and Villarreal, missing the last month of the campaign. It was the fourth time he missed significant time. The last time he played for his club was against Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou, on April 24.
Dest played 21 matches in La Liga, 17 starts, with two clean sheets and three assists. However, he struggled with some injuries during the season, which didn’t help him win his place as the right-back and now he could be on his way out.