US men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter has named his 24-player roster for an upcoming pair of friendlies in Europe with youth being a central theme as the squad reconvenes for the first time since a Feb. 1 friendly against Costa Rica.
The USMNT will first face Wales Nov. 12 in Swansea before meeting Panama Nov. 16 in Austria, the second of two games during the upcoming FIFA international window.
Given that the MLS 2020 regular season is winding down and the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs are nearing, no players from any of the league’s 26 teams were initially called in. LA Galaxy's Sebastian Lletget was subsequently added to replace Werder Bremen forward Josh Sargent, who was not released by his club. The Galaxy have already been eliminated from contention for the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs.
All but two players – Lletget and Brazil-based midfielder Johnny Cardoso – is based in Europe, with the COVID-19 pandemic and necessary quarantine periods complicating who’d be available.
The roster, which has 14 players who are 20 years old or younger, includes 10 players seeking their first USMNT cap. Chief among them is Borussia Dortmund midfielder Giovanni Reyna, who came through the New York City FC youth system before heading overseas.
Other MLS academy ties include the FC Dallas trio of Boavista defender Reggie Cannon, Bayern Munich defender Chris Richards and Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie. There’s also former New York Red Bulls midfielder Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig) and center back Matt Miazga (Anderlecht), plus ex-Real Salt Lake prospects Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven) and Sebastian Soto (Telstar). Up-and-coming goalkeeper Chituru Odunze (Leicester City) has Vancouver Whitecaps FC youth roots, and Uly Llanez (Heerenveen) has LA Galaxy roots.
The roster includes nine players who are currently on UEFA Champions League rosters, the most in team history and one first-time callup of note is Valencia midfielder Yunus Musah. Born in New York City, he recently broke into Valencia's first team after developing in Arsenal's academy. He's long represented England youth national teams and is also eligible to represent Ghana and Italy. He's one of 10 players who are currently uncapped at the senior international level.
Full roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge/BEL; 4/0), Chituru Odunze (Leicester City/ENG; 0/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 17/0)
DEFENDERS (7): John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 38/3), Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 10/0), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona/ESP; 3/0), Matt Miazga (Anderlecht/BEL; 18/1), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 40/1), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich/GER; 0/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 7/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 10/1), Johnny Cardoso (Internacional/BRA; 0/0), Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 0/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 14/2), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 19/6), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 0/0), Owen Otasowie (Wolverhampton/ENG; 0/0)
FORWARDS (8): Konrad de la Fuente (Barcelona/ESP; 0/0), Nicholas Gioacchini (Caen/FRA; 0/0), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 34/14), Uly Llanez (Heerenveen/NED; 1/1), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 0/0), Sebastian Soto (Telstar/NED; 0/0), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 8/1)
