USMNT: Top 3 right-backs for 2022 World Cup qualifying

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ORLANDO, FL – NOVEMBER 15: the United States defender Sergino Dest (18) looks to pass the ball during the CONCACAF Nations League soccer match between the Canada and United States on November 15, 2019 at Explorer Stadium in Orlando, FL. (Photo by Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Gregg Berhalter is building a new era of the USMNT. But who are his best options at right-back ahead of the looming 2022 World Cup qualifiers? Here are the top three candidates at the position at present.

As Gregg Berhalter prepares for 2022 World Cup qualifying, which in theory should commence later this year though may be pushed back in the current climate, the U.S. Men’s National Team head coach has some major selection decisions to make. In his first year, he committed to a new era of the team. It is a very young squad, which offers a bright future and uncertain present. And with the enthralling unpredictability comes a mire of selection headaches. But who is Berhalter’s best option at right-back?

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Here are the top three candidates at the position ahead of the looming World Cup qualifiers.

(Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

3. Sergino Dest

Sergino Dest might only have turned 19 last November, but he is already the highest-performing full-back in the USMNT talent pool. He is the only American full-back to have played in the Champions League this season and only DeAndre Yedlin is playing in a higher-standard league — more on him later.

Dest has two goals and five assists in his first senior season for Ajax, he has illustrated superb crossing ability in the final third, and he boasts the baseline athleticism that is required to play the full-back position in the modern game. Ordinarily, he would be ranked number one on this list — he is the present and future of the right-back position. There is just one caveat.

Dest can play on the left side. In fact, of his three caps for the USMNT, two have come at left-back, not on the better-suited right side. That is because the options at left-back are not nearly as plentiful as they are at right-back. Even centre-back Tim Ream played at left-back on several occasions in 2019, and it rarely proved effective. As such, while Dest is the best right-back in the squad, for the looming 2022 World Cup qualifiers, it should not be the position he settles in.

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