CARY, N.C. – Spring began on the second day of the current US national team camp in North Carolina, although you wouldn’t know it from the dreary weather that lingered over most of training the past week. That hasn’t dampened the spirit of renewal that permeated this camp and its blossoming participants.
The session closes Tuesday evening when the USMNT host a friendly against Paraguay at WakeMed Soccer Park (7 pm ET | FS1, UniMás, UDN). Head coach Dave Sarachan says the air around this camp, where the average player age is under 24, has been one of “youthful confidence.”
“They come in with what I’d say is a clean slate in their minds,” Sarachan said at a Monday morning press conference. “They’re looking to impress, so they’re pushing each day in training. The technical level of these guys … is very good. Obviously, with youth comes enthusiasm and energy, but I think the soccer has impressed me so far in training.”
The campers include a mix of international and domestic club participants, including seven current MLS players. Five players received their first senior team call-ups, including former Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown. A total of eight uncapped players are in camp, including Toronto FC’sAlex Bono and Marky Delgado. Meanwhile, the de facto veterans are the likes of 29-year-old Eric Lichaj, 27-year-old Darlington Nagbe, and 24-year-old DeAndre Yedlin.
Sarachan believes Paraguay, which includes Atlanta United midfielder Miguel Almiron, will represent a sturdy test for his group of developing American talent, adding that he “thinks the speed of play will be ratcheted up quite a bit from the last few friendlies that we’ve had.”
“Paraguay is a very technical, pretty experienced group,” Sarachan said. “A number of players who are here were part of their [World Cup] qualifying, which I can’t say is the case for our guys, necessarily. But that’s a good thing.”
While reticent to discuss individual players and their likelihood of seeing the pitch, Sarachan did admit that Weston McKennie arrived at camp nursing an injury suffered with Schalke that slowed McKennie’s training this week. That said, Sarachan hopes to use all six of his allotted substitutions against Paraguay, in contrast to the last USMNT friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina, where five substitutions were made.
“It’s going to be a little bit of a challenge putting the first XI out,” Sarachan confessed, “because I think the margin between what I’d consider the very top to the very bottom is very thin.”
The sun was finally shining Monday morning in Cary, hopefully emblematic of the future that awaits this new cycle for the US national team.
“Nobody’s here who shouldn’t be here,” Sarachan said. “I think they all belong here, and they’ve all made a good case for themselves this week.
“Now, when the curtain goes up and the lights show tomorrow night, we’ll see how it looks when it really counts.”
