Sawt Falasteen - Steffen axed for US World Cup squad

Steffen, who moved to Middlesbrough on loan this season in order to secure more playing time ahead of the World Cup, had long been regarded as Berhalter's first choice goalkeeper when available.

However the 27-year-old found himself frozen out of Berhalter's plans for Qatar, where the United States play Wales, England and Iran in the first round.

Arsenal reserve goalkeeper Matt Turner, Luton Town's Ethan Horvath and New York City's Sean Johnson were named as the trio of goalkeepers for Qatar.

Berhalter would not be drawn on why Steffen had been deemed surplus to requirements, instead focusing on the strengths of Horvath, Turner and Johnson.

"I think in some of the cases it's more about what we have than what we don't have," Berhalter replied when asked about Steffen's omission.

"With the three goalkeepers we have on the roster we feel great. We saw a lot of progress with Matt Turner in this last six months, we know Ethan Horvath has been competing at a good level with Luton in the Championship, and Sean Johnson has been a mainstay with this group since day one. So we're comfortable with that."

Berhalter said Turner was likely to be the USA's starting goalkeeper in Qatar.

"We're going to determine that when we get into camp, but I would say the lean is towards Matt being the number one," the US coach said.

The other notable omission was teenage striker Ricardo Pepi. The 19-year-old who is currently on loan at Dutch side FC Groningen, had impressed during qualifiers with three goals in wins over Honduras and Jamaica.

"In the case of Ricardo that was a really difficult conversation that I had to have with him," Berhalter said.

"It's always difficult when a guy helps you get to the World Cup, he scores three goals in World Cup qualifying, and isn't going to be part of the program."

Berhalter has instead opted for the physicality of Norwich striker Josh Sargent, citing the 22-year-old's experience of football in England as a factor given the USA's first round opponents in Qatar.

"Josh is competing in the Championship, he played in the Premier League last year," Berhalter said. "We're playing Wales and England and both teams are stocked with players from those leagues."

Turkey-based Haji Wright and FC Dallas striker Jesus Ferreira were also named amongst the forwards.

"Haji is in great form with his team in Turkey, and Jesus has been good for us – a guy who really understands the game plan and how to execute it," Berhalter said.

The US will take a squad made up of players based mostly in Europe, with the likes of Chelsea's Christian Pulisic, Leeds' Brenden Aaronson and AC Milan's Sergino Dest all named on the roster.

The United States open their World Cup Group B campaign on November 21.

Full squad:

Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Luton Town/ENG), Matt Turner (Arsenal/ENG), Sean Johnson (New York City FC)

Defenders: Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG), Sergino Dest (AC Milan/ITA), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach/GER), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls)

Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG), Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles FC), Tyler Adams (Leeds United/ENG), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)

Forwards: Jesus Ferreira (Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Josh Sargent (Norwich/ENG), Timothy Weah (Lille/FRA), Haji Wright (Antalyaspor/TUR)

M.AlAhmad--SF-PST