Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun on USMNT Nations League roster
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In the effort to retain two regional titles this summer, the U.S. men’s national soccer team has planned all along to use a strategy similar to one that succeeded two summers ago: a European-heavy squad for the first test and a largely MLS-based group for the second trial. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight For the Concacaf Nations League finals, a four-team competition kicking off in two weeks in Las Vegas, interim coach B.J. Callaghan on Thursday followed through on those intentions by selecting 20 players from leagues abroad for the 24-man training camp.
In a few weeks, Callaghan will summon many MLS players for the Concacaf Gold Cup, a 16-team competition beginning June 24 at 13 venues in the United States and one in Canada.
The split-squad approach is partly a function of the schedule: Foreign-based players are entering the offseason on the club scene, and although they are available for both Concacaf tournaments, they need a break. MLS players are in midseason and, because of national team duty, would miss time with their clubs to play international soccer.
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Beyond the scheduling challenges, Callaghan said he is aiming to expose as many players as possible to high-stakes competition as the 2026 World Cup approaches.
“It’s two big tournaments for us” this summer, he said. “And when you’re putting together these rosters, it can become a little bit complicated. … The main objective we were trying to accomplish here is how we can expose the most amount of players to make them battle-tested in knockout type of games.”
The United States will face Mexico in the Nations League semifinals June 15 at Allegiant Stadium. The winner will advance to the June 18 final against Canada or Panama.
Thirteen call-ups are from the 26-man squad that advanced to the World Cup’s round of 16 in Qatar in December, including Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Matt Turner, Yunus Musah, Tim Weah and Gio Reyna.
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The list also includes Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun, a high-scoring, multinational forward who last month committed to the U.S. program after competing primarily for English junior national teams.
Four players are from MLS: goalkeepers Sean Johnson (Toronto FC) and Drake Callender (Inter Miami) and defenders Miles Robinson (Atlanta United) and Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC).
Eight foreign-based players were ruled out because of injury: goalkeepers Zack Steffen and Ethan Horvath, defenders Cameron Carter-Vickers and Tim Ream, midfielders Tyler Adams and Malik Tillman and forwards Josh Sargent and Daryl Dike.
Steffen, a surprise omission from the World Cup squad, figured to back up — or perhaps challenge — Turner for playing time. But he underwent knee surgery this week and will be sidelined three to four months, a person close to the situation said.
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Callaghan — a World Cup assistant under Gregg Berhalter who was promoted this week after interim coach Anthony Hudson left for an opportunity abroad — has until Monday to submit a 23-player roster to Concacaf. With four goalkeepers in camp, one will not make the cut. Callender and Israeli-based Josh Cohen have never played for the national team.
MLS players passed over Thursday but who seem likely to receive Gold Cup invitations include forwards Jesús Ferreira, Brandon Vazquez and Jordan Morris and midfielder Kellyn Acosta, among many others. Some based abroad who weren’t chosen for the Nations League are candidates for the Gold Cup. Few, if any, will appear in both tournaments.
In 2021, the United States won both trophies by beating Mexico in the championship games.
Callaghan said he had worked closely with Hudson for weeks on the summer roster puzzle before Hudson resigned.
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“It was just sort of an easy transition into making it final,” Callaghan said, “but we were well down that process prior to that phone call I got” Friday from sporting director Matt Crocker, who offered him the job.
Callaghan, 41, is under contract until after the Gold Cup but, given his experience, isn’t expected to be in the running for the permanent job. Crocker plans to begin interviews this month and hire someone by the end of the summer.
U.S. roster
Goalkeepers: Drake Callender (Inter Miami), Josh Cohen (Maccabi Haifa), Sean Johnson (Toronto FC), Matt Turner (Arsenal).
Defenders: Sergiño Dest (AC Milan), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Birmingham City), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC).
Midfielders: Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Weston McKennie (Leeds United), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Alan Soñora (FC Juárez).
Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Folarin Balogun (Reims), Taylor Booth (Utrecht), Ricardo Pepi (Groningen), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Tim Weah (Lille), Alex Zendejas (Club América).
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Source: The Washington Post
