Gregg Berhalter puts USMNT as Nations League favorites: Forced to win third title
The USA are aiming for third consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title
U.S. National Team coach Gregg Berhalter believes the only valid goal for their CONCACAF Nations League campaign is to go for a third consecutive title and to back up his statement, calling up his best available team to compete in the final round of the tournament, which begins this Thursday against Jamaica.
«It puts us on higher alert,» he said of Jamaica's injury issues. «We're not taking this team lightly and now with guys missing it's even more serious.
»The guys that are going to get their opportunity tomorrow night, they're going to be giving everything to show this coach they want to be part of the squad for Copa Amrica. So it's a dangerous game for us and we're going to be really focused on trying to play a good game and getting to the final."
He also noted that Jamaica will be missing several key players due to injury on Thursday, including West Ham striker Michail Antonio, Aston Villa midfielder Leon Bailey and forward Trivante Stewart of Serbia's Javor, all of whom are out of the Caribbean squad for the weekend.
«We went through their roster today and were asking our players what they know personally about the Jamaican players, because a lot of them play with these players in England,» Berhalter said. They're well known to our player pool. We think that the quality they have is still good.
«They might be missing their top talent but they still have enough to be a very competitive team. And we know in these events in CONCACAF, when teams play each other, they're very difficult games. We expect the same thing.»
For their part, the USMNT will field the best they have for Thursday's match at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Including their stars.
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