USMNT’s form is an issue heading into the Qatar World Cup

After missing out on a place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the first time they had failed to qualify for football’s greatest competition since the 1986 edition in Mexico, there was a lot excitement surrounding the United States men’s national team (USMNT) securing qualification for next month’s World Cup in Qatar — the first to be held in the Middle East and during the Northern Hemisphere’s winter months.

However, Gregg Berhalter side’s form going into the tournament is a real cause for concern. Fans of the USA might not be feeling as confident about their chances of getting out of a tough Group B as they once did following a 2-0 loss to Japan in Germany and dire 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia in Spain in their final two warm-up games before the World Cup.

The States were never going to be heavily backed to win the competition in the bet on World Cup outright market, but with a young, promising squad — one of the most youthful set to go to Qatar, in fact — there still would have been hope of a decent run into the knockout stages of the tournament.

And while it’s still possible that they could progress from their group, you wouldn’t back against Wales finishing second behind England after their recent results — although Rob Page’s men’s form hasn’t been much better as they finished bottom of their Nations League group without a win against the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland.

One of the U.S.’s biggest issues is a lack of goals. They failed to find the back of the net in those 180 minutes against Japan and Saudi Arabia, with Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira unable to show his goalscoring form in the MLS as he started against Japan while Groningen striker Ricardo Pepi, who has two goals in the three games for the Dutch side at the time of writing, also fired a blank as he started the Saudi game.

Their forwards will need to be more clinical at the World Cup if they want to make a good account of themselves in Qatar, but key players not getting enough game time at their respective clubs is another major issue for Berhalter. Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams are regulars for Leeds United under compatriot Jesse Marsch, while Weston McKennie plays his fair share at Juventus.

However, Christian Pulisic’s struggles to get minutes at Chelsea is well documented and that has arguably affected his form ahead of the World Cup. As captain of his country, his club situation is far from ideal and he must be hoping that he can win over Graham Potter in a bid to get more game time five weeks out from the World Cup.

Giovanni Reyna is another crucial player for the U.S. who simply isn’t playing at club level. Indeed, injuries have hampered the progression of the 19-year-old’s career, with a torn tendon leaving him on the doctor’s table for four months. But just the 10 Bundesliga appearances in total last season and no starts for Borussia Dortmund so far at the time of writing is far from ideal.

Sergiño Dest is in the same boat as his counterparts. He fell out of favour at Barcelona and hasn’t had much joy since joining AC Milan on loan on deadline day, making just two substitute appearances in the Serie A.

It’s certainly not looking good for the USMNT ahead of the tournament, with their recent results making them less favourable in the FIFA World Cup predictions. Their players have just a number of weeks to rediscover some kind of form at club level if they are to turn things around in Qatar, but that’s easier said than done as minutes are hard to come by.

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