Cameron Carter-Vickers has been rewarded for his excellent form this season at Celtic with a much-deserved call up for the USA national team for the upcoming friendly series of four friendly matches set for next month, with the Washington Post confirming:
‘A few weeks from naming the June roster, Berhalter said he plans to invite two players who weren’t part of the qualifying effort: forward Haji Wright and center back Cameron Carter-Vickers. Both are 24, both have been away from the U.S. squad since 2019, and both are enjoying fine seasons in Europe.
Wright is among the top American scorers abroad with 12 goals in 29 matches, including seven in his past seven games, for Turkey’s Antalyaspor, while Carter-Vickers is a full-time starter for Scottish club Celtic.’
Here are the Berhalter quotes as reported by Daily Record: “For the June matches, I will be inviting two players who weren’t part of the qualifying effort – Cameron Carter-Vickers at Celtic and Haji Wright at Antalyaspor. Both are enjoying fine seasons in Europe.
“I would rather look at a guy like Carter-Vickers to see what he can do than someone like John Brooks at Wolfsburg because I have worked with him before and know what he’s all about.
“There are still some World Cup spots still up for grabs. It’s not locked in. It’s a group with a ton of potential and it’s a group with a bright future. The goal is to get out of the group. Once you get out of the group, we have players who are used to playing in knockout games for big European clubs.
“They are used to playing where the expectation is to win. The question I want to ask the guys is, ‘Do you think we’re capable of beating any team when we play our best game?’ If the answer is yes, then why can’t we go for it?”
Carter-Vickers was last picked for his country in 2019, and in the three years since a series of temporary moves prior to signing on loan at Celtic from parent club Spurs, has seen the player in the international wilderness. However, the central defender’s consistent form in a Celtic shirt hasn’t gone unnoticed by national boss Gregg Berhalter, who now looks likely to offer the opportunity for Cater-Vickers to add to the eight caps he already has at international level, with the player watched by USA in Sunday’s Glasgow Derby.
And with a World Cup on the horizon – and of course the chance Carter-Vickers may well play against Scotland, with USA drawn in the same group as Scotland, Ukraine or Wale for the Qatar World Cup, should Steve Clarke’s side be successful in the upcoming play-off matches, Carter-Vickers may well get the opportunity to face up to captain Callum McGregor on the biggest stage of all.
Celtic of course will be keen to sign Carter-Vickers on a permanent deal after a successful loan spell, but at the same time the move has to be right for the player.
A big part of that decision would no doubt centre around whether his international ambitions could be realised while at Celtic. With Berhalter now putting those concerns to bed with the call-up, and Celtic also likely to be tested at Champions League level next season, a move to Glasgow would now appear to tick a lot of boxes for Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Let’s hope it’s all enough to persuade the big man to sign on with the Hoops on a permanent basis.
Niall J
