USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter has finalized the 24-player roster for the United States’ training camp, preparing for the two-legged tie against Trinidad & Tobago in the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinals. The first match is set for November 16th at Q2 Stadium in Austin, while the second leg will take place on November 20th at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
The biggest surprise of them all is the exclusion of the captain from the past few international windows, Christian Pulisic after he suffered what appears to be a minor injury early in the week during Milan’s crucial Champions League group game against the French heavyweights, Paris-Saint-Germain.
The U.S. suffered a double blow as they’re without both of their starting wingers. Not only will Pulisic be out, but Tim Weah still hasn’t recovered from the hamstring injury he sustained with his club, Juventus, last month. Tyler Adams is still out injured and Antonee Robinson returns.
Making history, both Paxten and Brenden Aaronson have received their first joint call-up to the USMNT. Just days after competing in the Bundesliga against each other, the brothers will now stand side by side as teammates for the first time. Paxten, who made his USMNT debut in January, joins his older brother, marking them as the eighth pair of siblings to represent the USMNT. At 20 years old, Paxten, an attacker for Eintracht Frankfurt, is the second youngest player on this roster, with 19-year-old goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina being the youngest whilst also being named in the squad.
Barring major absences, the squad named by Berhalter is relatively the same as last month’s. In fact, 20 of the 23 players named on the October roster return in this November camp. It would’ve been nice to see new faces, such as Auston Trusty given another chance against Trinidad. Either way, there’s only one goal in mind and that is to win. It will also be interesting to see if Slonina will be given some minutes, but that will only depend on how the first leg goes in Austin.
The matches against Trinidad are significant not only for the opportunity to secure a spot in the Nations League semifinals and defend their consecutive titles but also for the crucial qualification for next summer’s Copa America.
USMNT ROSTER FOR TWO-LEGGED NL QUARTERFINAL TIE AGAINST TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO (CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 9/0), Gaga Slonina (KAS Eupen/BEL; 1/0), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 35/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 14/0), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 30/2), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 3/0), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 53/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 14/1), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 37/2), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 27/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 7/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Paxten Aaronson (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; 1/0), Johnny Cardoso (Internacional/BRA; 9/0), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 19/0), Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim/GER; 1/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 48/11), Yunus Musah (AC Milan/ITA; 31/0), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 22/6), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 6/0)
FORWARDS (5): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin/GER; 36/8), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 6/3), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; 2/0), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 20/9), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 7/1)
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