USMNT call up 27 players for final home matches before World Cup

US Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter named a squad of 27 players for the June training camp, which will culminate in the final four home matches the side will play before the 2022 World Cup.

The USMNT will play friendlies against Morocco in Cincinnati (June 1, 6:30 pm CT | ESPN2, UniMas, TUDN) and Uruguay in Kansas City (June 5, 4 pm CT | FOX, Univision, TUDN). They’ll then transition to the Concacaf Nations League, where they’ll play group matches against Grenada in Austin (June 10, 9:30 pm ET | ESPN+, UniMas, TUDN) and away to El Salvador (June 14 | FS1, Univision, TUDN).

Roster by position (Club/Country; Caps/Goals) 

GOALKEEPERS (3): Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 7/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 29/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 16/0) 

DEFENDERS (9): George Bello (Arminia Bielefeld/GER; 6/0), Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 24/1), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 8/0), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 23/3), Erik Palmer-Brown (Troyes/FRA; 3/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 25/2), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 0/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami; 73/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 28/3) 

MIDFIELDERS (8): Kellyn Acosta (LAFC; 51/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 27/1), Luca de la Torre (Heracles/NED; 7/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 31/9), Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montreal/CAN; 6/1), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 16/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 31/0), Malik Tillman (Bayern Munich/GER; 0/0) 

FORWARDS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/AUT; 18/5), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas; 44/9), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 9/3), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; 46/10), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 48/21), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 22/2), Haji Wright (Antalyaspor/TUR; 0/0)

After Miles Robinson’s season-ending injury, center back suddenly looks like less of a certainty. Walker Zimmerman has turned into a fixture in the backline, but finding a partner for him is no easy task. Hoffenheim’s Chris Richards is an obvious option for the World Cup, but is coming off an injury and won’t be risked.

New York Red Bulls’ center back Aaron Long was a Berhalter favorite before his 2021 injury, and possesses some of the speed to cover open ground, not at the level of Robinson, but enough to make him an interesting partner for Zimmerman. Similarly, Cameron Carter-Vickers has found an excellent run of form at Celtic, and is an intriguing option.

Ricardo Pepi, the hottest name at striker last year, wasn’t called up after a dry spell of form for Augsburg in the Bundesliga. While FC Cincinnati’s Brandon Vazquez was a popular name after his fantastic start to the MLS season, the striker wasn’t called up, despite posting six goals and two assists in 11 matches.

Haji Wright has never been capped at the senior level, but the striker is back on the roster for the first time since 2019. He’s scored 14 goals this season for Antalyaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig, including scoring in their final seven matches of the season.

Another returning player is CF Montreal’s Djordje Mihailovic, who’s had a significant resurgence after leaving Chicago Fire last year. He’s been on MVP-level form in 2022, adding seven goals and five assists in 16 matches. His last appearance for the USMNT came in December 2020.

Malik Tillman has been called up for the first time. The 19-year-old midfielder filed a one-time switch with FIFA changing his eligibility from Germany to the US. He made seven appearances for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga this season, spending the bulk of his time with Bayern II in the fourth division.

With these four matches to play in the summer, plus a potential round of friendlies in the fall, there’s very limited time to assess the squad and evaluate options before the 2022 World Cup.

Author: Ben Wrightis the Director of Soccer Content and a Senior MLS Contributor for Broadway Sports covering Nashville SC and the US National Team. Previously Ben was the editor and a founder of Speedway Soccer, where he has covered Nashville SC and their time in USL before journeying to Major League Soccer since 2018. Raised in Louisville, KY Ben grew up playing before a knee injury ended his competitive career. When he is not talking soccer he is probably producing music, drinking coffee or hanging out with his wife and kids. Mastodon

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