Gregg Berhalter’s mission is as simple as it will be difficult: take one of the youngest, least-experienced rosters in U.S. Soccer history into the most condensed final round of regional World Cup qualifying ever and come away with one of three invitations to next year’s tournament in Qatar.
Anything short of that, Berhalter said, is unacceptable.
“It would be a failure if we didn’t qualify for the World Cup,” he said. “So this is our next challenge.”
Berhalter’s team, which opened a brief two-day training camp in Nashville, Tenn.