The 'golden generation' of the USMNT has to step it up this year

Gregg Berhalter, coach of the United States men’s national team, believes that it is time for the team to step it up in the competitions they have this summer.

The United States men’s national team will have a busy summer with the CONCACAF Nations League finals and the Gold Cup. The expectations are high for this team because of the amount of players that are playing in Europe’s top tier leagues like Weston McKennie (Juventus), Sergiño Dest (FC Barcelona) and Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), just to name a few.

The ‘Golden Generation’

The USMNT failed to qualify to the 2018 FIFA World Cup and haven’t lifted a title since 2017 when they won the CONCACAF Gold Cup. So the coach of the United States national team, Gregg Berhalter, believes that this generation has the quality and capacity to win titles this summer and eventually qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

“This year will be a test for us and we will know what this team is capable of. I believe in this group of players and the potential they have, but now it’s time for them to demonstrate it on the pitch. We have to start winning, because that will give us confidence for what’s ahead,” Berhalter said during Bobby Warshaw’s podcast.

Berhalter also praised Pulisic and Zack Steffen for making it to the UEFA Champions League final. Manchester City will face Chelsea on 29 May at the Estádio do Dragão in Portugal. Berhalter believes that this is an important step for the USMNT, because they are playing in Europe’s most important club tournament.

“It has been a great year for the national team and the result of that is that two Americans will play in the Champions League final. It is fun to watch the USMNT players compete at the highest level and of course I will watch the game next week.”