‘Tis the time for wall charts and fans flocking to pick their starting squads for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
And with countries announcing their squads for football’s premier international, the debate has been ramped up to the max.
On Wednesday, the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) announced its 26-man squad that will travel to Qatar to compete in the World Cup, with coach Gregg Burhalter selecting a young and inexperienced squad.
However, Berhalter’s choices did not come without controversy. The biggest surprise was the decision not to select Manchester City goalkeeper Jacques Steffen.
The 27-year-old, who is on loan at English second-tier side Middlesbrough this season, has swapped with Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner for a starting spot but has been left out of the final squad.
“In some cases, it’s more about what we have than what we don’t have,” Berhalter said during a news conference after the announcement. “With the three goalies on the roster, we feel great, we feel really good about it.
“We’ve seen great progress with Matt Turner these past six months, we know Ethan Horvath is playing at a good level at Luton in the Championship and Sean Johnson has been a mainstay in this group from day one.”
The other major surprise was the selection of Haji Wright over Ricardo Pepi. Wright, who is the second top scorer in the Turkish top flight, was selected ahead of Pepi, who had become a favorite of Berhalter in recent games.
“In Ricardo’s case, that was a very difficult conversation to have with him,” Berhalter said.
“It’s always difficult when a guy helps you get to the World Cup, scores three goals in World Cup qualifying and he’s not going to be part of the programme. Again, it’s more about who we actually added that felt good.”
All but one of the 26 will make their World Cup debut at this year’s tournament and, according to the USMNT, will be the youngest team to qualify for the World Cup.
According to the team, the USMNT’s starting XI through 14 qualifiers had an average age of 23.82, nearly two years younger than the next closest team.
The USMNT’s first game is on November 21 against Wales.
Here is a full list of the squads for the Qatar 2022 World Cup:
Ecuador
Director: Gustavo Alfaro
The final mission has not been announced yet.
—–
Netherlands
Manager: Louis van Gaal
The final mission has not been announced yet.
—–
Catarrh
Director: Felix Sanchez
The final mission has not been announced yet.
—–
Senegal
Director: Aliou Cisse
The final mission has not been announced yet.
Gareth Southgate: Workers in Qatar are united in wanting the World Cup to happen 02:47 – Source: CNN
England
Manager: Gareth Southgate
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Eric Dier, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker, Ben White
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount, Calvin Phillips, Declan Rice
Forwards: Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, James Maddison, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Callum Wilson
—–
Iran
Coach: Carlos Queiroz
The final mission has not been announced yet.
—–
United States
Director: Gregg Berhalter
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath, Sean Johnson, Matt Turner
Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Sergiño Dest, Aaron Long, Shaq Moore, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Joe Scally, DeAndre Yedlin, Walker Zimmerman
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson, Kellyn Acosta, Tyler Adams, Luca de la Torre, Weston McKenney, Yunus Musa, Cristian Roldan
Forwards: Jesus Ferreira, Jordan Morris, Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Josh Sargent, Tim Weah, Haji Wright
—–
Wales
Director: Rob Page
Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey, Danny Ward, Adam Davies
Defenders: Ben Davies, Ben Cabango, Tom Lockyer, Joe Rodon, Chris Mepham, Ethan Ampadu, Chris Gunter, Neco Williams, Connor Roberts
Midfielders: Sorba Thomas, Joe Allen, Matt Smith, Dylan Levitt, Harry Wilson, Joe Morrell, Jonny Williams, Aaron Ramsey, Rubin Colville
Forwards: Gareth Bale, Kiefer Moore, Mark Harris, Brennan Johnson, Dan James
Argentina
Director: Lionel Scaloni
The final mission has not been announced yet.
—–
Mexico
Director: Gerardo Martino
The final mission has not been announced yet.
