Young, experimental USMNT squad loses to Slovenia in friendly

This year’s camp, which culminated with a 1-0 defeat to Slovenia on Saturday, served a second — and more pressing — purpose: the Olympics, which this summer will include the U.S. men for the first time since 2008.

Olympic men’s soccer is restricted to players 23 and under, with three overage exceptions. And while he is not the U.S. Olympic coach — Marko Mitrovic is — Berhalter oversees the program at large. So for this camp, about half the roster was age-eligible for the Paris Games.

“Looking at some individual performances, specifically with the Olympic guys, we knew they’re playing [a] senior international [match], and we wanted to give them that experience and also see how they do,” Berhalter said. “All in all, for them to experience what it is like to play at the full senior level is valuable, and it’s going to help them as they move forward.”

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Mitrovic joined the senior staff for this camp and, in the coming months, will collaborate with Berhalter in determining the 18-man travel party to France. It’s a complicated situation.

Several age-eligible players employed overseas, such as Gio Reyna and Yunus Musah, are regulars on the senior squad, which this summer will compete in Copa América, the historic South American tournament. Players won’t be available for both competitions. As the stiffest test for Berhalter’s charges until the 2026 World Cup is staged in the United States, Mexico and Canada, Copa América is the priority.

Five under-23 players started Saturday, including FC Dallas attacker Bernard Kamungo, who was raised in a Tanzanian refugee camp before his family resettled in Abilene, Tex., eight years ago. Six other U-23s entered as subs.

“It was very special for me,” Kamungo said. “You stay in the moment. You live in the moment and just cherish the moment. I’m just so happy that I’ve made it this far and just tried to enjoy it as much as I could.”

Eleven players, including seven starters, made their national team debuts — the most since 12 debuted in a 1988 match against Guatemala. Berhalter praised starting forward Diego Luna, 20, and substitute forward Esmir Bajraktarevic, who, at 18, was the youngest player on the roster.

Experience was provided by center back Miles Robinson, a senior national team regular, and right back Shaq Moore, the only 2022 World Cup player on this squad.

Robinson’s partner in central defense was Sean Zawadzki, a former Georgetown standout making his senior debut. He typically is a midfielder for the MLS champion Columbus Crew.

Slovenia, which last appeared at the World Cup in 2010 but has qualified for this summer’s European Championship, also turned to an inexperienced — and mostly domestic-based — roster. The visitors took the lead in the 26th minute. Kamungo lost the ball to Danijel Sturm, who supplied 21-year-old forward Nejc Gradisar on the left flank for an angled finish with the outside of his right foot past debuting goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.

Four minutes later, Kamungo almost compensated for his mistake, but Igor Vekic made a sterling leg save on a 12-yard one-timer. The buildup featured a terrific series of passes by first-timers Luna, Timmy Tillman and Brian White.

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The last 15 minutes of the match buzzed with opportunity for the Americans, but substitute left back John Tolkin missed the target from 12 yards twice in a one-minute span, and several other threats went unfulfilled.

“The reaction in the second half was a lot better,” Zawadzki said. “We did create some good chances. I wish we would have scored, but I think the response and the willingness to fight was there. From the day we arrived at camp, the coaches laid out what they wanted to see, and that showed in the second half.”

Berhalter now turns his attention back to his primary players; he will travel to Europe in the coming weeks to attend matches and meet with them. The next camp, featuring Christian Pulisic and Co., is in late March in Arlington, Tex., where they will attempt to win the Concacaf Nations League for the third consecutive time. Preparations will then begin for Copa América and, for the younger players, the Olympics.

Berhalter said he was “really happy with the opportunity to do this camp, and I think we definitely got something out of it. Looking forward, it’s competition time. It’s an exciting six months of soccer coming up.”