Joe Scally has become the latest USA star to mourn his World Cup absence… after the Borussia Monchengladbach star failed to make the bench despite ‘playing almost every minute in the Bundesliga’
Borussia Monchengladbach breakthrough American star Joe Scally has hit out at Gregg Berhalter and lamented missing playing time at the World Cup in Qatar.
Scally headed into the tournament in good domestic form, earning his place as a starter in the Bundesliga, but he failed to feature for the national team as they were bounced out of the tournament in the round of 16 in Holland.
The 19-year-old right back has now broken his silence, telling Kicker: ‘When you play almost every minute in the Bundesliga, of course you think you will also get a chance for the national team.
Joe Scally warmed up before the USA’s match against Holland – but he never made it onto the pitch
Scally has been impressive for Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany’s Bundesliga this year
‘But I learned a lot in Qatar and it gave me great experience and motivation.’
Scally has three senior caps for the USMNT, having made his debut in a 3-0 friendly win over Morocco in June 2022, but he was third-choice for Berhalter at the World Cup.
Sergino Dest, unsurprisingly, has been given the nod to start in the position, with the AC Milan star featuring in each of the team’s four games.
Instead, Shaq Moore (right) was given two substitute appearances at the tournament in Qatar
Gregg Berhalter’s contract expired when the clock struck midnight on December 31, but it has not been revealed whether he will remain as the team’s coach
His back-up was Shaquell Moore, who came off the bench against England and Iran, and some fans were upset by Berhalter’s apparent bid to promote MLS stars over European talent.
On Twitter, one wrote: ‘ The American team made so many bad decisions like not playing Scally. Tried to showcase MLS based players instead of the best US players in general.’
Scally has been preferred over Austrian Stefan Lainer at Monchengladbach this season, and leading commentator Derek Rae has reported that the club are considering selling Lainer, such is their positive outlook on Scally’s future at the club.
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