Only four members of the current roster — Christian Pulisic, DeAndre Yedlin, Kellyn Acosta and Paul Arriola — were part of the group that lost to Trinidad and Tobago in 2017.
The players coped with a punishingly condensed regional qualifying schedule that, on four occasions, required them to play three games in three cities in a week.
They withstood injuries and suspensions at various junctures to some of their best players.
They endured, near the finish line, a collective gastrointestinal calamity, with 30 members of the team and staff ailing from a devastating stomach bug after their game last week in Mexico City.
The trials, in sum, were easier to accept in the end because achieved their objective.
“As a team, we’ve created bonds and chemistry that, to be honest with you, is very, very different from a lot of teams I’ve played in,” said midfielder Tyler Adams, citing the team’s collective youth as a reason for its closeness. “Gregg speaks on the fact that, coming into World Cup qualifying, we really want to rewrite how these American fans view us, not just through our style of play, but our intensity, our commitment, our belief that we want to take U.S. Soccer to the next level.”
What comes now? What does that next level look like?
The unglamorous toil of qualifying tends to be forgotten when actual World Cup games beckon on the horizon. The dread can dissipate. The anticipation can build.
The team is filled with young players — in many cases occupying starring roles for distinguished clubs in Europe — whose individual upward trajectories should, in theory, augur well for the group.
Berhalter pointed out, too, that the coming months provided plenty of time for players currently on the fringes of the team, or ones not involved at all, to make their cases to join the group in Qatar.
But all of that will be sorted out in the months to come. For now, after a stress-free trip to Costa Rica, they are in — and that is reason enough for them to celebrate.
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