USMNT roster: Josh Sargent, Alfredo Morales, Brad Guzan return for Mexico/Uruguay friendlies
U.S. men’s national team fans clamoring for fresh faces ahead of next week’s friendly-in-name-only match against rival Mexico and another exhibition against Uruguay Sept. 9 won’t be disappointed by Gregg Berhalter’s latest roster — even if some of the names on the coach’s list aren’t new.
The USMNT boss called up 26 players on Wednesday ahead of the two tilts. Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic headlines the squad, which did not include veterans Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley or injured quartet Tyler Adams, Matt Miazga, Tim Weah and DeAndre Yedlin.
But fellow vets Brad Guzan and Alfredo Morales were summoned for the first time under Berhalter, teenage striker Josh Sargent returned after being overlooked for the Gold Cup earlier this summer, and former youth national teamers Sergino Dest, Paxton Pomykal and Miles Robinson received their first senior invites.
Here’s the full roster:
Goalkeepers: Jesse Gonzalez, FC Dallas; Brad Guzan, Atlanta United; Sean Johnson, New York City FC; Zack Steffen, Fortuna Dusseldorf (Germany)
Defenders: John Brooks, Wolfsburg (Germany); Reggie Cannon, FC Dallas; Sergino Dest, Ajax (Netherlands); Nick Lima, San Jose Earthquakes; Aaron Long, New York Red Bulls; Daniel Lovitz, Montreal Impact; Tim Ream, Fulham (England); Miles Robinson, Atlanta United; Walker Zimmerman, LAFC
Midfielders: Sebastian Lletget, LA Galaxy; Weston McKennie, Schalke (Germany); Alfredo Morales, Fortuna Dusseldorf (Germany); Paxton Pomykal, FC Dallas; Cristian Roldan, Seattle Sounders; Wil Trapp, Columbus Crew; Jackson Yueill, San Jose Earthquakes
Forwards: Corey Baird, Real Salt Lake; Tyler Boyd, Besiktas (Turkey); Jordan Morris, Seattle Sounders; Christian Pulisic, Chelsea (England), Josh Sargent, Werder Bremen (Germany); Gyasi Zardes, Columbus Crew
The 20-year-old Pulisic has played as a midfielder in most of his 31 international appearances, but he’s listed as a forward this time around, suggesting a more advanced role.
“He’s a great attacking player and we want to put him in position to affect the game,” Berhalter said.
The coach also indicated that Guzan, a veteran of two World Cups, would’ve been summoned earlier this year — Berhalter’s first at the helm — but wasn’t because of conflicts with his club team.
“Brad is a guy that I have a ton of respect for – respect for his career, but more importantly, respect for what type of guy he is,” Berhalter said. “He’s a guy that we tried to get involved in January camp and Atlanta had some Champions League games that took precedent there, but we’re excited to bring him back.”
The last of Morales’s 13 caps came in 2016. But he’s been excellent through two Bundesliga matches this season, scoring a goal against Bayer Leverkusen over the weekend.
“He’s done such a good job with Fortuna Dusseldorf, not only through the first two Bundesliga games, but we’ve seen reports from preseason where he’s been an outstanding player,” Berhalter said of Morales. “It’s nice to give a guy a reward like that – an opportunity because of how he’s performing at his club.”
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