The United States Men’s National Team had, if we’re being honest, the kind of World Cup we expected in Qatar this winter.
Gregg Berhalter’s Yanks climbed out of the group stage before losing to a superior program in the round of 16, delivering a performance that was consistently peppy, sometimes naive and at no point did any real damage to the reputation of the USMNT.
But the devil is in the details, and the federation will have to dissect not whether the team could have done better this month, but whether they should have performed better.
[ MORE: Christian Pulisic reaction | Gregg Berhalter reaction ]
There were absolute successes, like how the team improved with each successive match in the group stage. And how its stars – Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams – have mostly been used in the best possible way for their talents. Sergino Dest, Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream and Tim Weah all had arguably the best USMNT stretches of their careers. It’s all real.
But there were also pitfalls. A half-hearted side were at times led by lower Wales in the second half of the tournament’s opening 1-1 draw. Weston McKennie was uneven and missed several chances to give the United States a lead against England. And the rotation that Berhalter so often talked about in qualifying was almost non-existent, leading to a side that looked cooked and borderline exhausted at times late in the tournament against the Netherlands.
What does all this mean for the program? It depends on the powers that be, but we’ll let you know how we think each player fared, by minutes played, in Qatar. And maybe, as an aside, we can stop worrying about “changing the way the world sees American football” and just worry about tangible deliverables.
US Player Ratings Out of 10: How Did the USMNT Fare at the World Cup?
Sean Johnson: N/A (0 minutes)
Ethan Horvath: N/A (0 minutes)
Joe Scally: N/A (0 minutes) — What could this team have done against the Netherlands by finding a little more rest for Dest and Robinson? Berhalter clearly didn’t think he could achieve knockouts without them, and they were great. But they were also dead in the end and Scally’s play for the club said he could have slipped into the sub table very well.
Aaron Long: N/A (0 mins) – Glad to have been in a World Cup and slightly surprised that Berhalter didn’t include him in the roster instead of CCV against Iran (the decision was good, just surprising).
Cristian Roldan: N/A (0 minutes)
Jordan Morris: N/A (14 mins)
Shaq Moore: N/A (20 minutes)
From André Yedlin: N / A (31 mins)
Kellyn Acosta: N/A (40 minutes)
Jesus Ferreira: N/A (45mins) – It would be cruel to rate Ferreira on his 45mins against the Netherlands as he was asked to lead the line at centre-forward while making his World Cup debut in a match that would be his first in front of a crowd since the end of his season at FC Dallas on October 24. Can Ferreira rise above or with Haji Wright, Josh Sargent, Jordan Pefok, Ricardo Pepi and a host of new faces to make it two World Cup rosters? His MLS career gave him the foundation for that.
Giovanni Reyna: N/A (57 mins) – The tournament had been screaming for a combination player like Reyna (or Aaronson) but Berhalter felt he was getting enough of Tim Weah and a rotating cast of centre-forwards plus Brenden Aaronson on the bench. It’s a shame we had to wonder if he could have done something with Wales pressing to equalize and looking unthreatened in the opener, or starting with Weah at centre-forward against the Dutch. Whether Gregg Berhalter is going to stay in charge – and who knows if the manager is even interested in that? – he has a huge task to win back the trust of a player who should be important at Pulisic’s level in 2026 if he wasn’t already.
Cameron Carter Vickers: 7 (90 mins) – The Celtic star did what he was told to do against Iran: keep and move the ball, and intimidate someone once in a while. It will be interesting to see if a new manager values the full-back more than Berhalter, as CCV was one of Celtic’s Player of the Season candidates in their SPL run last season.
Brenden Aaronson: 6.5 (105 minutes) — The man from Leeds wasn’t bad at all. You can see why he is valued by Berhalter as a super sub, but Aaronson also feels like a player who should goad opponents from the opening whistle. He’s a card magician. Could he be one of the two Aaronsons on Team 2026?
Haji Wright: 6.5 (135 mins) – There have been good and bad times for the Antalyaspor centre-forward, the best clearly being his aim to bring the Yanks to one against the Netherlands. What is the future of the program for Wright, 24? You could see him start another four years or slip further down the radar, but let’s celebrate a big, strong young man who went from LA Galaxy academy to New York Cosmos to Schalke to four other European clubs in order to make a World Cup world. .
Haji Wright is somehow coming home. How!? #NED 2-1 #UNITED STATES pic.twitter.com/uCWZpdr60D
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) December 3, 2022
Josh Sargent: 6.5 (163 mins) – The argument is there if you want it: Sargent is better when he runs like a maniac in Norwich City and helps wreak havoc with a Teemu Pukki guy or does the grunt work for Milot Rashica. But Sargent has proven to be an adequate heist for the USMNT and he’s certainly maturing through the game for club and country. He looks likely to start against the Netherlands if not for the ankle injury that has been hampering him all week. Where will it (and Norwich) be when 2026 arrives on planet Earth?
