International Soccer

The United States men’s national team begins its World Cup campaign against Wales in just over a week and it’s still not clear who will start at the striker position. Josh Sargent helped his case for the starting role after scoring in Norwich City’s final game before the World Cup break on Saturday.

Norwich lost 2-1 to Middlesbrough on Saturday with the lone goal for the Canaries coming from Sargent. In the seventh minute he slotted in a shot past fellow American goalkeeper Zack Steffen to open the scoring.

Sitting on USWNT Zoom media calls before Thursday night's friendly against Germany in Fort Lauderdale, the answer to every question was some iteration of how the squad would rebound from back-to-back October defeats to England and Spain.

The idea of the U.S. not putting things right wasn't entertained. Lessons had been learned, Alex Morgan was returning and statements would be made.

The surprising United States men’s national team roster was revealed on Wednesday giving fans a better idea of who head coach Gregg Berhalter could have in his USA World Cup starting XI.

This potential USA World Cup starting XI lineup considers the current form of players, Berhalter’s history of starting certain people, recent position identifications (Brenden Aaronson being listed as a midfielder) and the best possible options.

Let’s look at what we’ve cooked up.