Throughout Gregg Berhalter's tenure, the U.S. men's national team was built around the midfield of Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Tyler Adams. Nicknamed the MMA Midfield, that group was the backbone of the USMNT, and it was easy to see why. Young, energetic and athletic enough to go toe-to-toe with the very best, that group was supposed to make up the USMNT's present and future.
It still could. Nearly three years on from the World Cup in Qatar, all three are at major clubs in major leagues. All three have so much USMNT experience and the physical and technical qualities to play at the highest levels. The thing is? They aren't alone anymore. The midfield competition has exploded, and no one's spot is safe because of that fact - in a good way, for Mauricio Pochettino, anyway.
Players such as Malik Tillman and Johnny Cardoso are at big clubs themselves, having just made massive transfers to Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid, respectively. Both have real arguments to be USMNT starters but, like the MMA group, they also come with question marks.
There are no sure things in the center of the park and, just a year out from the World Cup, the midfield is the USMNT's most malleable position as Pochettino looks to sort it all out.
Post-Gold Cup, GOAL is looking at the state of the USMNT, analyzing the positional battles that will ultimately define next summer's team. Next up: midfielders.
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