With only two months to go before the most important tournament for national teams begins, it is a perfect opportunity to gradually adjust the pieces on the teams that will finally seek to be crowned champions in Qatar. One of them will be the American team, who has two friendlies planned.
Their rivals would be Saudi Arabia and Japan, who will also be in the World Cup Qatar 2022, so, although they are not direct group rivals, the level of play will be that of qualified teams, and this kind of friendlies are always good to draw the final conclusions and define the final template.
It will also be a perfect chance for players whose presence is not yet confirmed or ruled out, to show up for a chance to travel to Qatar. USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter has made it clear that the door will not be closed on anyone until November when the 26-player roster is due.
What happened to Yunus Musah?
Yunus Musah is a low key midfielder for Gregg Berhalter, so his presence in these friendly is a given. However, the player suffered a problem in his left groin during training with his team,Valencia.
Coach Gattuso said it was a minor problem. The 19-year-old will also be out for the whole of September, meaning he will be unable to play friendlies against Japan and Saudi Arabia. Cardoso, despite the fact that he has only had three caps in his career, would be Musah‘s replacement.