Reyna, Pulisic, Balogun headline USMNT Nations League Roster
The Concacaf Nations League semifinals get underway in two weeks and new U.S. men's national team interim head coach B.J. Callaghan announced his roster for a June 15 showdown vs. Mexico.
Gio Reyna, Christian Pulisic, and Folarin Balogun headlined Callaghan's 24-player roster for the tournament's final four. Balogun, who had his one-time international switch approved by FIFA earlier in May, will be seeking his USMNT debut.
The final roster is due on June 5 after being trimmed to 23 players.
Several of the past USMNT call-ups including Tyler Adams, Tim Ream, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Malik Tillman have not been included due to respective injuries at club level. Zack Steffen and Ethan Horvath are two of the newest additions to the injury list following positive loan spells in the English Football League Championship this season.
Eight of the 23 players called into the Nations League roster were part of the 2021-winning side led by former head coach Gregg Berhalter.
"In addition to having big-game experience and top-level talent, what's great about this group overall is the familiarity and understanding that's been built together these last four years about our style and our culture," Callaghan said of the roster. "We’re excited to integrate some of the newer faces as we set out to achieve our first goal of the summer in defending the Concacaf Nations League title."
The USMNT faces rivals Mexico in Las Vegas, with the winner facing the winner of the Canada-Panama semifinal on June 18 in the tournament final.
The Americans clinched their semifinal spot in March after defeating both Grenada and El Salvador in group stage action. Several players excelled during the March window including Ricardo Pepi, Auston Trusty, and Alex Zendejas, all of whom are included in the new roster.
Here is the 23-player USMNT roster for the Concacaf Nations League:
GOALKEEPERS: Drake Callender, Sean Johnson, Matt Turner, Josh Cohen
DEFENDERS: Sergino Dest, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Miles Robinson, Joe Scally, Auston Trusty, Walker Zimmerman
MIDFIELDERS: Johnny Cardoso, Luca De La Torre, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna, Alan Sonora
FORWARDS: Brenden Aaronson, Folarin Balogun, Taylor Booth, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Alex Zendejas.
What do you think of the roster? Who are you happy to see included? Who are you disappointed to see miss the cut?
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GOALKEEPERS DEFENDERS MIDFIELDERS FORWARDS