Joe Scally: the great absentee of USMNT for the upcoming FIFA Qualifiers

Gregg Berhalter finally made official the roster USMNT will have for the upcoming FIFA Qualifiers, where they’ll play against El Salvador, Canada and Honduras. The 30-man list has some of the most obvious names on the roster, as Christian Pulisic or Ricardo Pepi couldn't miss, but amongst all those names, the absence of Joe Scally stands out.

The 19-year-old right-back was hoping to be part of the US Soccer MNT for the second time in his life, as he was called by Berhalter for the FIFA Qualifiers in November if 2021, when he didn’t have participation in the match against Jamaica National Team.

Now, as the White and Stripes get ready to face Canada in hopes of earning the first spot of CONCACAF -they currently stand second just one point behind the Canadians-, USMNT fans hope that Scally’s absence doesn’t translate in bad results, as he’s currently having an outstanding season in Bundeliga.

Currently, the starting position in Berhalter’s squad is taken by Sergiño Dest, but his lack of playing time with Barcelona, as Xavi Hernández has erased him from the Blaugrana squad, might undermine the performance of the 21-year-old.

Where does Joe Scally play?

Scally currently plays for Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he is a regular for Adolf Hütter, as he has played 18 games and starting on 17 of them. He also has started on 3 possible games of DFB Pokal, with an outstanding performance in the historical 5-0 win against Bayern Munich, although Gladbach was eliminated by Hannover 96 in the Round of 16.

Scally started his professional career with New York City FC, where he played only seven games for the Citizens before making the jump to Bundesliga in January last year on a permanent move worth $2 million. Currently, his market value is set at $9 million.

A regular for US Soccer Academy teams

Scally has played for both U-15 and U-17 and now is hoping to make the jump directly to the senior squad without being part of the U-20 or U-23 squads.

Joe Scally debuted in 2017 with the U-15 squad and played a total of 9 games, where he managed to score 2 goals before being called to the next Academy squad, just seven months later, when he made his debut with the U-17 squad, where he’s played 22 games and has scored one goal.