Ahead of the showdown with Colombia, US men’s national team manager Gregg Berhalter has named his starting XI. While most of the names were predictable, Johnny Cardoso comes in for Tyler Adams, while Joe Scally gets the chance to replace Sergino Dest. Ahead of the match, Berhalter said his natural right-backs would be given a chance, but Scally will need to make a good shift against Luis Diaz having been shaky in his last start against Jamaica in the Concacaf Nations League. and was withdrawn halfway.
Adams came in slowly as he dealt with a back injury to end the season for Bournemouth and Cardoso also had a strong half-season for Real Betis after joining the club in January. Cardoso is a strong passer and can bring more range to the USMNT midfield, which will be needed to break Colombia’s organized defense.
Another change from Berhalter is that Yunus Musah will also start the match on the bench while Gio Reyna will start in midfield. Both players struggled for minutes to end the season, but with Reyna in the XI the USMNT can play a more direct style to force Colombia into mistakes. This is the first look at what Berhalter could look like at the Copa America, but it will depend on how performances go as Scally, Reyna and Cardoso get big chances.
Queue up
USMNT XI: Matt Turner; Joe Scally, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson; Johnny Cardoso, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna; Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun, Christian Pulisic.
