United States manager Gregg Berhalter announced his 26-player roster for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar on Wednesday, amid much fanfare in New York City.
The roster is headlined by players who have become familiar names to U.S. fans, including Chelsea attacker Christian Pulisic, Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Giovanni Reyna and Leeds United midfielder Tyler Adams.
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The biggest shock was the exclusion of Middlesbrough goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
When healthy, Steffen had been locked in a battle with Arsenal‘s Matt Turner for the starting spot during World Cup qualifying, with Berhalter usually picking Steffen for the bigger matches.
His loan move to Boro from Manchester City was done for him to get more first-team minutes, and he largely achieved that goal, playing in 16 of the club’s 20 matches in England’s second-tier Championship.
But it wasn’t enough to make the roster, with Turner, Luton Town‘s Ethan Horvath and New York City FC‘s Sean Johnson preferred.
Every World Cup roster has its share of near misses, and this one was no different, with injuries playing a role in the makeup of the roster. Center backs Miles Robinson of Atlanta United and Crystal Palace‘s Chris Richards both missed out because of Achilles and hamstring ailments, respectively.
However, other players healed up in time — including McKennie, Turner and Norwich City forward Josh Sargent — at least ahead of this weekend’s last round of club fixtures before players are released.
