Despite all the surrounding rhetoric about missing players - some overblown, some on point - at the Gold Cup, the U.S. men's national team was generally able to manage without the team's biggest stars. It wasn't perfect by any stretch but, at the very least, Mauricio Pochettino had a roster full of players who could plug gaps.
With one exception: The winger position. From the start, it was impossible to really navigate.
Part of that was on Pochettino for selecting a roster without any true line-stretching wingers. In fairness, though, there's a reason for that - there are so few available in this player pool. Outside of Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah, there are no truly proven commodities ready to play out wide and threaten opponents. Neither was on the Gold Cup squad.
It could end up being a problem. Heading towards the World Cup, the health - and buy-in - of Pulisic and Weah will be paramount. Without them - or somebody else stepping up into that role - you get the moments of stagnation that were all-too visible at the Gold Cup. With them, you get goals like the one - Pulisic to Weah - scored against Wales at the last World Cup.
There are important players all over the field for the USMNT, but there may not be a more important position than winger, especially given the talent atop the depth chart - and the shallow pool below.
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: wingers.
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