How Kellyn Acosta's dirty work is pushing U.S. Men's National Team forward in World Cup qualifying

In the next two months, five matches will determine the U.S men's national soccer team's fate for the FIFA World Cup. Midfielder Kellyn Acosta has become essential, yet rarely exalted, in this effort, and U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter knows it.

Acosta, 26, played in 21 of 22 USMNT matches last year, the most of any player since 1994. In 2021, he played the full 120 minutes in both victories against Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup, assisting on the winning goal in the latter.

Acosta has played in eight of the USMNT’s nine World Cup Qualifiers thus far.

“Kellyn’s a competitor, first and foremost,” Berhalter said this week. “We know we need guys on the field that want to compete to win games. We know (they’re) highly competitive fixtures. Every single game has a lot on the line. … To have a guy on the field that is going to compete is valuable. We're very comfortable with Kellyn.”

Comfort with Kellyn often means discomfort for his opponents – on the field in the middle of a melee with Mexico or a shoving match with Canada. Even at the team hotel, mixing skill and banter when playing cards or shooting dice, Acosta doesn’t discriminate when choosing his victim.

This competitive nature, Acosta said, has created an edge for the U.S. in qualifiers, creating a “winning mentality where, in each play, it hurts if you don't prevail.”

The U.S. is (5-1-3,18 points) in second place in qualifying and will square off with first-place Canada (5-0-4, 19 points) on Sunday in Hamilton, Ontario (2 p.m., Paramount+).

Acosta is part of the engine that the U.S. hopes will get it to the World Cup in Qatar in November, simply by being the unsung leader who’s in love with doing the dirty work.

“I may not wear the captain's armband, but I just try to use my experience to help better my teammates on and off the field,” Acosta told The Tennessean. “I just try to lead by example. Whether that's just work ethic, whether that’s making plays, whether it's sticking up for my teammates – different aspects of the game that maybe go unnoticed, but I think it goes a long way and to showing the camaraderie of the team.”

As the U.S. prepares for its rematch with Canada on Sunday, what comes to mind is captain and midfielder Tyler Adams’ retaliating shove on Mark Anthony-Kaye, sending the Colorado Rapids midfielder to the grass at Nissan Stadium in September.

As boos rang in from the predominantly-U.S. crowd, and Canadian players circled around referee Oshane Nation to suggest a red card should be issued instead of a yellow, in came Acosta, stepping in for Adams – who riled up fullback Richie Laryea just enough to require teammate Samuel Adekugbe and others to hold him back from charging Acosta.

Acosta boasts the third-most appearances (46) for the U.S. on this roster with an average age of 24, which includes the midfield of the future in Adams, 22, Weston McKinnie, 23, and Yunus Musah, who is 19. All of them are up for CONCACAF’s toughness, but none more than Acosta.

'I’m not saying that the team is soft by any means,” Acosta said. “But I try to add that dimension, that no matter what's gonna go on, I have your back no matter what.”

Acosta is one of four on this roster (along with Christian Pulisic, Paul Arriola and Gyasi Zardes) who tasted World Cup Qualifying failure in 2017 against Trinidad and Tobago. His 13 World Cup Qualifying appearances carry value held in high regard by teammates.

“Kellyn, like you mentioned, just the way he battles, the way he helps us to get through this qualifying process and also … just as a mentality, I feel like the team has really stepped up and I like the focus that I'm seeing right now,” Pulisic said.

Mentality is a motif for the USMNT, and its ball-winning defensive midfielder preaches it by doing what no one else wants to.

“His effort, his work rate … I think he inspires other players, and with his mentality,” Berhalter said.

For stories about Nashville SC or Soccer in Tennessee, contact Drake Hills at DHills@gannett.com. Follow Drake on Twitter at @LiveLifeDrake. Connect with Drake on Instagram at @drakehillssoccer and on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Kellyn Acosta helps operate the USMNT engine in World Cup qualifying