Gregg Berhalter: US Soccer Displayed 'A Ton of Quality' in Friendly vs. Wales

The United States men's national team played to a 0-0 draw against Wales on Thursday and provided U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter good reason for optimism moving forward. 

"We had a ton of quality," Berhalter said afterward. "If you add Christian [Pulisic] into that team, that would have made a difference. It is a young team, a youthful lineup, but one we can build from."

Pulisic, a midfielder for Chelsea in the English Premier League, missed the friendly after suffering a hamstring injury. Instead, the USMNT lineup boasted a number of players making their first appearances, including Giovanni Reyna, Konrad de la Fuente, Yunus Musah, Johnny Cardoso and Nicholas Gioacchini.

The Americans held possession for 61 percent of the match and out-shot Wales 7-4 while connecting on 87.5 percent of their passes, according to Sky Sports. 

That gave Berhalter an idea of what his current roster could develop into.

"I was proud of them, we are starting to see some of the energy and dynamic I have talked about," Berhalter said. "Our defensive pressing was relentless all game, it unbalanced Wales and didn't let them set into a rhythm. We had two days to work together, just one full session the day before the game and to know that and see what they did today, I was pleased."

The coach pointed to Reyna, Musah and de la Fuente, in particular, for their quality on the ball without getting lost in the moment. 

Monday will give the young American stars another opportunity to impress their coach as the USMNT takes on Panama in another international friendly. 

"We are still learning principles, how to take advantage of other teams weaknesses, and we didn't do that enough," Berhalter said. "But it's amazing how much ground those guys can cover in midfield."