USMNT vs. Slovenia score: Gregg Berhalter's domestic-based squad struggles in narrow loss

The first friendly of 2024 was less than impressive

The year has started off with a loss for the USMNT as Slovenia won 1-0 on Saturday in San Antonio in a friendly. Nejc Gradisar opened the scoring in the 26th minute taking advantage of a turnover from Bernard Kamungo to break down the USMNT defense. In a match that was comprised of domestic players due to it not being an official FIFA international window, the lack of cohesion of the USMNT showed as many players will need to do more to improve their stock for making the Olympics and full senior team rosters. There were a few strong performances from Diego Luna and Joshua Atencio but without anyone to pass the ball to in the final third, there was only so much that they could do in a game where the Americans put just three of 15 shots on frame.

Next, the U.S. returns to action with the full senior team on March 21 for the Concacaf Nations League semifinals against Jamaica.

Don't miss an episode of Call It What You Want where Jimmy Conrad, Jesse Marsch and Charlie Davies talk all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States.

[Jan 20, 2024 at 3:53 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

A yellow is handed out 

Sturm grabs it for a foul on Moore after he was beaten on the flank but no one could make anything happen from Tillman's free-kick and we've reached the half. There's room for improvement after the first half as execution needs to be better.

[Jan 20, 2024 at 3:38 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

A great save

White put an excellent chance on frame but Vekic was there to make an excellent save. 15 minutes remain in the first half for the USMNT to find an equalizer.

[Jan 20, 2024 at 3:35 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

Slovenia strikes first

I spoke too soon about the shot count as the USMNT turned the ball over and Slovenia pounced quickly. It's Nejc Gradisar with the goal and Slovenia is looking like the stronger side early.

[Jan 20, 2024 at 3:33 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

Still only two shots

25 minutes in, it's showing that these players have only trained together for eight days. The space to make things happen is there but so far, the knowledge of where teammates want to be isn't.

[Jan 20, 2024 at 3:23 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

Excellent positioning but the cross needed more

Atencio played Jones into a great position but there was too much on the final cross. You can see the chemistry going in the right direction as the USMNT gets more minutes together.

[Jan 20, 2024 at 3:21 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

All the possession, nothing to show so far

15 minutes in there has only been two shots as Slovenia has the only shot on target of the match. The USMNT has 70% possession early but when they get the ball into the final third, it isn't coming together so far.

[Jan 20, 2024 at 3:11 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

Warming up

It will be a slow start to play with the USMNT players in preseason and Slovenia is currently on a winter break but there has been chances in the first five minutes of play. Coming out in a back three, Berhalter is also trying out something a little different with the USMNT today.

[Jan 20, 2024 at 3:07 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

USMNT 0, Slovenia 1 (2H)

[Jan 20, 2024 at 2:59 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

How to watch and odds

• Date: Saturday, Jan. 20 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
• Location: Toyota  Park -- San Antonio, Texas
• TV: TNT  | Live stream: MAX
• Odds: United States -155; Draw +250; Slovenia +390

[Jan 20, 2024 at 2:53 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

Almost time for kickoff

The match will kick off at 3 p.m. ET as it's almost time to see if the USMNT can start 2024 on the right foot with a victory. 

[Jan 20, 2024 at 2:40 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

Looking to Miles Robinson

During these camps, the elder statesman role is an important one and with some experienced names like Jesue Ferreria, Walker Zimmerman, and Jordan Morris being left with their clubs, that role will fall to new FC Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson. With 27 caps, Robinson has almost as many caps as the rest of the team combined with the next most caps going to Shaq Moore with only 17. Looking to cement his place in the first team defense, his leadership credentials will be tested as making sure that the young players of the USMNT are in the correct position will take excellent communication from him.

[Jan 20, 2024 at 2:30 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

Which uncapped goalkeeper will standout?

While Berhalter wasn't able to provide his lineup in his pre-match presser due to the team not knowing who would feature yet, he did state that a keeper would be getting their first cap during camp not that it should come as a surprise. Without Matt Turner, Zack Steffen, and Ethan Horvath in camp, all three keepers chosen combine for zero caps. Inter Miami's Drake Callender has been a member of two USMNT camps previously, but has yet to get a cap while Roman Celetano and Patrick Schulte are new inclusions after strong MLS seasons. It would make sense for Callender to get the nod in the match for his first USMNT cap and due to the uncertainty around Matt Turner's playing time with Nottingham Forest, Callender could quickly become the keeper with the best club situation.

[Jan 20, 2024 at 2:17 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

One eye on the Olympics

With 16 uncapped players and 19 being age-eligible for the Olympics, Mitrovic's watchful eye may be more important than Berhalter's for upcoming tournaments. Berhalter did acknowledge that it will be a lot to take into consideration with that Olympic roster.

"There are some complications with the fact that clubs don't have to release the players. So that's the first barrier. The second barrier would be participation in Copa America, and then the overall load of that entire summer are things that we're considering," Berhalter said about how the Olympic roster is taking shape. "Taking into consideration what the players have done in the previous year and what we'd project them to do in the next year. We don't want to overload them we want them to go into 2025 healthy." 

With such a busy summer upcoming he'll need all the depth that he can get, and some of that will come from this camp, while other players will certainly come from talent based in Europe. Since every player can't feature in all three tournaments, performances from camps like this one could loom large while looking to round out the rosters.

[Jan 20, 2024 at 2:04 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

Brian White leads the line

It's a mixture of youth and experience in the starting XI for the USMNT.

USMNT Starting XI vs. Slovenia: 1-Patrick Schulte, 5-DeJuan Jones, 7-Diego Luna, 8-Aidan Morris, 9-Brian White, 11-Timmy Tillman, 12-Miles Robinson (capt.), 14-Sean Zawadzki, 15-Josh Atencio, 17-Bernard Kamungo, 18-Shaq Moore

Substitutes: 22-Drake Callender, 23-Roman Celentano, 2-Caleb Wiley, 3-Ian Murphy, 4-Nkosi Tafari, 6-James Sands, 10-Jack McGlynn, 13-Duncan McGuire, 16-Nathan Harriel, 19-Esmir Bajraktarevic, 20-Aziel Jackson, 21-John Tolkin

[Jan 20, 2024 at 2:03 pm ET · Chuck Booth]

Hello and welcome

We're close to kicking off 2024 for the USMNT as they face Slovenia today with a young domestic based roster. Kicking off what will be a busy year, there will be at least seven debuts for the USMNT in the match with more likely to come.