Youthful USMNT roster revealed for training camp in Wales

CHICAGO – U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter has named a 24-player roster as the USA prepares to gather in Wales for just its second camp of 2020.

The players will begin reporting on Nov. 8 to Cardiff ahead of the USA’s first friendly of the trip against Wales on Nov. 12 in Swansea.

Four days later, the USMNT will face Panama on Nov. 16 at Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, in the second match of the November FIFA window. Both matches will kick off at 2:45 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on FS1, UniMás and TUDN.

Berhalter has once again called upon a young and talented group, with the roster’s average age at 21 years, 300 days. Nine of the players are part of clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League, the most in team history. Young standouts Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), Sergino Dest (Barcelona), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) and Zack Steffen (Manchester City) will be in the squad for the first time since 2019, along with veterans center backs John Brooks (Wolfsburg), Matt Miazga (Anderlecht) and Tim Ream (Fulham).

A total of 10 players are seeking their first cap with the senior National Team, including Borussia Dortmund midfielder Gio Reyna, who is looking to join the list of 11 players who have appeared for the USMNT before turning 18-years-old. Chris Richards – a defender for reigning UEFA Champions League and Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich – also earns his first senior team call.

With the MLS season still underway and playoffs on the horizon, the roster is exclusively made up of players playing professionally outside the United States.

DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; CAPS/GOALS):

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), 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), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen/GER; 12/5), Sebastian Soto (Telstar/NED; 0/0), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 8/1)

USA TO FACE PANAMA ON NOV. 16 IN AUSTRIA

Following the friendly against Wales in Swansea on Nov. 12, the U.S. Men’s National Team will face Panama on Nov. 16 at Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, in the second match of the November FIFA window.

This will be the USA’s third visit to Austria, although the first where the team won’t play the host country. The match against Panama will be the first friendly against a Concacaf opponent at a neutral venue outside of the region. Stadion Wiener Neustadt is located approximately 40 miles south of Vienna, and will be the site of Mexico-Korea Republic two days prior to the Panama tilt.

Due to the current conditions related to the global pandemic, the matches will be played without fans in the stadiums. The staging of the camp and the matches will fall under the comprehensive U.S. Soccer Return to Play Protocols and Guidelines and in line with both the FIFA and UEFA Return to Play Protocols, as well as stringent oversight by the Football Association of Wales for the match in Swansea. The participants have received an exemption from quarantine provided to professional sports organizations.

The matches against Wales and Panama will be the first for the USMNT on a FIFA fixture date since Nov. 19, 2019, a 4-0 win against Cuba that lifted the USA to a first-place finish in Group A of the Concacaf Nations League and a spot in the Final Four to be played in June next year. This is only the second match for the USMNT in 2020, following a 1-0 shutout of Costa Rica on Feb. 1 in Carson, Calif.

GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER

It’s been nearly a year since the USMNT gathered during a FIFA fixture date and a lot has happened with the player pool in that time. Since then, we’ve had a player score in the Champions League quarterfinal (Tyler Adams) and another in the FA Cup Final (Christian Pulisic). Two have become the first Americans on the first team at international powerhouses Juventus (Weston McKennie) and Barcelona (Sergiño Dest).

Right back Reggie Cannon made the jump from MLS to Europe, joining Portuguese Primeira side Boavista, left back Antonee Robinson has found a Premier League home alongside Tim Ream at Fulham, while center back Matt Miazga is working under the management of Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht. In Germany, 20-year-old striker Josh Sargent has established himself as a first-team regular at Werder Bremen, while John Brooks continues to be a rock at the back for Wolfsburg.

THE USYNT PIPELINE

The primary measurement of success for Youth National Teams isn’t in the win/loss columns. The goal of the programs is to provide a pipeline to the senior team, and by that standard this current USMNT roster can only be judged a success. A total of thirteen players in the group have represented the USA at a Youth World Cup: Adams, Dest, Sargent and Weah (U-17 and U-20 World Cup); de la Fuente, Ledezma, Miazga, Richards, Soto and Steffen (U-20 World Cup); Odunze, Pulisic and Reyna (U-17 World Cup). Six players were part of the U.S. squad that advanced to the quarterfinals at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup: de la Fuente, Dest, Llanez Richards, Soto and Weah.

And on the subject of development, the fruits of a 13-year project born in 2007 can also be seen as fourteen players spent time in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy: Adams (New York Red Bulls), Cannon (FC Dallas), Horvath (Real Colorado), Ledezma (Real Salt Lake), Llanez (LA Galaxy), McKennie (FC Dallas), Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Odunze (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Pulisic (PA Classics), Richards (FC Dallas), Sargent (St. Louis-Scott Gallagher), Soto (San Diego Surf, Real Salt Lake), Steffen (FC Delco, Philadelphia Union), Weah (New York Red Bulls, BW Gottschee).

