YUNUS MUSAH

Some had run more than 21 miles over three World Cup games. But it also showed once again why this USMNT is a legitimate semifinal threat at the 2022 World Cup: Because, over 300 minutes of soccer here, they’ve been nearly impenetrable. They've kept multiple clean sheets at a World Cup for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1930. “We've defended so well throughout the entire World Cup so far,” midfielder Brenden Aaronson said. The “grandpa of the group,” as Adams dubbed Ream, “didn't expect to be here, involved in a World Cup,” he admitted.

The U.S. players had a united voice less than an hour after clinching a spot in the World Cup's knockout stage. The message? We belong here.

Gregg Berhalter has the tall task of putting together the United States' best XI vs. Iran. Will there be any surprises?

After Friday’s impressive tie with England, Tyler Adams & Co. know they have to beat Iran to qualify for the knockout stage.

Slowly – or maybe not so slowly – the American soccer public is beginning to realize it has a special player on its hands in Yunus Musah.

The USMNT is a long shot to beat England in its World Cup match on Friday — and the Americans are comfortable with the role.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup continues Monday with group stage play, as the United States is taking on Wales. Here are the top plays!

Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka had Man of the Match performances in England's 6-2 victory over Iran.

Why Berhalter should start McKennie, Musah and AdamsThroughout World Cup qualifying and beyond, Berhalter seemed to have settled on a preferred starting 11, or at least a front six. Pulisic would start on the left wing, and Weah on the right, with Jesús Ferreira at striker in between them. So might it make sense to play Reyna centrally, as one of the three midfielders? So Berhalter could, and should, start his “MMA” midfield — McKennie, Musah, Adams — then bring Reyna off the bench at halftime, or at least within 60 minutes. It would allow the USMNT to play Reyna or Aaronson on the wing and get seven of its eight best players on the field together for the first time ever.

The men's World Cup trophy grins at Yunus Musah every time the buoyant American teenager whips out his phone. He became a USMNT regular; they qualified for the World Cup; "and now that we are qualified, you're just kind of waiting," Musah said in August. "Yunus is a guy that just blows me away, at his age, what he can do. In May and June, Berhalter piloted Musah in an even deeper midfield role that amplified his brilliance. But the middle is where he “really feel[s] comfortable.” His Valencia role finally changed when Gennaro Gattuso, a 2006 World Cup winner with Italy, took over as the team’s head coach this summer.

Yunus Musah can be one of the breakout stars of the World Cup, Laken Litman writes.

The 26-man World Cup roster for Team USA has been revealed. The team's first game will be played Nov. 21 against Wales after failing to qualify in 2018.

Christian PulisicClub: Chelsea (England)Positions: Left wing, right wing, attacking midfieldThe kid dubbed "Captain America" has been a trailblazer for Americans in Europe. Now they're the core of a World Cup squad — and, in a way, the veterans, despite being just 23-24 years old. But throughout World Cup qualifying, every time Berhalter called upon him, he performed. DeAndre YedlinClub: Inter Miami (MLS)Positions: Right back, right wing backThe only player on the roster with World Cup experience, Yedlin was a fearless youngster back in 2014. Jordan MorrisClub: Seattle Sounders (MLS)Positions: Right wing, left wingMorris made his USMNT debut in 2014 while still in college at Stanford.

FOX Sports soccer analyst Stu Holden counts down his picks for the 50 best players at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

ROME — (AP) — Spain's Pedri González will highlight the list of teenagers who could make an impact at the World Cup. The World Cup opens on Nov. 20 and the final is set for Dec. 18. GIO REYNA (United States)The son of former United States captain Claudio Reyna never saw his dad play for the national team. He made a big impact in helping Canada qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. ___AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports___Andrew Dampf is at https://twitter.com/AndrewDampfCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Spain’s Pedri González will highlight the list of teenagers who could make an impact at the World Cup.

He'd been pacing back and forth at their first full-team meeting since qualifying for Qatar when he paused, and clicked a slideshow to a picture of the World Cup trophy. The Americans marched into World Cup qualifying with chests puffed and confidence brimming. He is inadequate, though, with a defender on his back, and that's why he shouldn't start at the World Cup. We’ll have in-depth features on both of those trends in mid-November in the weeks before World Cup kickoff. We have an extensive primer on 2022 World Cup basics, and a group-by-group preview.

Christian Pulisic and Ricardo Pepi will join the U.S. starting lineup for the Americans’ last World Cup warmup against Saudi Arabia after coach Gregg Berhalter admitted “we got our butts kicked” by Japan last week.

