The U.S. Soccer Federation appointed Gregg Berhalter as US Men’s National Team coach at the beginning of the December 2018. The federation went through several faces looking for a suitable candidate to replace the interim manager Dave Sarachan. Now the Major League Soccer (MLS) club Columbus Crew’s former head coach is tasked to lead the USMNT to where they deserve, the FIFA World Cup 2022.

It was a disappointing year for the US soccer lovers as the nation failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2018 first time in 28 years. The USMNT were part of the grandest event in the international football since 1990. In such a context, the appointment of Berhalter comes well being the first one to coach US Men’s national team having played for them at a World Cup. He is a two time World Cup veteran (he was part of the US team at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup events), and his experiences are surely going to count when he takes control of the team.

Berhalter started his new journey in style with his first USMNT roster, an All-MLS squad, by adding some experienced faces and giving a chance to several young guys as well. He announced a 27-man squad for the traditional January camp last week.

The old faces Berhalter named in the squad are left back Greg Garza (FC Cincinnati), midfielder Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), and forward Gyasi Zardes, goalkeeper Zack Steffen and midfielder Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew). And some of the players who are yet to feature for USMNT included in the squad are defenders Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake), Keegan Rosenberry (Colorado Rapids), midfielder Russell Canouse (D.C. United), forward Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers), and goalkeeper Tyler Miller (Los Angeles FC).

The team will begin their first training session under the new coach on January 6 Chula Vista, California. The players will have their chance to impress their boss during the friendly games against Panama (January 27) and Costa Rica (February 2) scheduled at the end of the camp.

Berhalter is already proved his managing qualities during his time at the helm of MLS club Columbus Crew. He guided them to the MLS Cup playoffs four times in five seasons he managed despite the fact that the club placed among the lowest spending teams in those five years. You can look here for cheap MLS tickets without service fees to enjoy the live actions when your team performs.

With a squad combined of experienced guys and young faces, and a passionate coach leading from the front, the US Soccer lovers can dream once again.

Here is the squad in full for the January camp:

Goalkeepers:

Tyler Miller (Los Angeles FC), Alex Bono (Toronto FC), Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew), and Sean Johnson (New York City FC).

Defenders:

Nick Lima (San Jose Earthquakes), Greg Garza (FC Cincinnati), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Keegan Rosenberry (Colorado Rapids), Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas), Daniel Lovitz (Montreal Impact), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake), Walker Zimmerman (Los Angeles FC), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union), and Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union).

Midfielders:

Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids), Djordje Mihailovic (Chicago Fire), Russell Canouse (D.C. United), Corey Baird (Real Salt Lake), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew), Marky Delgado (Toronto FC), Paul Arriola (D.C. United), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC), and Sebastian Lletget (Los Angeles Galaxy).

Forwards:

Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew SC), Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers), and Christian Ramirez (Los Angeles FC).