The U.S. men’s national team is continuing its preparation for the conclusion of the Concacaf Nations League tournament, but interim head coach B.J. Callaghan is already confident in his Gold Cup roster to get the job done later this summer.
Callaghan announced his 23-player final Gold Cup roster on Monday, providing several players with another opportunity to excel for the USMNT in a knockout competition. Several veteran pieces such as Matt Turner, Aaron Long, Jesus Ferreira, and Jordan Morris were all included in the roster while 11 players in total have Gold Cup experience under their belts.
With many of the European-based contingent receiving a short break before the start of their individual preseason camps, the focus will be on others to step up in a big way if the Americans want to repeat as tournament champions.
“It’s a roster that has a good mix of veteran players that have World Cup experience and younger players that have earned an opportunity to come into camp and represent the United States in the Gold Cup,” Callaghan said in a Q&A with U.S. Soccer following the roster release. “We’re trying to expose as many players as possible to tournament competition. Some have a lot of experiences that we continue to build on, while others are just starting out. In all cases it will be valuable for the group moving forward.
“Many of these players have performed well at their clubs as well as the previous opportunities that they’ve had when they’re in the national team environment,” he added. “This is a group that we have a lot of confidence in as we look to win another Gold Cup trophy.”
Out of the European-based players called in, several enjoyed positive seasons at club level to build off of in camp. Bryan Reynolds enjoyed a strong loan spell with Westerlo in the Belgian First Division while Djordje Mihialovic and Gabriel Slonina earned their first club experiences in the Netherlands and England respectively.
Gianluca Busio was in-and-out of the Venezia squad this season, but took another key step forward in his overall development.
Many MLS starters were also named to the USMNT roster including Brandon Vazquez, Julian Gressel, and John Tolkin, who all have enjoyed positive first halves in 2023. Others such as Jalen Neal and Cade Cowell will be hoping to make the most of the opportunity after graduating from the Under-20 team.
The USMNT will be joined by Jamaica, Nicaragua, and a preliminary round winner in Group A later this June, with hopes of rolling its way to the tournament final come July. Although the Americans’ schedule begins just six days after the Nations League Final, Callaghan remains confident in his squad’s ability to hit the ground running come June 24.
“Everything we’ve built over the last four years helps us and really comes together in a moment like this,” Callaghan said. “At the same time, even the younger players have been in our environment over the last couple of months and know what to expect. As long as we continue to keep things consistent then the expectation is that they will be able to pick up and gel as quickly as possible because they’re coming into a familiar environment and know the demands that are going to be placed on them.”