The World Cup in Qatar is the biggest sporting event of the year and teams are deep in preparation for the tournament. The USMNT are no different as Gregg Berhalter’s men get ready to participate in the competition again after missing out on it in 2018.
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The USMNT have a very young squad with several stars who play in the European leagues. However, this young team does lack experience and Berhalter would want his team to be able to overcome all kinds of problems that they might face in Qatar in just a few months.
First, he’ll need to figure out who to stick in the striker role.
Clint Dempsey talks about the USMNT’s problems
The USMNT hasn’t found a clinical number 9 who has established his place in the squad. Several players have been given a chance to do so, but it seems like they just don’t have it in them. Former American striker Clint Dempsey spoke about this problem while speaking on CBS as an analyst.
He talked about the team missing a proper striker, and also added that the team’s defenders need to do a better job with the ball at their feet.
“We’re missing a No. 9. I think someone needs to kind of solidify that role and be the main guy. Also, with teams [that are] going to be pressing us, I think that we need to do a better job of building out of the back with our center backs and having that confidence to try to play,” Dempsey said.
How far will the USMNT go in the World Cup?
“So it’d be interesting to see how things play out for the team. I think that they do have the quality to get out of the group [in Qatar]. They’ve just got to be at full strength,” he added.
Dempsey then went on to speak about the team’s chances in the World Cup and revealed that the USMNT have enough quality to get to the knockout stages of the tournament. However, he did add that any injuries to important players might derail the squad.