For the latest updates, highlights and analysis from the match, you can follow along with Yahoo Sports right here. To that end, the two big questions Berhalter must answer: Who will start alongside Christian Pulisic in attack? With Pulisic, Weah and Musah out, the U.S. will trial something of a Plan B against Japan. Chris Richards and Cameron Carter-Vickers, two strong candidates to start at center back, pulled out of this final training camp due to injury. They will have to prove that, as a duo, they have enough recovery speed to function in the Berhalter's high-pressing system.

Gregg Berhalter’s U.S. roster as the World Cup approaches is as notable for its absences as for those set to play in Friday’s warmup against Japan at Düsseldorf, Germany.

NEW YORK — (AP) — Nike released the United States' World Cup jerseys Thursday, including a mostly white design for home matches that was criticized in advance by a pair of American players and some fans. The home jerseys have red and blue stripes on each sleeve, somewhat similar to the stripes down each side of the Americans' 2002 World Cup uniforms. “I am one of those people who have been long in the team Waldo camp for it being a permanent national team jersey. And that’s just the balance that you always have in the process.”The U.S. is back in the World Cup for this year's tournament in Qatar after failing to qualify for 2018. Nike released the jerseys of 12 of its 13 World Cup teams Thursday: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, France, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

Nike released the United States’ World Cup jerseys Thursday, including a mostly white design for home matches that was criticized in advance by a pair of American players and some fans.

Nike officially unveiled the jerseys early Thursday morning, along with 11 other World Cup kits, including those for Portugal, France and Brazil. In a press release trumpeting the U.S. kits, Nike said they were "inspired by insights and conversation with athletes." Nike releases other 2022 World Cup kitsNike also released jerseys for all but one of the other 2022 World Cup participants that it outfits. It said the material for all of them would be “cutting-edge” and “lightweight.”The only Nike kit not yet fully revealed is England’s. Adidas and Puma have already released World Cup jerseys for their national teams — including Mexico, Germany, Argentina and Belgium (all Adidas), and Ghana, Senegal and Uruguay (Puma).

Josh Sargent is back on the U.S. roster for the first time in a year, picked at forward along with Ricardo Pepi and Jesús Ferreira for the Americans’ final two World Cup warmup matches.

U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter did not have forward Christian Pulisic and midfielder Tyler Adams dress for a World Cup warmup against 170th-ranked Grenada in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Bayern Munich midfielder Malik Tillman is switching affiliation from Germany to the United States and is among 27 players invited to the Americans’ next-to-last training camp ahead of the World Cup.

Ricardo Pepi, Kellyn Acosta, Tim Weah and DeAndre Yedlin returned to the starting lineup as U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter made four changes for the Americans' final World Cup qualifier at Costa Rica.

Forward Jesús Ferreira, winger Paul Arriola, midfielder Luca de la Torre and right back Shaq Moore entered the United States’ starting lineup for a World Cup qualifier against Panama as coach Gregg Berhalter made four changes.

Zack Steffen was in goal as U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter used an “A” team lineup and changed five starters for a World Cup qualifier against Mexico at Estadio Azteca.

Gio Reyna, Jordan Pefok and Ethan Horvath are back for the United States’ final World Cup qualifiers but Sergiño Dest appears likely to miss the three games.

Christian Pulisic was benched as U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter changed seven starters for a World Cup qualifier against Honduras in chilly St. Paul, where the temperature at kickoff was 3 degrees (minus-16 Celsius) with a minus-14 windchill.

Jordan Morris, Tim Weah, Sergiño Dest and Gyasi Zardes returned from injuries to make the U.S. roster ahead of the next three World Cup qualifiers.

Defender Chris Richards and midfielder Gianluca Busio entered the U.S. lineup for a match at Jamaica as the Americans started their second-youngest lineup ever in a World Cup qualifier.

As much as American soccer players want wins, they crave respect.

Christian Pulisic scored on a glancing header with his first touch of the game in the 74th minute and Weston McKennie added a goal in the 85th to lift the United States over Mexico 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier.

PANAMA CITY, Panama — (AP) — The United States changed seven starters for Sunday night’s World Cup qualifier against Panama, inserting forward Gyasi Zardes along with midfielders Kellyn Acosta, Sebastian Lletget and winger Tim Weah. Right back Shaq Moore, central defender Mark McKenzie and left back George Bello also were in the lineup. Returning from the lineup that started Thursday’s 2-0 win over Jamaica were goalkeeper Matt Turner, central defender Walker Zimmerman, midfielder Yunus Musah and winger Paul Arriola. Acosta played his 19th consecutive national team match, the longest streak since 35 by Landon Donovan from 2001-03. Turner’s 11 straight games in goal is the most since Brad Guzan in 2015 and four shy of the record set by Tony Meola from 1990-91.

