The U.S. men’s national team has released a 60-player preliminary roster for its upcoming CONCACAF Nations League matches.
Coach Anthony Hudson was free to include Folarin Balogun after the Reims striker chose the USMNT in a high-profile recruiting win. Meanwhile, veteran center back John Brooks — who recently expressed hopes of a recall after nearly two years in the wilderness — was included in the squad.
Hudson will have to cut this group down to a final 23-player roster no later than June 5. The USMNT will play Mexico at Allegiant Stadium just outside Las Vegas on June 15, with either a final or third-place game taking place on June 18.
Balogun is joined by some intriguing potential USMNT newcomers. He’s not the only dual national in the frame for a possible first cap, with Timothy Tillman — who recently filed for a switch of allegiance from Germany to the U.S. — on Hudson’s roster.
24-year-old defender Marlon Fossey, who hasn’t been called in for a U.S. Soccer team since his days with the Under-20s in 2017 and remains eligible for the U.S. and England, joins them on the list after a breakout season in Belgium with Standard Liège.
Some notable names were also left off despite the huge preliminary squad size. Paxten Aaronson, whose club Eintracht Frankfurt refused to release him for the U-20 World Cup, headlines that list. FC Cincinnati’s Roman Celentano was overlooked, while injuries have kept Tim Ream, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Malik Tillman out of the squad.
Notably, there is no overlap with the U-20 World Cup squad, with that tournament potentially running through June 11. That means no spot in the team for top future prospects like Cade Cowell, Jonathan Gómez, Kevin Paredes, Gabriel Slonina, Caleb Wiley, and Josh Wynder.
USMNT Nations League preliminary roster
Goalkeepers (5): Drake Callender (Inter Miami), Ethan Horvath (Luton Town), Sean Johnson (Toronto FC), Zack Steffen (Middlesbrough), Matt Turner (Arsenal)
Defenders (21): John Brooks (Hoffenheim), Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Sergiño Dest (AC Milan), Marlon Fossey (Standard Liège), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution), Aaron Long (Los Angeles FC), Mark McKenzie (KRC Genk), Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC), Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy), Erik Palmer-Brown (Troyes), Bryan Reynolds (KVC Westerlo), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), James Sands (New York City FC), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls), Auston Trusty (Birmingham City), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
Midfielders (19): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles FC), Tyler Adams (Leeds United), Taylor Booth (FC Utrecht), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Julian Gressel (Vancouver Whitecaps), Richie Ledezma (New York City FC), Weston McKennie (Leeds United), Djordje Mihailovic (AZ), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Alan Soñora (FC Juárez), Tanner Tessman (Venezia), Timothy Tillman (Los Angeles FC), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes)
Forwards (15): Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), Folarin Balogun (Stade Reims), Tyler Boyd (LA Galaxy), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Matthew Hoppe (Hibernian), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Jordan Pefok (Union Berlin), Ricardo Pepi (Groningen), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Brandon Vazquez (FC Cincinnati), Tim Weah (Lille), Haji Wright (Antalyaspor), Alex Zendejas (Club América)
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