Weston McKennie’s USMNT relationship “almost beyond repair” after Juventus man sent home early
McKennie sent home
News broke yesterday that Weston McKennie had been sent home from the US men’s national team camp ahead of their third World Cup qualifier against Hondurus.
News regarding updates to the USMNT roster ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup Qualifier in Honduras.
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) September 6, 2021
In an official statement, head coach Gregg Berhalter revealed that:
“Weston will return to Italy and will be unavailable for the match against Honduras due to a violation of team policy,”
“There are high expectations for those who are a part of the U.S. Men’s National Team, and in order to be successful it’s important that everyone in the group is accountable.”
McKennie later took to Instagram to issue an apology to his fans:
Weston McKennie confirms via Instagram that he is suspended for violating the team’s #COVID19 protocols. #usmnt pic.twitter.com/BHAiaI1Om8
— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) September 5, 2021
“It’s almost beyond repair”
Former USMNT star Landon Donovan has had his say on the situation, taking to the Futbol podcast to discuss the situation.
NEW POD: @landondonovan & @ChrisWittyngham break down the USMNT’s disappointing 1-1 tie against Canada with me. Landon had a lot to say, including on Weston McKennie letting down his US teammates.
SUBSCRIBE
Apple https://t.co/A1kX0uYUEg
Spotify https://t.co/VCDYuGPWy7 pic.twitter.com/LKDpFgXUJ0— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) September 6, 2021
Donovan revealed that he knew what had happened, and that it was going to be hard to recover from:
“I’m privy to what happened, I’m not going to announce that publicly,”
“I will just say that I’m incredibly disappointed in Weston, incredibly disappointed. Look, I can understand being at Juventus during a long season, you’re sitting at home for months and months and months and you want to have people over. Is it the smartest thing to do? No, but I get it,”
“This is one week of your life with three massive games, not only for yourself but for your teammates and for your country to go to a World Cup and the level of selfishness in that moment is beyond me. Honestly, it’s beyond me.
“It’s almost beyond repair and he has a lot of work to do with his teammates to make sure that he never does something like that again because you lose trust in your teammates. These guys want to go to a World Cup.”
How will the US fare without their star midfielder?
Read more:
Aston Villa eyeing January move for Juventus’ Weston McKennie
United States’ woes mount as Weston McKennie sent home & Sergino Dest ruled out of Honduras clash
