KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes is no stranger to the United States men’s national team and the World Cup.

Before becoming the longest tenured manager in MLS, Vermes played for the USMNT from 1988-1997, including when the United States hosted the World Cup in 1994.

Now in 2022, the United States is returning to the world’s stage in Qatar after missing out on the 2018 tournament.

“Probably going to be, if not the, one of the youngest teams in the world up which I think can be an advantage,” Vermes said. “There will be a lot of things that will be new to all those players when they step out onto that field.”

Vermes believes the experience the players have with their clubs, is enough to make up for the lack of World Cup experience.

“The good thing is, we also have a lot of our players playing either in MLS on a regular basis or playing overseas in top leagues around the world with Pulisic at Chelsea, you have Weston McKennie at Juventus,” Vermes said.

USMNT Roster Breakdown

  • English Premier League (6):
    • GK Matt Turner (Arsenal), DF Antonee Robinson (Fulham), DF Tim Ream (Fulham), MF Tyler Adams (Leeds United), MF Brendan Aaranson (Leeds United), FW Christian Pulisic (Chelsea)
    • English Championship (2) – GK Ethan Horvath (Luton Town), Josh Sargent (Norwich City)
  • Serie A – Italy (2):
    • DF Sergiño Dest (AC Milan), MF Weston McKennie (Juventus)
  • Bundesliga – Germany (2):
    • DF Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), FW Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund)
  • La Liga – Spain (2):
    • MF Yunus Musah (Valencia), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo)
  • Ligue 1 – France (1):
    • FW Timothy Weah (Lille)
  • Super Lig – Turkey (1):
    • FW Haji Wright (Antalyaspor)
  • Scottish Premiership (1):
    • DF Cameron Carter-Vickers
  • Major League Soccer (9):
    • GK Sean Johnson (NYCFC), DF Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), DF Aaron Long (NYRB), DF Shaq Moore (Nashville SC), DF DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), MF Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), MF Kellyn Acosta (LAFC), FW Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), FW Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders)

But the U.S. will need to keep a keen eye one Welsh forward in particular.

“They do have Gareth Bale and he obviously just scored the tying goal in MLS Cup in the final to get their team to penalties then ultimately win,” Vermes said.

The U.S. and Wales kickoff at 1 p.m. on FOX.