24. Aaron Long
Oof.
Long (shown middle) has long been the whipping boy of those on U.S. Soccer Twitter. Seemingly, there was a divide between the Pro-MLS/Long crowd — and those deemed as Anti-MLS/Eurosnobs. Well, at this point the confidence in Long seems to be at an all-time low. Long is billed as an athlete with strong skills in the air. In recent matches — whether in MLS or with the national team — far too often he seems out of position/a step slow. Even possessing his supposed speed, there have been other times where he hasn’t been able to recover in time.
And then…there’s his ball-playing skills — or lack thereof. Long really struggles when required to break lines and connect with teammates. It would be a very scary proposition for Berhalter to start Long alongside another CB (Walker Zimmerman) who’s also not the cleanest player on the ball. Long might be a ‘leader’ on the team — but he shouldn’t touch the field in Qatar. If he does, everyone will be holding their collective breath.
Image Source: U.S. Soccer Twitter