By Paul Tenorio, Jeff Rueter and Greg O’Keeffe
The U.S. men’s national team begins its 2024 Copa América on Sunday. The tournament provides the team with its final competitive challenge before hosting the 2026 World Cup, which comes with automatic qualification for the three joint hosts.
Since Gregg Berhalter first took over as USMNT head coach in 2018, he has ushered in a new era for the program, giving promising young players their debuts and building his team around a youth movement with few veteran holdovers. Although the team has become CONCACAF’s dominant force for the past six years, that success has seldom translated when facing opposition beyond the confederation.
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Before facing CONCACAF rival Panama and a Uruguay team among the favorites to win this summer, the U.S. opens against Bolivia in a game where three points are crucial for the home team.
The tune-up friendlies were a mixed bag for the U.S: a 5-1 loss to Colombia that left no silver linings and a 1-1 draw against Brazil that showed the team can hang with the world’s best.
Here, The Athletic’s USMNT writers answer crucial questions and predict Sunday’s starting line-up.
When will Tyler Adams start a competitive game?
Jeff Rueter: I’ve been as high on midfielder Johnny Cardoso as anyone and he rapidly earned himself a starting role with Real Betis without any prior experience in Europe. That said, I don’t think you can possibly construct a “Best USMNT XI” without Adams at the base of midfield. The only questions are how many minutes his legs can handle at this tournament after so much time out with hamstring and back injuries and how soon he can start and play at least 60 high-intensity minutes.
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Ultimately, the United States looked better with Musah in midfield than Cardoso. With this game being a must-win to set the tone for a strong tournament, I suspect Berhalter will go with the more trusted option.
Paul Tenorio: Ahead of the Brazil friendly, Berhalter noted that Adams could play up to 30 minutes. Considering he’ll have had a week or so of training, you’d think that limit will have gone up. Still, I am not sure it’s worth the risk of giving Adams a start and playing him 60 minutes if you don’t have to.
The value of giving another start to Johnny, who was a bit shaky against Colombia, or Yunus Musah, who played well against Brazil, feels like the smarter play. I think the aim is to get Adams into form to play without many limitations by the Uruguay game. Thirty minutes in this game, maybe an hour against Panama and then let him loose against Uruguay and into the knockouts.
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Greg O’Keeffe: The question for Berhalter is whether Adams needs to start to get that crucial tournament game time from the first whistle and build momentum ahead of tougher prospects such as final group opponents Uruguay. The USMNT will undoubtedly need their main midfield cog for the clash with Marcelo Bielsa’s side in Kansas City next month — and they will need him as close to 100% fit as possible. On balance then, it could make sense to retain his role as a substitute for the opener against Bolivia and look to start him versus Panama.
Rueter’s projection: Yunus Musah, with Adams coming on between the 60th and 65th minutes.
O’Keeffe’s projection: Johnny Cardoso.
Tenorio’s projection: Yunus Musah.
Who will Berhalter start at striker?
Tenorio: Berhalter noted after the Brazil game that it was important for Ricardo Pepi to get a start after a tough season with PSV Eindhoven. He mostly came off the bench at club level and was very productive coming off the bench for the U.S., too. Things just haven’t clicked yet with Folarin Balogun and the U.S., but I think there is value in trying to coax out more chemistry there while Josh Sargent works back into fitness.
However, playing Pepi at home in front of his friends and family in Dallas is tempting. In the end, I think Berhalter goes with Balogun’s ability to run in behind the lines to start and brings Pepi off the bench to close out the game.
Rueter: In an ideal world, the fact Sargent made this roster would be evidence enough that he could start this game. His interplay with Christian Pulisic is the most seamless of any striker in the pool and he does a lot of the hard-yards stuff that helps the wingers and advanced midfielders flourish in auxiliary. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to play in recent weeks due to a lingering foot injury. If we see him at all Sunday, it will almost certainly be some late-match minutes.
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O’Keeffe: In terms of selection and availability for the team’s most recent games, it’s the spot most difficult to predict. On form, if ready, Sargent makes the most sense. If Berhalter wanted to be bold, he could reward Pepi for his performance in the morale-boosting Brazil draw. (‘El Tren’ was decent on the ball and his size always makes him a good target man.)
Balogun, however, still feels like the man Berhalter would ideally want to start, despite his patchy club form at Monaco last season. The 22-year-old was lively when replacing Pepi against Brazil and despite having fewer caps than his teammate, he has certainly played more minutes in France than Pepi did with Dutch champions PSV where he was excellent but played second fiddle to club legend Luuk de Jong.
Rueter’s projection: Folarin Balogun.
O’Keeffe’s projection: Folarin Balogun.
Tenorio’s projection: Folarin Balogun.
Projected starting line-up
Berhalter didn’t rotate much between the first friendly against Colombia and the second against Brazil, so there’s less suspense around the other nine spots on the pitch.
Here’s what we think Berhalter will do to open the USMNT’s Copa America against Bolivia on Sunday:
Rueter’s projected line-up: Matt Turner; Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Joe Scally; Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna; Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, Tim Weah
O’Keeffe’s projected line-up: Matt Turner; Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Joe Scally; Johnny Cardoso, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna; Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, Tim Weah
Tenorio’s projected line-up: Matt Turner; Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Joe Scally; Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna; Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, Tim Weah
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Who needs extended minutes off the bench?
O’Keeffe: Adams for sure. That has to be a priority for Berhalter and perhaps more game time for whichever center back he sees as the second pick after Tim Ream. The 36-year-old Fulham defender could tire in the closing stages of the second half. For that reason, Cameron Carter-Vickers is an option and could get some competitive minutes under his belt, particularly if the USMNT is comfortably on top.
Rueter: Carter-Vickers didn’t quite look up to it against Colombia but, in fairness, he was entering a game that was already broken. Ream started both tuneup friendlies but was visibly exhausted around the 75th minute against Brazil, rocking on his back like a fatigued turtle. Ultimately, I think there’s a fruitful partnership to be built between Carter-Vickers and Richards and that work needs to be done as soon as possible ahead of 2026. It just won’t start as long as Ream is at a starting caliber.
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Whoever of Adams or Cardoso doesn’t start needs a good half-hour to acclimate in midfield and any minutes Sargent can log will be invaluable before the tournament picks up. This may also be a good game to try the “Weah at right back” gambit for at least some portion. I’d love to see Haji Wright on the left wing for a good stretch while Pulisic operates on the right as he does so well with AC Milan.
Tenorio: It’s a no-brainer that Berhalter is going to be building Adams up. Whether he can go 30 or 60 minutes in the opener, the idea is that Adams is ready to go in time for the group finale and, pending results, the knockout stage. It will probably be a bit of a slower process with Sargent, but you have to try to get him some minutes considering he was the USMNT’s best striker in Qatar and was in very good form this season in the English Championship with Norwich City.
(Top photos: Getty Images)