Gregg Berhalter's attack impressed against Germany and Ghana, but without their captain, the U.S. still look vulnerable going the other way
The United States men's national team went into October's camp with one singular goal in mind. All through the buildup, the U.S. discussed proving, to themselves and others, that they belonged. They were a young, fun team in Qatar in 2022. By the time the 2026 World Cup rolls around, though, the USMNT wants to be feared.
DId they accomplish that this camp? No, they didn't, but, to be fair, they were never going to. It was an impossible task, making a statement that big over two friendlies, and it wasn't one that the U.S. would succeed in completing even on the best of days.
Still, the U.S. did make some sort of mark. They battled Germany, at least for 45 minutes, before succumbing to an elite team. They then beat the snot out of Ghana, crushing the Black Stars 4-0 to end the camp on a high.
Because of that, this camp will be considered something of a success. It wasn't perfect, by any means, as the U.S. really could have used a better performance against Germany. However, they clearly went back to the drawing board after that loss and took out whatever frustrations they had on Ghana.
Where does the USMNT stand on the world stage? It's still TBD. The road to 2026 continues on.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from October camp…
Getty ImagesWINNER: Christian Pulisic
Heading into camp, Christian Pulisic was playing better than he has been in a long, long time. His start to life at AC Milan has been just about ideal, and one of the storylines heading into these friendlies centered on whether he would carry his good form into USMNT camp. We got a positive answer.
Pulisic's goal against Germany was sublime, a true world-class goal from a player that is starting to remind the world that, on his day, he can be just that. It was the brightest moment for the U.S. in that game, and one that proved, once again, that Pulisic always shows up in the big moments.
His goal against Ghana was less impressive: a penalty straight down the middle to give the U.S. an early 2-0 lead. Still, the work he did outside of that goal was the big takeaway. Pulisic was dangerous all night and, as the game got out of hand, the U.S. had the luxury of taking him off after 45 minutes to leave him well-rested for his club.
He'll now return to Milan for a massive match against Juventus on Sunday and a Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain the following Wednesday. Huge games, for sure, but this break showed, once again, that Pulisic is the man for the big occasion for both club and country.
AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Brenden Aaronson
His form and confidence have clearly suffered over the last year, and there's plenty of time left to rebuild it. Still, at the moment, it's hard to really see where Brenden Aaronson can truly impact the game for the USMNT.
The Union Berlin midfielder remains just a bit took weak physically at the highest of levels, rendering his attacking skills less effective than they should be. He brings plenty of energy, and there are a lot of moments where that helps, but right now, he simply isn't adding anything tangible to the U.S. attack.
Aaronson is certainly a useful back-up, one that Berhalter can trust to bring energy off the bench. However, if he wants to truly take the next step and challenge for bigger roles, he'll need to step up in games like these to show what he can do against elite teams.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Gio Reyna
Every time Gio Reyna's name was brought up this week, Gregg Berhalter said some version of the same thing. The goal for this camp, he repeated, was to build Reyna back up, to prepare him for a return to Borussia Dortmund and, hopefully, a return to form. Mission accomplished, and then some.
We got 90 minutes or Reyna split across the two games. Against Germany, he was good. Not great, but good, as he went up against some familiar faces and certainly created uncomfortable moments. Against Ghana, though? Spectacular. Downright unplayable.
Now he'll return to Dortmund, where he's played just one game since the start of the season. He'll return with a big smile on his face and 90 more minutes in his legs as he looks to now break back into Edin Terzic's side.
If he can do that, look out. Neither club nor country has seen the best of Reyna for some time, and these performances showed that he may just get back to that soon.
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GettyLOSER: Sergino Dest
It feels unfair to have Sergino Dest here. How can the Man of the Match in the win over Ghana be labelled as a loser? It's because, realistically, we didn't learn much about Dest in this camp. His positives and negatives were both on full display over these two games, but those are things we've known about him since he broke through with the USMNT.
We'll start with the positives, all of which came against Ghana. Dest, for many, was the best player on the pitch as he created absolute havoc throughout his 90 minutes. It was a performance that showed the best of his game: the attacking side of it.
As for the defensive side? Well, look at the Germany game. Dest was far from the only one at fault against Julian Nagelsmann's side, but he was one player that struggled. It was a defensive performance that did little to silence any doubters, giving them more fodder to take aim at his shortcomings.
And that all leaves us with a question: how do you weigh the positives and negatives of his game? Can he be trusted against the bigger teams? Can the U.S. survive with him? Or can they survive without him?
All will need to be answered going forward, and it'll help Dest's case that his primary competition at right-back, Joe Scally, didn't impress either. Even so, though, the U.S. will need Dest to be more Ghana and less Germany going forward.