USMNT
USMNT starting XI: Balogun, Pulisic and Weah will lead the attack
Gregg Berhalter has announced the United States’ line up to face Uzbekistan in St. Louis on Saturday.
The United States will take on Uzbekistan with the exciting attacking trio of Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun and Timothy Weah, head coach Gregg Berhalter has confirmed.
The recently-reinstated USMNT boss confirmed his starting XI on Friday during a press conference ahead of the friendly fixture. Coaches rarely divulge their line ups ahead of the game, but Berhalter went so far as to outline the substitutions that he expects to make in St. Louis on Saturday.
Berhalter told reporters: “Tomorrow, we’ll start the game with Matt [Turner] in goal, Sergino [Dest] on the right, Chris Richards and Tim Ream and then Antonee Robinson on the left.”
He continued: “Luca [de la Torre] or Tanner Tessman will be at centre midfield and we have Yunus [Musah] and Weston [McKennie] at attacking midfield. Then we go Christian [Pulisic], [Folarin] Balogun and Timmy Weah across the front.”
It’s a talented squad, with a number of players currently starring for top European clubs. Berhalter added that Balogun, who only recently made the switch to Ligue 1 Monaco, will only play the first 45 minutes due to “his lack of preseason.” PSV Eindhoven striker Ricardo Pepi will replace the former Arsenal man at the break.
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Why isn’t Tyler Adams in the USMNT squad?
Last year, during his first stint in charge, Berhalter named Tyler Adams captain of USMNT after impressing in Germany and earning a move to Premier League side Leeds United. However Adams’ first season in England did not go to plan and Leeds were relegated from the top flight.
On a personal level, his season was effectively ended in March when he suffered a hamstring injury that required surgery. On 10 August, Leeds manager Daniel Farke confirmed that Adams was still “three weeks away from team training.”
Later that month Adams completed a move to fellow Premier League side Bournemouth but he is yet to feature for the Cherries due to injury.
With Adams unavailable for this squad, Christian Pulisic will captain the team for the upcoming friendlies against Uzbekistan and Oman. Pulisic recently made the move to AC Milan and has impressed, scoring twice in his first three games in Serie A.