Maurice Edu Says Youth Can Help USMNT

The U.S. Men's National Team will look to make noise at the 2022 World Cup and Maurice Edu knows exactly what that experience is like.

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The former professional footballer turned FOX Sports broadcaster competed in the 2010 World Cup with the Americans.

He was part of the squad that famously defeated Algeria on the final day of the group stage to advance to the Round of 16.

Edu had a successful club career both in the United States and abroad with sides like Rangers and Stoke City.

More recently though, Edu has transitioned into a network role at FOX covering MLS games alongside Rob Stone, Alexi Lalas, Stu Holden and various other personalities.

At the World Cup, he'll have the chance to dissect matches daily on 'FIFA World Cup Tonight' with Kate Abdo and former NFL star wide receiver Chad Johnson.

ONE37pm had the opportunity to sit down with Edu ahead of this month's World Cup, which kicks off from Qatar on November 20.

ONE37pm: How different will your World Cup experience be this time now that you're not on the pitch trying to win the tournament?

Maurice Edu: I had the opportunity to attend of these as a player and now on the media side of things, so it's going to be great to experience everything without the stress of playing. As a player, obviously my biggest focus was the games so I'm sure I missed out on some of the beauty of being at a World Cup from the fan experience to sight seeing in different cities and everything else that comes with it.

ONE37pm: How difficult was it knowing your ruled-out goal against Slovenia in 2010 should've been allowed?

Edu: Obviously it was a different time without VAR so this year in Qatar it probably would've been a different story. It definitely made Landon's [Donovan] goal against Algeria all the more special though. It's funny because my mom and brother were in stands so I was getting ready to run towards them, but I'm not sure what my celebration would've been.

ONE37pm: Which USMNT player have you been most impressed by heading into this World Cup?

Edu: One is Yunus Musah. I think the kid oozes talent. He oozes class and maturity for someone so young in a position I played. He's extremely composed on the ball and even with how good he already is there's a ton of room for growth.

The other one that's making his strides in terms of popularity and what he's doing in the Premier League is Brenden Aaronson. I've known him since he was a kid because I was in Philly and just being able to see him back then in the academy you knew there was so much potential. You could see the desire and work rate he has so it doesn't surprise me at all that he's playing at Leeds.

ONE37pm: What can we expect from the USMNT in Qatar with such a young group of players?

Edu: I've been bullish on this group since their emergence into the full national team. There's a beauty in their youth because there's going to be certain moments that they're not worried about. There will be areas where they're probably a little naive and that could prove to be beneficial. I draw a lot of comparisons with this group now to 2010 with my team in South Africa. The English media were celebrating the group they had and that's similar to now.

ONE37pm: Will the Americans get out of their group?

Edu: Yes, I'm confident they'll advance along with England. It won't be easy, of course, because it's a World Cup. What's their ceiling? It depends on how everything else plays out, but this group has a lot of confidence. I don't think the quarterfinals is too far-fetched at all.

I remember Pulisic being interviewed and he said, 'We're going there to win the tournament.' Whether or not that happens, they're going there with the mindset to do something that the USMNT has never done before.