Weston McKennie: 6 (275 mins) – The tournament’s lingering questions for “what if” types will be how the round of 16 game would have been rocked if Pulisic buried his chance in the 3rd minute, and how the 0-0 draw with the England could have finished if McKennie hadn’t failed to convert two chances, including an early one that was close to gimme status. McKennie has sometimes been the heart and engine of the team. His passion seeps into the room and into the field. But fitness and sharpness kept him from going above his average and – maybe – the Yanks from winning the group.
Walker Zimmerman: 7 (278 mins) – Yes, the penalty conceded to Gareth Bale was mediocre. But Zimmerman has shone on the big stages at every stage of his career since leading Dallas’ backline with Matt Hedges. His 15 clearances – what he was there for – ranks in the Top 20 of the tournament and his 13 long completed balls show how far his overshoot has come since his MLS debut.
Destination Sergino: 7 (309 mins) – Again, let’s not let the recency bias of his very poor defense against his homeland, the Dutch, gloss over a sensational group stage. Dest had his best two games in an American shirt against England and Iran, keeping the talented wings honest while keeping him at the back. He finished just ahead of Robinson and Musah with the most successful dribbles on the team with five.
Christian Pulisic: 8 (315 mins) – Fouled an almost absurd 11 times in 315 minutes, Pennsylvania’s Pulisic earned his moments in the sun and paid for them with a trip to the hospital to treat a pelvic contusion. Pulisic will lament a third-minute shot saved by the Dutch, but he was involved in three of the Yanks’ goals, which – checks the notes – were all their goals. Led the team in goal contributions, assists and key passes, finishing behind only Adams in duels won.
If I could change one thing, even if it’s only a 3-2 loss, would this guy score that first game so we can properly celebrate his iron pool. #ball #USMNT pic.twitter.com/NwFRJ9h1fY
— Nicolas Mendola (@NicholasMendola) December 3, 2022
Timothy Weah: 7 (320 mins) – If Weah was playing centre-forward, we might have to hit him for a failure to convert on some tough chances. But Lille’s wide man – often used as a sort of right-midfielder by Paulo Fonseca – was explosive and his goal against Wales one of the finest in recent USMNT memory. Weah was particularly neat in the passing game for a winger, and his work on the right worked very well with Dest to give left-backs a huge amount of headache.
Yunus Musah: 7.5 (345 minutes) – Out of gas at the end of the Dutch tilt, yes. But has any player done more for his transfer value in this tournament than Musah? The Valencia man will certainly have impressed clubs in his home country of England as his ball progression was outstanding and he also made eight tackles. By the way, he left his teenage years in the middle of the tournament. We can see it for another Three World cup rounds.
Antonee Robinson: 8 (359 mins) – It’s going to be hard for readers watching this piece near the final whistle of the Netherlands defeat to see the ‘8’ and not think of Robinson completely losing his way on the third Dutch goal, but it would be a shame to cloud the perception of his tournament. ‘Jedi’ played a relentless and pivotal role in the program’s success in Qatar and looks a lot like the best left-handed defender in the program since… Eddie Lewis and DaMarcus Beasley were arguing over ownership of the winger job? His seven interceptions show a savvy player in the game that is now more than power and industry.
Matt Turner: 7 (360 mins) – I’m not going to lie: There were moments against Wales – mostly in ball control – that made us doubt the decision to leave Zack Steffen at home (nothing against Ethan Horvath or Sean Johnson). But that was a thing of the past as Turner’s skill as a stopper, something we knew, was joined by a big improvement in distribution since we saw him leave New England for Arsenal. I also love another college football player who is edging his way to the USMNT starter, right?
Tim Rame: 8 (360 minutes) — He
has been
not
Go
at
go
at
the
tournament
until
November.
Think about it. Fulham’s Ream teamed up with club and country teammate Robinson to make the left side a very strong side until the late stages against Holland. His 274 passes led the team, his 16 long balls trailed only Adams and Turner, and his 11 clearances were just four shy of Zimmerman’s team-best total. USA has a long history of fun paths to the team and Ream’s career path, long term and short term, is almost as good as Steve Cherundolo and Jay DeMerit.
Tyler Adams: 8 – 360 mins – Arguably made a big error overall and it helped Memphis Depay score the Netherlands’ opening goal, but don’t let recency bias cloud your judgment of captain and player most likely to lead the team at home in 2026. The Leeds United man led the team in tackles with 11 and handled off-field controversy like a 35-year-old veteran. Health will be wealth for the MLS prodigy.
