A day after the U.S. Men’s National Team unveiled its 23-man squad for the Concacaf Nations League, the Americans learned which players they will be going up against in Denver for the first international trophy of 2021.
Hirving Lozano, Alberth Elis, and Joel Campbell headline the key players for Mexico, Honduras, and Costa Rica respectively after their rosters were unveiled on Tuesday. Among the notable exclusions were Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas (injured), Honduran forward Jerry Bengtson, and Mexican attacking duo Raul Jimenez (injured) and Rodolfo Pizarro.
The USMNT unveiled a full-strength squad when Gregg Berhalter announced his roster on Monday, with Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Weston McKennie and Zack Steffen headlining the group.
Honduras will face the USMNT in the Nations League semifinals on June 3rd in Denver, while on the other side of the bracket, Mexico takes on Costa Rica. The winners will face off in the final on June 6 at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver.
Here are the full rosters:
Final Concacaf Nations League rosters
MEXICO
GOALKEEPERS: Alfredo Talavera, Rodolfo Cota, Guillermo Ochoa.
DEFENDERS: Nestor Araujo, Carlos Salcedo, Jorge Sanchez, Luis Romo, Hector Moreno, Hector Herrera, Gerardo Arteaga, Luis Rodriguez.
MIDFIELDERS: Edson Álvarez, Jonathan Dos Santos, Carlos Rodriguez, Orbelin Pineda, Erick Gutierrez, Andres Guardado, Jesus Gallardo.
FORWARDS: Alan Pulido, Jesús Corona, Uriel Antuna, Hirving Lozano.
COSTA RICA
GOALKEEPERS: Esteban Alvarado, Aaron Cruz, Leonel Moreira.
DEFENDERS: Aaron Salazar, Keysher Fuller, Oscar Duarte, Bryan Oviedo, Francisco Calvo, Yael Lopez, Kendall Waston, Ronald Matarrita.
MIDFIELDERS: Luis Diaz, Celso Borges, Bryan Ruiz, Randall Leal, Allan Cruz, Bernald Alfaro, Yeltsin Tejeda, Gerson Torres.
FORWARDS: Johan Venegas, Felicio Brown, Joel Campbell, Alonso Martinez.
Honduras
GOALKEEPERS: Alex Barrios, Luis Lopez, Edrick Menjivar.
DEFENDERS: Kevin Alvarez, Maynor Figueroa, Marcelo Pereira, Ever Alvarado, Maylor Nunez, Elvin Casildo, Johnny Leveron, Diego Rodriguez.
MIDFIELDERS: Bryan Acosta, Edwin Rodriguez, Alex Lopez, Rigoberto Rivas, Boniek Garcia, Jonathan Rubio, Walter Martinez, Deybi Flores, Jhow Benavidez.
FORWARDS: Alberth Elis, Antony Lozano, Romell Quioto.
Costa Rica with the most MLS players, followed by Honduras who I’m giving the tie breaker with US because our 4th is our 3rd keeper and their’s are all field players. Mexico has two, but also has MLS alum Antuna.
i am convinced MLS is a destination like playing in Europe to many in the region; we’re the only country with a snob hangup on that, basically stale ideas of what the league was like dating back to the 2000s or 1990s
There’s no doubt that MLS has improved the region’s national teams.
It’s a jumping off point for aspiring Central Americans too, your guy Elis wasn’t going to get scouted at Olimpia but after a failed move at Monterrey, he was noticed at Houston. Aging Mexican players have found the security and DP salaries in the US appealing as well.
you have two layers. layer one is MLS/USL are a paying job for people whose domestic league may be semi-pro or amateur. so you professionalize several players who can then play against you, who might otherwise quit and get a day job for lack of compensation. layer two is the level seems to suffice for most of the rest of the region. layer three is it’s actually fairly hard for americans to start these days, at which point people paying attention might realize it’s almost a feather in your cap to play here now. MLS used to be the safety school for people who wanted to make sure they played. no longer. i almost think it’s too harsh and should be restricted to get more americans on the field.