The United States men’s national team will play in their very first game of 2022 when they host El Salvador on Thursday in World Cup qualifying. It’s arguably the most important year for the USMNT in a long time, as they aim to finish it with a successful run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But first comes qualifying for the competition, with Gregg Berhalter’s team in a good, but not great position. They seem like a near-lock to finish in the top four, but only the top three directly qualify for the World Cup. Fourth place, which is just one point behind them entering Thursday’s game and occupied by Panama, comes with a spot in the intercontinental playoff against a team from Oceania.
Ahead of Thursday’s game, here are three keys for the Americans vs. El Salvador:
1. Have Pepi stay positioned high
Ricardo Pepi deserves a lot of credit for what he does outside of scoring goals. He does a fine job defending corner kicks at the near post, he has no problem tracking back to defend, and that is the heart and determination needed in a lot of teams. But with the attacking deficiency this team has had at the No. 9 position, it’s so important for him to stay in an advanced position and trust those behind him to handle the defending.
As we’ve seen with him at new club Augsburg, he has not been getting nearly enough touches in the final third. In his debut for the club, he had only one touch within 30 yards of…
