World Cup check-in: Big changes in the USMNT midfield

Johnny Cardoso, Atletico Madrid

Poor Johnny. It's always something.

Cardoso is one of the USMNT's most exciting midfielders. He went further than any other American player in the Champions League this season, putting in a stellar shift against Arsenal and becoming just the fourth American in history to start in a Champions League semifinal. But Cardoso's strong club form has never truly translated into strong USMNT form, and a series of frustrating injuries have kept him from changing that narrative.

Unfortunately, it looks like that trend will continue this summer. Cardoso suffered a high ankle sprain in training with Atleti this week; the club recently announced that the injury will require surgery, ending Cardoso's World Cup hopes for good.

There is a silver lining to Cardoso's injury, though: Other American defensive midfielders are going to get the opportunity of a lifetime. Vancouver's Sebastian Berhalter and Middlesbrough's Aidan Morris to make the USMNT roster now that Cardoso is confirmed to be unavailable.

Jack McGlynn and Alex Zendejas, Houston Dynamo and Club America

Here's something nobody talks about when it comes to the USMNT: Almost every one of its build-up attackers is right-footed. Weston McKennie. Tim Weah. Gio Reyna. Malik Tillman. Brenden Aaronson. All right-footers, all the time.

Having a left-footed attacking option available is an important ceiling-raiser for the USMNT. It sounds silly, but it's true: Left-footed players move differently, turn differently and open up spaces that right-footed ones can't find. If the USMNT wants to increase its scoring chances at the World Cup, it would do well to find some left-footed players to make it happen.

Thankfully for the Americans, two of their best lefties are making themselves rather easy to spot. The Houston Dynamo's Jack McGlynn and Club America's Alex Zendejas both had bumper weekends with their club teams, showing off their versatility and potential. McGlynn scored two gorgeous left-footed rockets against LAFC; Zendejas scored twice and assisted once in Club America's 3-3 Liga MX playoff draw with Pumas UNAM.

McGlynn and Zendejas weren't expected to make the USMNT's final roster, but their strong recent form could change that, especially when both have solid history with the national team. McGlynn scored a near-identical left-footed shot against future World Cup opponent Turkiye last summer, while Zendejas found a way through Japan back in the fall. Both could be fascinating additions to the USMNT's attack.