Gregg Berhalter has 11 players in mind who, "ideally, in a perfect world," would start for the U.S. men's national team in its 2022 World Cup opener.
The USMNT coach knows, of course, that "that's not international soccer"; that this world is far from perfect and that injuries will surely disrupt his plans. But he has been concocting them, gradually, for years now. On what is effectively World Cup Eve, with his final warmup friendlies played, he has just about all the information he needs to pick a starting lineup — and, for that matter, a roster.