Stew Holden believes that the USMNT will be able to break into the Football World Cup if Christian Pulisic performs at the peak of his abilities. The Chelsea player has enjoyed a mini-renaissance of late, flashing under new club manager Graham Potter, but now he will move from the fringes and into the spotlight, in front of a waiting country.

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Holden, who has represented USMNT 25 times, believes USMNT can make it out of Group B and go far ahead. Although, there is a caveat. If we see the famous Pulisic, this American team will win, Holden told The Herd on FS1 on Tuesday. I think if we’re going to go far ahead, and I’m talking about going through the round of 16 and reaching the quarterfinals, we need a star.

Pulisic is our star. He’s capable of doing things that no one else on the team (sic) can do. The man, nicknamed Captain America ​​for his special skill set and his role as an American football icon, failed to shine in the last games of the national team. But at the Football World Cups, moments of magic are often more important than anything else.

In just one game, he can score, Holden continued. That’s what will distinguish these games, that they will be close. Wales is a good team, Iran is a good team, England is a very good team. The US is capable of beating any of them, but it all boils down to very tight, small decisive moments in the games.

“And Pulisic is the guy who can show them most consistently, at the highest level, and give you a moment where you think it’s wow. Holden also praised his fellow USMNT midfielder at Leeds United. According to him, Tyler Adams is probably the most important player for this team’s success during the tournament.”

He’s in midfield, he’s going to lead by example, he’s going to go around the opposition, he’s going to set the intensity, he’s going to do things that other people could do, [but] maybe not at the same level. Adams and company will play Wales on Monday in their first Football World Cup match against LAFC star Gareth Bales and Wales, who have not competed in the tournament since 1958.

US Latinos is soccer-mad. Why isn’t that reflected in the Football World Cup squad?

Spanish football fans of a certain age have grown up listening to the television stations refer to the US men’s team as el equipo de todos a team for all, representing the diverse cultural traditions that make up America. But the 26-player US team for this year’s Football World Cup, which kicks off Nov. 20, has just three Spanish and Latino players, who make up a large proportion of the game’s fans in the US.

Forward Jesús Ferreira moved from Colombia to Texas when he was 10 years old, linebacker Christian Roldan’s parents are from El Salvador and Honduras, and Gio Reyna’s grandfather is Argentinean. Luca de la Torre, whose father is Spanish, provides another Hispanic presence, but he is not Spanish. And one would have to stretch the definition of Hispanic to count Kellin Acosta, whose stepfather’s step father’s stepfather is Mexican. Ricardo Pepi, the Mexican-American striker who settled a heated battle for his services by choosing the United States over his family’s home country, was sidelined.

The choice of manager Gregg Berhalter will not be scrutinized if his team advances from the group with England, Wales and Iran. But for now, his selection has sparked debate over whether the list reflects America’s more than 62 million Hispanics, most of whom self-identify as football fans and who, according to the report, have fueled a 52 percent increase in interest in the sport in recent years. commissioned by Telemundo. However, at this stage, some of the most famous football experts in North America tend to trust Berhalter.

In the end, Berhalter is hardly to blame for the way football works in the United States. The costs associated with participating in youth football in the United States often contribute to the prosperity of white rich children. The best of these players also often has a European background and EU passports, allowing them to seek opportunities in high-level European leagues without requiring clubs to provide them with one of the limited number of places for players coming from outside the continent.

In any case, it is not only the coaches who decide who represents the USA. Martin Vazquez, who has played for the US and Mexico and also worked as an assistant coach at the USMNT, says dual nationals often choose to represent El Tri over Stars and Stripes. These are individual decisions, not that players are not given opportunities, Vasquez tells The Guardian.

At least three players who had a chance to make the US squad for this year’s Qatar Football World Cup chose to represent Mexico instead: goaltender David Ochoa, midfielder Efrain Alvarez and defender Julián Araujo. As it turns out, none of the three made it into Mexico’s final roster announced on Monday.

The recruiting battles for Pepi, Ochoa, Alvarez and Araujo are not only a continuation of the intense rivalry on the field between the US and Mexico. They also symbolize the complex dynamics that determine which side not only to root for but, in some cases, who to play for when players are linked to both countries. For more know about Football World Cup Tickets.

Now coach of USL League One’s Central Fuego Valley, Mexican-born Vasquez met Araujo, Ochoa and Alvarez and tried to recruit them in the US. He is well aware of their plight, having lived through it and in his time as USMNT aide Jurgen Klinsmann working with others who have also experienced it, including Omar Gonzalez, Hercules Gomez, and José Torres, all of whom had Mexican roots.

“They all dreamed of representing the United States or Mexico and going to the Football World Cup, Vazquez says. What influenced me [to switch sides] was the best chance of getting into the FIFA World Cup in other words, an opportunity on the pitch.”

And what happened on the field in the months leading up to the Football World Cup wrecked the chances of some USMNT Latino players. Pepi is a prime example of this. After scoring 13 goals for Dallas in 2021 (as well as three more for the United States), he moved to Bundesliga side Augsburg in January 2022 for a reported fee of $20 million – and never scored. in 16 matches.

He had more success on loan at Dutch side Groningen scoring seven goals in 10 appearances but Berhalter made it clear he was unimpressed by the quality of the Dutch league. Instead, he chose Norwich City’s Josh Sargent, whose experience in a tough Premier League could prove valuable ahead of England and Wales.

This position is shared by Luis Omar Tapia, chief commentator for the Spanish-language broadcaster TUDN. Tapia believes the 19-year-old Pepi’s move from Major League Soccer to the Bundesliga was premature and the resulting reduction in playing time as well as the loan spell effectively ended his Qatari dreams.

“Pepi left when he shouldn’t have, Tapia says. And it affected everything.”

But perhaps Qatar is still not the target. Arnold and Tapia note that Pepi will be 23 years old and nearing his prime when the US, along with Canada and Mexico, compete in the 2026 Football World Cup. Other USMNT players will be at their peak by then, including Christian Pulisic, Reina, Sergino Dest and Weston McKinney, making it realistic to play deep in the tournament, which could lure talented dual nationals from Mexico to the US.

Arnold believes a player like Alejandro Zendejas of Mexican Club América, who started a Pepi-like recruiting battle after representing El Tri at youth level, could have an impact on upcoming USMNT fixtures. And Tapia says he has information that Cincinnati FC forward Brandon Vazquez prefers USMNT over Mexico despite being eligible for both.

For now, Amelia Lopez of sports consulting and management agency Marketing Jersey says she doesn’t believe bringing Latino and Latino fans to USMNT is simply a matter of choosing more Latino players. The origins – football or otherwise of the several Latinos entered for this Football World Cup couldn’t be more diverse, highlighting the fact that America’s Latinos are not a monolith. Why, for example, would a Honduran-American fan root for an Argentine-American like Reyna when their roots are in countries thousands of miles apart?

“Trying to properly connect with one part of society often means you ignore the other, says Lopez, who supports Mexico over the US because of her father’s love for El Tri. I think this is where American football will have to decide if the lack of representation is a necessary consequence or a problem that needs to be fixed.”

However, Tapia and Vazquez don’t mind the way things are. Vasquez is hopeful that both of his countries will make great strides in Qatar. As for Tapia, Chile, where he was born, did not qualify for Qatar World Cup, so he fully agrees with USMNT, saying that it will not be a surprise for the team to reach the quarterfinals.

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