USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino names 27-player roster ahead of Gold Cup
If the U.S. men's national team is to win its first Concacaf Gold Cup since 2021 this summer, it will do so severely shorthanded.
Coach Mauricio Pochettino on Thursday named a 27-player USMNT training camp roster ahead of the biennial regional championship and the two early June friendlies that precede it. And as expected, many of the American regulars are missing.
FOX Sports reported on Wednesday that star attacker Christian Pulisic would skip this summer's tournament following two grueling seasons with Italian club A.C. Milan. Weston McKennie and Tim Weah are unavailable because Juventus is participating in the FIFA Club World Cup instead, as is Gio Reyna's Borussia Dortmund.
Several other prominent names are absent; Antonee "Jedi" Robinson is still dealing with the minor injuries that prevented him from participating in the Concacaf Nations League final four in March. Yunus Musah and Tanner Tessmann, who both started the Nations League semifinal loss to Panama, were also left off the squad, which will be trimmed to 26 on June 4. The Gold Cup begins on June 14, with the Americans kicking off group play against Trinidad and Tobago the following day.
Understandably, Pochettino is focusing on the players that are available, a group led by 2022 World Cup veterans Brenden Aaronson, Sergino Dest, Matt Turner and Haji Wright, and Premier League center back Chris Richards. Now recovered from an ACL tear he suffered last spring, Dest is participating in his first camp under the Argentine manager.
Some of Pochettino's selections were still surprising. Four players have never been capped at senior level: Sebastian Berhalter, Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder and the son of former USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter; Orlando City fullback Alex Freeman; Philadelphia Union midfielder Quinn Sullivan; and German-born forward Damion Downs, who helped Cologne earn promotion to the Bundesliga this season by scoring 10 goals in 29 games.
The USMNT will face European foes Turkey and Switzerland in tuneups on June 7 and 10, respectively.
The full training camp roster is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Matt Freese, New York City FC (MLS); Patrick Schulte, Columbus Crew (MLS), Zack Steffen, Colorado Rapids (MLS); Matt Turner, Crystal Palace (England)
Defenders: Max Arfsten, Columbus; Sergiño Dest, PSV Eindhoven, (Netherlands); Alex Freeman, Orlando (MLS); DeJuan Jones, San Jose Earthquakes (MLS); Mark McKenzie, Toulouse (France); Tim Ream, Charlotte (MLS); Chris Richards, Crystal Palace; Miles Robinson, Cincinnati (MLS)
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson, Leeds (England); Tyler Adams, Bournemouth (England): Sebastian Berhalter, Vancouver (MLS); Johnny Cardoso, Real Betis (Spain); Luca de la Torre, San Diego (MLS); Diego Luna, Real Salt Lake (MLS); Jack McGlynn, Houston Dynamo (MLS); Quinn Sullivan, Philadelphia Union (MLS); Malik Tillman, PSV; Sean Zawadzki, Columbus
Forwards: Patrick Agyemang, Charlotte (MLS); Folarin Balogun, Monaco (France); Damion Downs, Cologne (Germany); Brian White, Vancouver; Haji Wright, Coventry (England)
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