U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter has called 28 players to Columbus to prepare for the trio of games, it was announced Friday.
Players will begin reporting to camp this weekend.
Included on the roster were several key players – midfielders Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams, and forwards Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi, Tim Weah and Brenden Aaronson.
The USMNT will kick off the three-match winter window with USA-El Salvador on Jan. 27 at Lower.com Field in Columbus (7 p.m. ET; ESPN2, UniMás, TUDN). Three days later, the USMNT travels to take on group leaders Canada in Hamilton, Ontario (3 p.m. ET; Paramount+, Telemundo, Universo).
The Americans then head home for a Feb. 2 encounter with Honduras at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn. (7:30 p.m. ET; FS1, Univision, TUDN).
With six matches remaining, the USMNT sits in second place in the Octagonal standings with 15 points and a 4-1-3 record.
The top three teams in the group earn automatic qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The matches are scheduled during a FIFA international window, making all players available for selection. While teams can summon a larger group, the game day roster for World Cup Qualifiers may only include 23 players.
Of the 28 players, 23 were part of the USMNT’s November WCQ roster.
Veteran defender DeAndre Yedlin (71) is the leading cap winner on the roster, followed by Gyasi Zardes (66), Kellyn Acosta (45), Paul Arriola and Christian Pulisic (42 each).
Weston McKennie (yellow card accumulation) and Miles Robinson (red card) return to the qualifying roster after missing out on the Nov. 16 match at Jamaica due to suspension.
McKennie returns to the USMNT fold after scoring two goals in his last two matches for Juventus. The 23-year-old also became the youngest U.S. international to achieve 50 Serie A appearances during the club’s 2-0 win over Udinese.
After missing out on the November camp through injury, Sergiño Dest returns to the USMNT roster as it convenes in Columbus. In the team’s last visit to Lower.com Field, the full back scored what ended up being the team’s Goal of the Year, leading the comeback in the USA’s 2-1 win past Costa Rica on Oct. 13, 2021.
Jordan Morris received his first World Cup qualifying summons since September 2017. The veteran forward made his first USMNT appearance in more than two years during last month’s 1-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 9/0), Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 26/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 13/0)
DEFENDERS (9): Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 22/1), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona/ESP; 15/2), Brooks Lennon (Atlanta United; 1/0), Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 8/0), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim/GER; 6/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 19/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 15/3), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray/TUR; 71/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 23/2)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kellyn Acosta (LAFC; 45/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 22/1), Luca de la Torre (Heracles/NED; 4/0), Sebastian Lletget (New England Revolution; 33/8), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 28/8), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 11/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 30/0)
FORWARDS (8): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/AUT; 15/5), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 42/8), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 5/2), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; 40/10), Ricardo Pepi (Augsburg/GER; 7/3), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 42/17), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 18/2), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew; 66/14)
