Why is the USMNT continuing to ignore John Brooks?

It's one of the most iconic goals in USMNT history, one made all the more endearing by the sheer shock of it all. No one could believe it, not even Brooks, who had a look of pure amazement on his face as he struggled to even comprehend what had just happened

Brooks had scored, and he'd scored late. His goal had given the USMNT the lead in their World Cup opener. They would protect that lead, earning a win over their fierce rivals Ghana, before qualifying for the knockout stages of the 2014 World Cup.

It was an incredible moment for the then-21-year-old defender, who was less than a year into his USMNT career. Realistically, he wasn't even supposed to be in the game, having only come on as a substitute to replace the injured Matt Besler. With that goal, he became the first American to score as a substitute in the World Cup and, perhaps more importantly, sealed his place in USMNT history.

It looked like the beginning of a long USMNT career for Brooks but, as it turns out, it wouldn't be as long as anyone would have expected.

As Jurgen Klinsmann began his second USMNT cycle, Brooks became an integral part of the team. He played in five of the team's six matches at the Copa America Centenario in 2016, missing only the Bronze Medal match. All the while, he remained a key player in the Bundesliga, playing for both Hertha Berlin and Wolfsburg for the better part of a decade.

However, it wasn't all positive. He was a key starter at the beginning of the USMNT's 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, playing in the opening loss to Mexico in Columbus. He then put in one of the most infamous performances in USMNT history, totally losing control of the game in a 4-0 drubbing in Costa Rica that ultimately cost Klinsmann his job.

Brooks, though, remained a regular throughout 2017 before suffering a torn thigh tendon in August, ruling him out for several months. It was during that time that the USMNT's 2018 World Cup dreams famous crumbled in that loss to Trinidad & Tobago in October.

At the start of Berhalter's tenure, Brooks was very much still in the national-team picture. The defender was still only 25, a player that had likely not even entered his prime years as a defender.

Brooks began Berhalter's tenure in 2019 by starting a friendly against Ecuador before appearing once again in a vital Nations League win over Canada that November. The following year was, for many, a wash due to the coronavirus pandemic, although Brooks did start the 0-0 draw with Wales that November in the USMNT's return to action.

In 2021, though, he seemingly found his stride, headlined by a run that saw him start four out of five games en route to the Nations League triumph over Mexico that June. By the start of World Cup qualifying in September 2021, Brooks appeared to be a player that would be relied upon heavily on the road to Qatar, starting back-to-back games against Canada and Honduras. The U.S. struggled in that match against Canada, a 1-1 draw in Nashville, while Brooks was surprisingly withdrawn at halftime of the eventual 4-1 win over Honduras three days later.

As it turned out, that first half against Honduras was the last time we saw Brooks in a USMNT shirt, as he's spent the last two years totally out of the reckoning.

It began in November 2021, when Brooks was surprisingly first excluded from the USMNT squad. He had been a key player for the U.S. for years, one of the few holdovers from the 2014 World Cup and one still with plenty of years left in him at a high level.

At the time, Berhalter opted to lean on the likes of Miles Robinson, Walker Zimmerman, Chris Richards and Mark McKenzie, pointing at Brooks' up-and-down performances during the previous window. "Regarding John Brooks, it was a really difficult decision,” Berhalter said at the time, “and a lot of it was based on how we felt his performance was with the team, the last time he’s been performing.”

Brooks, for his part, agreed. He felt he wasn't good enough in those two World Cup qualifiers, and vowed to be back better than ever in the future, telling Fox Sports: “The decision to leave me out of this camp isn’t surprising, given some of my recent performances for the USMNT that aren’t up to my standards. My job now is to work hard to be the very best I can be. I feel great about this week’s Champions League performance and my recent play with Wolfsburg, and will keep building on my performance there, until I reach my goal of helping the USMNT reach the next World Cup.”

Berhalter replied, saying: “That’s all you can ask for as a player’s response, right? Normally what players do is they start picking off other players and saying, 'Well, this guy is doing this', and all John did was take accountability for his own performance. “

It seemed everyone was aligned and on the same path, but what looked like a one-window exclusion turned into one that hasn't yet come to an end.