—–
Poland
Director: Czesław Michniewicz
Goalkeepers: Wojciech Szczęsny, Łukasz Skorupski, Bartłomiej Drągowski
Defenders: Kamil Glik, Bartosz Bereszyński, Jan Bednarek, Artur Jędrzejczyk, Matty Cash, Nicola Zalewski, Robert Gumny, Jakub Kiwior, Mateusz Wieteska
Midfielders: Grzegorz Krychowiak, Kamil Grosicki, Piotr Zielinski, Przemyslaw Frankowski, Sebastian Szymanski, Damian Szymanski, Szymon Zurkowski, Christian Bilic, Jakub Kaminski, Michal Krysz
Forwards: Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Krzysztof Piątek, Karol Świderski
—–
Saudi Arabia
Director: Herve Renard
The final mission has not been announced yet.
Australia
Director: Graham Arnold
Goalkeepers: Andrew Redmayne, Matthew Ryan, Danny Vukovich
Defenders: Nathaniel Atkinson, Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Thomas Deng, Fran Karacic, Joel King, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Bailey Wright
Midfielders: Keanu Backus, Cameron Devlin, Aidin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Riley McGree, Aaron Mooy
Forwards: Martin Boyle, Jason Cummings, Mitch Duke, Craig Goodwin, Garang Kwal, Matthew Leckie, Auer Mabil, Jamie McLaren
—–
Denmark
Director: Kasper Hjulmand
Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel, Oliver Christensen
Defenders: Simon Kjær, Joachim Andersen, Joakim Mæhle, Andreas Christensen, Rasmus Nissen Kristensen, Jens Stryger Larsen, Victor Nelsson, Daniel Wass.
Midfielders: Thomas Delaney, Mathias Jensen, Christian Eriksen, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg
Forwards: Andreas Skov Olsen, Jesper Lindstrøm, Andreas Cornelius, Martin Braithwaite, Kasper Dolberg, Mikkel Damsgaard, Jonas Wind
21 spots in the 26-man squad have been announced, with the final five spots yet to be named.
—–
France
Director: Didier Deschamps
Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda
Defenders: Lucas Hernández, Théo Hernandez, Presnel Kimpembe, Ibrahima Konaté, Jules Koundé, Benjamin Pavard, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Raphaël Varane
Midfielders: Eduardo Kamavinga, Youssouf Fofana, Matteo Gueduzi, Adrien Rabiot, Aurelien Tswameni, Jordan Veretout
Forwards: Karim Benzema, Kingsley Coman, Ousmane Dembele, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Christopher Nkunku
—–
Tunisia
Director: Jalel Kadri
The final mission has not been announced yet.
Costa Rica
Director: Luis Fernando Suarez
Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas, Esteban Alvarado, Patrick Sequeira
Defenders: Francisco Calvo, Bryan Oviedo, Daniel Chacón, Óscar Duarte, Kendall Watson, Rónal Matarrita, Keysher Fuller, Juan Pablo Vargas, Carlos Martínez
Midfielders: Celso Borges, Bryan Ruiz, Yelchin Tejeda, Gerson Torres, Jewison Bennett, Justin Salas, Roan Wilson, Brandon Aguilera, Douglas Lopez, Anthony Hernandez, Alvaro Zamora
Forwards: Joel Campbell, Johan Venegas, Anthony Contreras
—–
Germany
Director: Hansi Flick
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Marc Andre ter Stegen, Kevin Trapp
Defenders: Matthias Ginter, Antonio Rüdiger, Niklas Süle, Nico Schlotterbeck, Thilo Kehrer, David Raum, Lukas Klostermann, Armel Bella-Kotchap, Christian Günter
Midfielders: İlkay Gündoğan, Jonas Hofmann, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané, Jamal Musiala, Joshua Kimmich, Thomas Müller, Julian Brandt, Mario Götze
Forwards: Kai Havertz, Youssoufa Moukoko, Niclas Füllkrug, Karim Adeyemi
—–
Japan
Director: Hajime Moriyasu
Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Maya Yoshida, Hiroki Sakai, Shogo Taniguchi, Ko Itakura, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Hiroki Ito, Miki Yamane
Midfielders: Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Daichi Kamada, Yuki Soma, Kaoru Mitoma, Ao Tanaka, Takefusa Kubo
Forwards: Takuma Asano, Suto Matsuno,…
