Apr 12, 2022
Austin LindbergESPN FC
In its past three World Cup appearances, the United States men’s national team had an average of 4.3 players per squad with Champions League experience. Making up the numbers in those teams were Jonathan Spector and Julian Green, who had combined for a total of 23 minutes in the competition at the time of their inclusion in the U.S. squad.
In the most recent international window, you could count seven players boasting minutes on European football’s grandest stage, and that was without Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, Barcelona right-back Sergino Dest and FC Salzburg attacker Brenden Aaronson. There may not be consensus on U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter’s best XI just yet, but it’s not unreasonable to assume that nine of the 11 players on the pitch in the Americans’ opening match at Qatar 2022 will be Europe-based.
The two exceptions? That would be at center back, where Nashville SC captain Walker Zimmerman and Atlanta United prodigy Miles Robinson have established themselves as the player pool’s premier defenders, with the New York Red Bulls’ Aaron Long seeming best positioned to dislodge one of them.
– MLS on ESPN+: Stream LIVE games, replays (U.S.)
– Soccer on ESPN+: FC Daily | Futbol Americas
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access
With American players increasingly heading overseas and at younger ages, how have three players aged 25, 28 and 29, based in Major League Soccer, sewn up the first three places in the center-back depth chart ahead of VfL Wolfsburg veteran John Brooks or the promising Chris Richards of TSG Hoffenheim, who is on loan from Bayern Munich?
“Major League Soccer is open to giving young players the opportunity to be on the field,” Berhalter told ESPN. “Any time you get young players on the field, there’s a huge developmental curve, and you’re seeing that with a lot of our younger players.”
Since his age-23 year, Zimmerman has averaged 2,130 minutes of league play per season. Robinson has played an average of…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at www.espn.com – SOCCER…