USA boss Gregg Berhalter has outlined his excitement regarding the development of Cameron Carter-Vickers at Celtic Park this season.
The towering centre-back has had an absolutely stunning season on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. Becoming a key part of Ange Postecoglou’s rebuild, Cameron has made 45 appearances for the Hoops en route to a league and cup double [Transfermarkt].
Carter-Vickers arrived at Parkhead having failed to receive a call-up for the USA senior squad since June 2019. However, that all changed over the weekend with Berhalter calling him up for next month’s camp.
The USA will face off against Morocco and Uruguay in friendly matches respectively. Those will then be followed by CONCACAF Nations League fixtures against Grenada and El Salvador. And ahead of that packed schedule, Berhalter has taken the time to laud Carter-Vickers’ Celtic spell.
As quoted by the Daily Record, he said: “Cam had an outstanding season at Celtic. They won the title and he was a key part of that. It will be nice to work with him again.
“We think he has good comfort on the ball, a good one vs one defender with speed who can cover the space in behind him. So we’re excited to see what he can do in camp and what he can do for us.
“Around the edges, there is room [to make the World Cup squad]. And if a guy’s in form and doing a great job. I can expect him to make a case to be on the roster.”
Cameron Carter-Vickers set for big USA chance after Celtic success
The carrot has just been dangled in front of Carter-Vickers here. The prospect of not only reminding everyone of what he can do on the international stage, but a chance to stake a claim for Qatar 2022.
Remember, the USA have already qualified for the competition. There are no further qualification matches for them, and now it will be all about trying to get the squad right for Berhalter and his staff.
Clearly, Carter-Vickers has been called up with a view to potentially earning one of those spots. If that wasn’t the case, he simply wouldn’t have been called up until next year after the competition was over. Berhalter will want the players he plans on calling up in as many of his squads as possible.
Of course, this also sends out a big message to Carter-Vickers in terms of his club career. He needs to be playing regular football in the first half of next season. If he fails to do so then chances are he can kiss that World Cup dream goodbye.
Hopefully, that helps encourage him to make his loan spell at Celtic Park permanent. After all, he’ll be playing in UCL group stage football if he stays here. The international benefits to that will be huge.
In the meantime, fingers crossed Cameron can make an impact for his country next month. It would certainly cap off an incredible campaign for him.
In other news, Nir Bitton explains how he could’ve left Celtic for Espanyol; early issue with Brendan Rodgers
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