Injuries are piling up for Gregg Berhalter and the United States men’s national team. Weston McKennie will miss the second leg of their critical Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals showdown against Trinidad and Tobago due to left knee tendinopathy, the team announced. McKennie aggravated the injury in the 3-0 victory in the first leg in Austin on Thursday and has left USMNT camp to recover from it.
The absence of McKennie adds to the team’s injury woes, as they are already without Tyler Adams, Christian Pulisic, and Tim Weah. Despite winning 3-0 in the first leg, it wasn’t a comfortable victory as the USMNT struggled to score until the 82nd minute of play, even though Trinidad were reduced to 10 men in the 37th minute. McKennie’s absence further weakens a midfield already lacking creativity and direct presence.
The likely solution for Berhalter will be to push Yunus Musah further up the pitch to make direct runs with the ball while also bringing in Lennard Maloney to play in defensive midfield, putting more pressure on the wingers. Despite holding a 3-0 lead, the haunting memory of failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup at the hands of Trinidad lingers over the USMNT program, emphasizing that nothing can be taken for granted in Concacaf.