Yunus Musah visited New York in June with teammate Tim Weah and had a wide-eyed view of the big city. “I remember going to the — what’s that called — that big tall building?” Musah said with a chuckle. “The view from there was crazy,” Musah said.

The four played key roles in a 2-0 win over Jamaica that put the youthful group into first place in World Cup qualifying heading into Sunday’s match at Panama. Aaronson and Adams were among the group that left San Pedro Sula on an overnight charter for London and Berlin. “We put up the minutes of the past week, and he’s a guy that was dragging,” Berhalter said. And he did it.”Paul Arriola, at 26 one of the Americans’ veterans, missed the September qualifiers with a hamstring injury. While only going 90 minutes once, he, too, played six games from Sept. 11 through Oct. 2.

World Cup qualifying has become a game for the young, with stamina to withstand travel and short recovery time.

WCup Jamaica US Soccer United States' Walker Zimmerman leaps above Jamaica's Shamar Nicholson (11) to head the ball during a FIFA World Cup qualifying soccer match Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay)AUSTIN, Texas — (AP) — Ricardo Pepi got a pair of goals early in the second half, becoming at 18 the youngest American to score in consecutive World Cup qualifiers, and the United States dominated Jamaica in a 2-0 victory Thursday night. Pepi made his Major League Soccer debut for Dallas in June 2019 and decided just before the start of qualifying to play for the U.S. over Mexico. 59 Jamaica, which has not gone to the World Cup since 1998, has one point after four matches. Goalkeeper Matt Turner rolled the ball to his right flank, where Dest ran onto it just outside his own penalty area.

AUSTIN, Texas — (AP) — Walker Zimmerman, Yunus Musah and Paul Arriola were given their first starts of this World Cup qualifying cycle and Weston McKennie returned from a two-match banishment when the United States played Jamaica on Thursday night. Forward Ricardo Pepi was the only other holdover from the starting lineup in the 4-1 win at Honduras on Sept. 8. Midfielder Brenden Aaronson and left back Antonee Robinson also were in the starting lineup against the Reggae Boyz after entering at the start of the second half in Honduras. They were joined in the starting lineup by right back Sergiño Dest, who missed the match at Honduras because of a sprained ankle. Zimmerman and Musah made their World Cup qualifying debuts, raising the U.S. total to 18 in four matches.

Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna are missing from the U.S. lineup because of injuries but Weston McKennie will start in a World Cup qualifier against Jamaica after missing two games for violating team COVID protocols.

(Laurence Griffiths/Pool via AP)CHICAGO – Defender Bryan Reynolds received his first call-up to the U.S. national team after the 19-year-old made his debut for Roma last weekend. Chituru Odunze, an 18-year-old goalkeeper with Leicester, also could debut in exhibitions against Jamaica on March 25 at Wiener Neustadt, Austria, or three days later at Northern Ireland. Forward Matthew Hoppe, who has scored five goals for Schalke this season, was not called in for a possible debut. Germany), Luca de la Torre (Heracles, Netherlands), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy), Yunus Musah (Valencia, Spain), Owen Otasowie (Wolverhampton, England). Forwards: Daryl Dike (Barnsley, England), Nicholas Gioacchini (Caen, France), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea, England), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen, Germany), Tim Weah (Lille, France).

Nicholas Gioacchini and Sebastian Soto each scored their first two international goals in a 6-2 exhibition rout of Panama on Monday night at Wiener Neustadt, Austria, the second of two matches for the Americans that followed a 10-month pandemic break. Gio Reyna got his first goal three days after his 18th birthday, the third-youngest player to score in modern era. Sebastian Lletget also got a goal in a physical, open match against a CONCACAF rival that reached the 2018 World Cup over the Americans. By the time qualifying comes we'll be ready to compete.”José Fajardo scored his first two goals for Panama. The U.S. has used 90 players since the October 2017 defeat at Trinidad and Tobago that eliminated the Americans from the 2018 World Cup, including 52 debuting.

United States' Giovanni Reyna instructs his teammates during the international friendly soccer match between Wales and USA at Liberty stadium in Swansea, Wales, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)Gio Reyna walked onto the field for his U.S. national team debut, just like mom Danielle in 1993, just like dad Claudio in 1994. Reyna played 78 minutes Thursday night and was among six debuts for the Americans in a 0-0 tie against Wales in an exhibition at Swansea. And overall, a 17-year-old debuting and he didn’t look like that.”Claudio Reyna made 112 international appearances from 1994 to 2006, playing in three World Cups. Reyna was in a mobile and dynamic midfield, combining with 21-year-old Tyler Adams of Leipzig and 22-year-old Weston McKennie of Juventus.