USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter reveals starting XI for friendly match against Uzbekistan, as preparations for 2026 World Cup on home soil begin

US national team head coach Gregg Berhalter has unexpectedly announced his starting XI ahead of Saturday’s friendly against Uzbekistan as preparations for the 2026 World Cup are in full swing.

Berhalter, who does not usually announce his line-up publicly on the eve of competitive matches, said 11th-placed USA will pit the outfield player against No. 74 Uzbekistan with goalkeeper Matt Turner, right-back Sergino Dest, centre-backs Tim Ream and Chris Richards. and left back Antonee Robinson.

Luca de la Torre or Tanner Tessman will start in defensive midfield, depending on the latter’s availability due to injury concerns; veteran Weston McKennie and Yunus Musah in attacking midfield, and Tim Weah and Christian Pulisic on the wings.

Folarin Balogun starts at the front. Tessman gets the nod over de la Torre as he overcomes a calf injury that Berhalter described as mild.

Ricardo Pepi will replace Balogun at the start of the second half.

American stars Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun all start work in St. Louis

Berhalter has set a monumental goal for his players to achieve in his second term as U.S. Soccer’s head coach.

“Four years ago, we embarked on a mission to change the way the world views American football. And now our motto is to change football in America forever,” McKennie told reporters ahead of Saturday’s game in St. Louis.

Berhalter was hired after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and led the Americans to the tournament’s Round of 16, where they lost 3–1 to the Netherlands.

He was replaced by interim coaches while the U.S. Soccer Federation investigated a domestic violence allegation brought to its attention by the Reyna family, then was rehired in June.

The U.S. will have an automatic berth in the 2026 World Cup, which it will co-host with Mexico and Canada, so the Americans won’t have to qualify from an expanded field of 48 teams that will include nearly a quarter of the world’s countries.

‘It’s really the work we can do over the next three years to build a group that we are confident can beat the elite of international football going into the World Cup. “We’re talking about doing it,” Berhalter said.

“If we want to go to rounds where we have never been before, it will be: we have to beat those teams and use the next three years to build the team, to gain experiences that we are sure we that is actually possible. And when we say: change football in America forever, that means both on and off the field for me.”

Tanner Tessman will be included in the US starting XI if he overcomes a ‘minor’ calf injury

Striker Folarin Balogun gets a 45-minute run-in from the start (can be seen in training on Monday)

The US reached the semi-finals of the first World Cup in 1930 and have progressed beyond the round of 16 only once since, losing a quarter-final to Germany in 2002.

About 30 former players from the St. Louis area have been invited to the game. The region has long produced top talent, dating back to providing five starters for England’s famous 1950 World Cup match.

“It’ll be good for the guys that came before us to see how much the game has grown and what they started, the mission they started and to see how it’s executed,” McKennie said.

After heading to Qatar with the tournament’s second-youngest team, the U.S. remains a youthful group.

‘We played seven against seven today and we had old versus medium versus young. And the old team is Christian, Weston, Antonee. Robinson, Sergino,” Berhalter said. “They don’t know how time flies, they still think they’re one of the younger guys in the team, but they’re not, they’re older players, so they were really surprised. And I don’t think they took it very well.”

Berhalter also made it clear that he is in favor of the longer injury time used in the World Cup and now in European competitions.

‘This is a way for the fans to get their money’s worth, to see how much playing time they deserve. And it could potentially change players’ tactics if they stay down because they know time is running out and it won’t do them any good to stay on the field and waste time,” he said. ‘I reserve the right to change my decision.’