Summer is over, which means the European leagues are back, and so are international breaks.

About two months after the USMNT crashed out of the group stage in the Copa América hosted in the U.S., they are getting ready for a new era, the one without Gregg Berhalter.

It will kick off this Saturday against Canada in Kansas City, before traveling to Cincinnati to play New Zealand.

It’s an exciting time for the USMNT fans. After suffering such a low this summer, the only way is up, and the good news are coming— with rumors of Mauricio Pochettino set to be appointed this week.

He won’t be taking charge of this window though, he and his staff understandably need time to settle in. So, Mikey Varas will be the one coaching the team on an interim basis.

If you don’t know who Varas is, you can check out this article. He is the man responsible for the U.S. qualifying to this summer’s Olympics for the first time since 2008, and helped the U.S. U-20s reach the quarterfinal of the U-20 World Cup last year.

He has called up 24 players for this window. Here is the full list:

GOALKEEPERS (4): Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City/WAL; 9/0), Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona II/ESP; 0/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 1/0), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG; 44/0) 

DEFENDERS (8): Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 2/0), Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege/BEL; 0/0), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 3/0), Mark McKenzie (Tolouse/FRA; 13/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 61/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 21/1), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 11/0), Caleb Wiley (Strasbourg/FRA; 2/0) 

MIDFIELDERS (6): Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 15/0), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 22/0), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 5/0), Yunus Musah (AC Milan; ITA; 39/0), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 31/8), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 12/0) 

FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 42/8), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 15/5), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 28/10), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 71/30), Josh Sargent (Norwich City/ENG; 25/5), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 11/4)

Positives: 

One positive for this squad is we will get to see some fresh faces for the full-back position. Because of the absence of Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson, others will be getting a chance to showcase themselves. 

For the right-back position, Marlon Fossey has been called up for the first time. He has played for the U.S. U-20s a long time ago but has never been close to getting a senior called up.

He’s been playing well with Standard Liege since moving there in the summer of 2022. Last season, he featured in 32 games and he’s played all six games so far this season. He is capable of playing as a right-back, right winger, and even as a center-back.

His best two features are athleticism and versatility, and this is a well-deserved call-up given his club performances.

Joe Scally is the other option at the right-back position, and this is another chance for him to cement the position as his own while Dest is out.

For the left-back position, there will be Kristoffer Lund and Caleb Wiley.

Lund may be popular with the USMNT fans because he is always smiling and cheering on teammates on the sidelines, but he’s only featured three times since being called up for the first time last September. So, hopefully, he gets plenty of minutes this camp to show what he can do.

Then, there is Wiley, who recently signed for Chelsea and now is on loan to Strasbourg in France.

The teenager didn’t get to play much in the Olympics and didn't start any of the games. It’s a bit surprising to see him get called up but he’s started off well in the French Ligue 1 this season, which is a big jump from MLS.

Negatives:

One of the negatives would be the goalkeeper situation. Matt Turner has barely played at the club level this year and just moved to Crystal Palace in the last minute of the transfer window. So similarly to the reason why Weston McKennie was left out, he should’ve been given more time to get integrated with his teammates and the new manager.

Also, camps like this are the best time to give younger goalkeepers a chance since Turner and Ethan Horvath are a bit error prone and can’t be completely trusted. It’s good to see Patrick Schulte and Diego Kochen here but they probably won’t get any minutes over the two veteran keepers.

Luca De La Torre’s inclusion is also questionable given his lack of minutes at the club level. The midfielder last played for Celta Vigo in May and the last time he completed a game was in March. His spot could’ve gone to a younger midfielder who’s playing regularly. 

Overall though, this isn’t a bad squad and Varas has his work cut out for him as he will be leading senior players for the first time in his career.

He won’t be facing top European or South American teams. But he is facing rivals Canada and Jesse Marsch, who still seems unhappy he missed out on the USMNT job last year. So Marsch is coming in with a point to prove and beat the USMNT in the U.S.

New Zealand overall aren’t a bad team either with Premier League striker Chris Wood and Serie A defender Liberato Cacace leading them. So these two games will be great to watch.

Let the post-Berhalter era begin.