After months of qualifiers and a number of players being called up and omitted, we are now seven days away from finding out head coach Gregg Berhalter’s final 26-man roster that will head to Qatar for the World Cup.
After taking some time following the team’s rather lackluster performances against Japan and Saudi Arabia in their only tune-up games in September, the staff at Yanks Abroad have come up with their own predictions for the final roster. There is a consensus for a majority of the players, but with the injury bug striking others only days away from the tournament, we’ve got our own ideas on who could fill the voids if others are deemed unfit.
Getting this team down to 26 players was not easy and we can only imagine what Berhalter and his staff are doing as they try to put together a squad that can be competitive and hopefully book their passage to the knockout stage.
With that said, here our our respective respective picks.
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David Smith
Goalkeepers
Matt Turner (Arsenal), Zack Steffen (Middlesbrough), Sean Johnson (New York City FC)
Defenders
Sergiño Dest (AC Milan), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Auston Trusty (Birmingham City), Tim Ream (Fulham)
Midfielders
Weston McKennie (Juventus), Tyler Adams (Leeds United), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Malik Tillman (Rangers FC), James Sands (Rangers FC), Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles FC), Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund)
Forwards
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Brenden Aaronson(Leeds United), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Ricardo Pepi (Groningen), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas)
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Dan Whelton
Goalkeepers
Matt Turner (Arsenal), Zack Steffen (Middlesbrough), Ethan Horvath (Luton Town)
Defenders
Sergiño Dest (AC Milan), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Tim Ream (Fulham), John Brooks (Benfica)
Midfielders
Weston McKennie (Juventus), Tyler Adams (Leeds United), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Malik Tillman (Rangers FC), Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles FC), Luca DeLaTorre (Celta)
Forwards
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Tim Weah (Lille), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jordan Pefok (Union Berlin)
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Andrew Vorce
Goalkeepers
Matt Turner (Arsenal), Zack Steffen (Middlesbrough), Sean Johnson (New York City FC)
Defenders
Sergiño Dest (AC Milan), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Auston Trusty (Birmingham City), Tim Ream (Fulham)
Midfielders
Weston McKennie (Juventus), Tyler Adams (Leeds United), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Malik Tillman (Rangers FC), James Sands (Rangers FC), Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles FC), Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund)
Forwards
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Brenden Aaronson(Leeds United), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Ricardo Pepi (Groningen), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas)
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Michael Adubato
Goalkeepers
Matt Turner (Arsenal), Zack Steffen (Middlesbrough), Ethan Horvath (Luton Town)
Defenders
Sergiño Dest (AC Milan), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Sam Vines (Royal Antwerp), Tim Ream (Fulham)
Midfielders
Weston McKennie (Juventus), Tyler Adams (Leeds United), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Malik Tillman (Rangers FC), James Sands (Rangers FC), Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles FC), Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund)
Forwards
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Tim Weah (Lille), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jordan Pefok (Union Berlin)
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Kenya Brown
Goalkeepers
Matt Turner (Arsenal), Zack Steffen (Middlesbrough), Sean Johnson (New York City FC)
Defenders
Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic) Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), James Sands (Rangers FC), Sergiño Dest (AC Milan), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Reggie Cannon (Boavista)
Midfielders
Weston McKennie (Juventus), Tyler Adams (Leeds United), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Malik Tillman (Rangers FC), Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles FC), Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Tim Weah (Lille), Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montreal)
Forwards
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), Ricardo Pepi (Groningen), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jordan Pefok (Union Berlin), Tim Weah (Lille)
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There you have it. We’re not sure whether some of our picks will make the final 26, but we will all be watching to see how many we got right when the team is announced on November 9.