By the time March 2022 rolled around, it was pretty clear where Brooks stood. He had been left out of the final two camps of 2021 and the first of 2022. That was despite him remaining a regular at Wolfsburg, where he wracked up 146 appearances over his five-year stay.

Brooks, though, remained determined to fight, issuing a statement to ESPN about his USMNT future: "Months ago, I accepted responsibility for my play and the decision that kept me off a roster. Now, I'm happy I've regained my form but unfortunately, I wasn't invited to camp. I accept this as the coach's decision, but I won't accept that I can't change this before the final World Cup roster selections. There should be no questions about my desire to play for this team. My plan is to fight as hard as I can to make it back to the [USMNT].

"My American identity is at stake, an identity some have questioned over many years. We [Americans] have all been down and out at different times, but we always fight back and I plan to do the same."

Brooks wouldn't return in time for the World Cup, though, as he was left off the USMNT's final roster. Berhalter would depart in December following the tournament, although that departure would be brief as he would return to the team in the summer. Because of that, Brooks remains in no man's land, although there may be hope for the future.

It had been so long since his name was mentioned that it caught many reporters by surprise when Berhalter, having been asked about center-back options in the lead up to the USMNT's two friendlies against Germany and Ghana this month, brought up Brooks.

"As our player pool grows, as our talent pool grows, there's always going to be players that are are not selected that are good enough, Berhalter began. "That's part of it. That's where decisions get very difficult. I'll reference the center-back position as one of them. Let me think about Walker [Zimmerman] is not on this roster. He's dealing with a little bit of Achilles pain. Mark McKenzie is not on the roster. Austin Trusty is playing in the Premier League, he's not on the roster. John Brooks is playing in the Bundesliga, he's not on the roster. So you have four guys that could easily make the case to be on the roster that aren't on it, and that's just the depth of our player pool right now."

Zimmerman, McKenzie and Trusty have all featured for the USMNT at various points for the past couple of years, making Brooks the outlier in Berhalter's explanation. That explanation came after Berhalter's now-assistant and former USMNT interim coach B.J. Callaghan discussed Brooks' status ahead of the Gold Cup this summer.

“We had a number of good conversations with John," Callaghan said. "As a starting point, he reiterated his commitment to the national-team program and how much it means to him. He is coming off a season at Hoffenheim where he was a key member of their fight to avoid relegation.

"This summer he will have the chance to participate in a full pre-season with them for the first time, so we felt in this particular moment it’s best for him to take advantage of that opportunity and be performing at his highest level in the upcoming season to position himself to contribute to the national team in the future.”

A lot can change in a national-team pool and there's a lot of time remaining between now and the 2026 World Cup. When that rolls around, Brooks will still only be 33 years old. So is there a chance we see him in a USMNT shirt between now and then?

In order for that to happen, he'll have to remain in good form at club level. He's been a regular starter for Hoffenheim to start the season, having joined the club midway through the last campaign after a short stop at Benfica. Brooks has featured in each of the club's first seven Bundesliga matches, helping lead Hoffenheim all the way up to fifth in the table early on. Still, even with his club successes, Brooks faces plenty of competition for a place in the USMNT squad.

There's Tim Ream, who Brooks could, theoretically, replace as the veteran of the group at some point. At 36, Ream only has so much time left with the national team, although he keeps defying expectations with both the U.S. and Fulham.

The pool also includes a youngster in Richards, a legitimate star for Celtic in Cameron Carter-Vickers, Premier League-based Trusty, Genk star McKenzie and MLS stars Zimmerman, Miles Robinson and Matt Miazga. There are a lot of players fighting for center-back spots, and it remains to be seen if Brooks is one that Berhalter will consider going forward.

Regardless, Brooks' spot in USMNT history remains secure thanks to that goal against Ghana in 2014. But as the U.S. prepare to face the Black Stars again, it's fair to wonder what it will take for us to see the defender back in a national-team shirt.