The U.S. Men’s National Team is in for several years of rebuilding from top to bottom, and that process begins in the very near future with a friendly against Portugal.
More than half of the USMNT’s 21-man roster for the November 14 match is made up of players under 24 years old, signaling a generational shift as the focus turns all the way to 2022. Several of those young players, such as DeAndre Yedlin, John Brooks and Kellyn Acosta, have been in the fold for some time. Others, though, are new to the USMNT program and in for their first real taste of senior action.
In total, there are five players searching for their senior debut. Two of them, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jesse Gonzalez, have been in camp before. Carter-Vickers was called in late in 2016 but failed to make an appearance in qualifiers against Mexico and Costa Rica. Gonzalez, meanwhile, joined the U.S. for the Gold Cup this summer behind Tim Howard and Bill Hamid.
Carter-Vickers now figures to be one of the top centerback options, joining Brooks and Matt Miazga to lead the roster. Gonzalez, meanwhile, joins Hamid once again as part of a goalkeeper competition that includes fellow youngster Ethan Horvath.
Meanwhile, a trio of youngsters join USMNT camp for the first time. The list is headlined by midfielder Weston McKennie, who earned his first senior call-up after breaking through with the Schalke first team. Fellow midfielder Tyler Adams joins him after shining with the New York Red Bulls and the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team.
Finally, there’s the youngest of the bunch in Josh Sargent, who is riding high after featuring at both the U-17 and U-20 World Cups this year. The young striker is bound for Werder Bremen next year when he turns 18.
With that in mind, which new face are you most excited to see? What do you expect from the newcomers at camp?
Vote in the poll below and state your reasoning in the comment section:
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Obviously McKennie would be the most interesting, as he fills a position of need, and seems to be the most advanced given that he’s in the midfield rotation at Schalke getting plenty of minutes. To see where he is played, in his club position, or in a more advanced role, is interesting, and whether he can handle the speed and pressure. If he can fill a center midfield role would be huge.
I like the potential senior partnership of Carter Vickers and Miazga
A player that can take over for Bradley to link the team (and perhaps do a better job in the future). Tyler Adams was instrumental in the Red Bulls game against Toronto and he arguably had a better game than Bradley (of course Bradley’s team took the series, but the Red Bull won in Toronto).
Adams made a lot of good tackles and some very good passes. He is still raw and runs around a lot, sometimes without any real purpose, but I hope as he matures, he will be able to harness that energy and skill into something remarkable.
¿ What happened whit Jonathan González,he let Mexico for USAMNT?
Sorry but I barely give a damn about this game or any future USMNT game until they make big changes.
Well theoretically that’s only a matter of time. For now, fanatical US Soccer fans are excited some promising young talent has been called in to compete. Missing the WC is a painful disaster, but preparation for WCQ ’22 has already begun and that’s invigorating.
You’re not alone. I just hope the rest of the fan base isn’t duped by the misdirection of being enamored with new call-ups when the system is simply set to repeat failure.
The new guys interest me but the speed of the game and who can play with the ball at there feet is what I want to see. With the exception of Sargent none of the forwards interest me. The most important building blocks for me are the back four then the next two or three players in front of the back four.
So why is Jonathan Gonzales not on this roster?
His professional side Monterrey are in a battle for the top spot. US Soccer doesn’t want to risk alienating him or Monterrey by calling him in for a friendly he can’t be cap tied.