The U.S. men’s national soccer team has six matches left on its World Cup qualifying schedule, but for the purpose of calming frayed nerves and strengthening its outlook, three cold-weather games during an imminent seven-day stretch carry enormous weight.
With that in mind, Coach Gregg Berhalter on Friday called in 28 players — five more than are permitted to be uniform — for matches against El Salvador on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio, first-place Canada on Jan. 30 in Hamilton, Ontario, and Honduras on Feb. 2 in St. Paul.
The United States is second in Concacaf’s eight-nation final round, which will award three automatic berths to the World Cup in Qatar late this year and one spot in an intercontinental playoff this summer.