ROSTER NOTES

• As of the start of camp on November 8, the roster will have an average age of 21 years, 300 days.
• The average number of caps won is nine.
• The 24 players hail from clubs in nine different countries: England (6), Germany (5), Netherlands and Spain (3 each), Belgium and France (2 each), Brazil, Italy and Portugal (1 each).
• Only six players have more than 17 caps. Tim Ream is the senior-most player with 40 appearances, followed by John Brooks (38), Christian Pulisic (34), Weston McKennie (19), Matt Miazga (18) and Zack Steffen (17).
• Ten players are uncapped: Johnny Cardoso, Konrad de la Fuente, Nicholas Gioacchini, Richie Ledezma, Yunus Musah, Chituru Odunze, Owen Otasowie, Gio Reyna, Chris Richards, Sebastian Soto.
• Nineteen players are age-eligible for participation in the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and 14 players are 20 or younger.
• Of the 24 players, only Reggie Cannon and Uly Llanez have earned caps in 2020. Llanez scored in his international debut and played 73 minutes, while Cannon went the full 90 in the 1-0 win against Costa Rica on Feb. 1 in Carson, Calif.
• Forward Josh Sargent recorded his first goal of the new Bundesliga season in Werder Bremen’s 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
• Midfielder Weston McKennie registered his first assist for Juventus in the club’s 4-1 win against Spezia Sunday.
• Defender Matt Miazga has played each of the last three games since joining Anderlecht on loan, and most recently helped the club to a 1-0 shutout victory against Royal Antwerp on Sunday.
• Likewise, defender Reggie Cannon has played every minute of Boavista’s six league matches since joining the Portuguese side in September. On Monday, Cannon went the full 90 minutes and helped keep the clean sheet as Boavista upset second-place Benfica 3-0.
• In the midst of his first full Bundesliga season, Reyna has continued to impress for Borussia Dortmund, collecting two goals and four assists in nine matches across all competitions. Reyna memorably provided three assists in Dortmund’s 4-0 win against Freiburg on Oct. 3 and another in the club’s 3-1 Champions League defeat to Lazio on Oct. 20.
• The youngest player on the roster, Musah scored his first professional goal over the weekend, going on a 70-yard run before tallying the opener in Valencia’s 2-2 draw with Getae on Sunday. Musah has previously represented England at the U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-18 levels.
• Midfielder Richie Ledezma, 20, earns his first call-up after providing an assist in his first-team debut for PSV Eindhoven in Sunday’s 4-0 win against ADO Den Haag.
• Defender Chris Richards has seen action in two matches for Bayern Munich this season, including his first Bundesliga start where he provided his first assist in the club’s 4-3 win against Hertha Berlin on Oct. 4.
• Currently with Internacional of Brazil, midfielder Johnny Cardoso is the first player in 24 years to earn a USMNT call-up while playing for a club outside of Concacaf or UEFA. Cobi Jones last did it, earning a call-up to the 1996 Concacaf Gold Cup while playing for Vasco da Gama.
• Having featured as both a striker and right winger, forward 20-year-old Nicholas Gioacchini has two goals in seven matches this season for French Ligue 2 side Caen.
• Sebastian Soto comes to his first USMNT camp on the back of five goals in six matches for Dutch Erstedivisie side Telstar. The San Diego native scored four goals at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, tying him for second overall.
• A teammate of Sergiño Dest’s at Barcelona, Konrad de la Fuente has inched closer to his first-team debut, making the substitutes bench in three matches so far for the La Liga side this season.
• A product of the Wolverhampton Wanderers Academy, 19-year-old midfielder Owen Otasowie is also knocking on the door of a Premier League debut after being a substitute in each of Wolves’ last two matches.
• The goalkeeper for two of the USA’s three matches at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil, 18-year-old Chituru Odunze is in the midst of his second season in the player development setup with English Premier League side Leicester City.
• RB Leipzig midfielder Tyler Adams will make his first USMNT camp appearance since playing in the 1-0 win against Ecuador on March 22, 2019.
• Tim Weah returns to USMNT camp for the first time in two years. Currently with Lille of French Ligue 1, Weah last appeared against England on Nov. 15, 2018 at Wembley Stadium in London.
• Thirteen players have represented the USA at a Youth World Cup: Adams, Dest, Sargent and Weah (U-17 and U-20 World Cup); de la Fuente, Ledezma, Miazga, Richards, Soto and Steffen (U-20 World Cup); Odunze, Pulisic and Reyna (U-17 World Cup).
• Six players were part of the U.S. squad that ran to the quarterfinals at the
• 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup: de la Fuente, Dest, Llanez, Richards, Soto and Weah.
• Fourteen players spent time in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy: Adams (New York Red Bulls), Cannon (FC Dallas), Horvath (Real Colorado), Ledezma (Real Salt Lake), Llanez (LA Galaxy), McKennie (FC Dallas), Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Odunze (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Pulisic (PA Classics), Richards (FC Dallas), Sargent (St. Louis-Scott Gallagher), Soto (San Diego Surf/Real Salt Lake), Steffen (FC Delco, Philadelphia Union), Weah (New York Red Bulls, BW Gottschee).