Soñora may not be the only squad change
The U.S. men’s national team had a mostly successful Gold Cup group stage, but the news wasn’t entirely positive.
Shortly after overseeing a second consecutive 6-0 victory, interim coach B.J. Callaghan delivered some unwanted news: midfielder Alan Soñora’s tournament is over due to a hamstring injury.
“In terms of the roster updates, right now, Alan Soñora will be replaced due to a hamstring injury,” Callaghan told reporters after the match. “I don’t have the replacement yet.”
Soñora left the USMNT’s win over St. Kitts and Nevis at halftime, and was not in uniform against the Soca Warriors on Sunday.
The rules of the Gold Cup allow teams to replace injured players following their group stage games, up to 24 hours before their quarterfinal match kicks off. That leaves the USMNT until July 8 to make their move.
Per CONCACAF, the injury must be enough to keep a player out of play for at least 15 days, and that severity must be approved by the federation’s medical committee. Tournament regulations also require the USMNT to call up a player from its initial 60-man preliminary roster.
USMNT evaluating others for knockout round
Soñora’s status may be clear, but Callaghan has other players to monitor in the coming days.
U.S. Soccer announced earlier on Sunday that Aidan Morris had been granted permission to leave camp for what it called “personal reasons,” and Callaghan declined to offer much detail.
“I don’t have anything further to add to the Aidan Morris issue other than he requested to leave camp for personal reasons, and we granted [that],” said Callaghan, adding that the timetable on the Columbus Crew midfielder’s return is “open.”
Callaghan said he would also be evaluating forward Jordan Morris and center back Miles Robinson, calling both “day-to-day.” Robinson started for the USMNT in their 6-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago, playing 45 minutes before being replaced by Matt Miazga.
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