Christian Pulisic during training at the World Cup. (USA TODAY Sports)
Well, it looks like Christian Pulisic will finally get some playing time.
That’s because he was one of 24 players named to the U.S. men’s national team roster for the Concacaf Nations League final four later this month.
Pulisic had all but been ignored at his club, Chelsea, during the waning weeks of the English Premier League season.
USMNT head coach B.J. Callaghan announced his selections on Thursday afternoon. The players will begin reporting to Los Angeles on Sunday for training camp. The 23-player final roster is not official until submitted to Concacaf, which is required no later than June 5.
The USMNT will defend back-to-back titles this summer, beginning with the Concacaf Nations League. Set for June 15-18 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the 2022-23 CNL Final Four will pit the USA against rivals Mexico in a rematch of the thrilling 2021 championship match in which extra time heroics from Pulisic and Ethan Horvath guided the USMNT to a memorable 3-2 win against El Trí in Denver. The winner of the USA-Mexico clash on June 15 (10 p.m. ET; Paramount+, Univision) will take on the winner of the Panama-Canada semifinal in the championship match, while the two semifinal losers will play for third place. Both matches will be contested on June 18 with the third-place match taking place at 6 p.m. ET followed by the final at 8:30 p.m. ET (Paramount+, Univision).
“In addition to having big-game experience and top-level talent, what’s great about this group overall is the familiarity and understanding that’s been built together these last four years about our style and our culture,” Callaghan said in statement. “We’re excited to integrate some of the newer faces as we set out to achieve our first goal of the summer in defending the Concacaf Nations League title.”
The roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): Drake Callender (Inter Miami; 0/0), Josh Cohen (Maccabi Haifa/ISR; 0/0), Sean Johnson (Toronto FC/CAN; 12/0), Matt Turner (Arsenal/ENG; 26/0)
DEFENDERS (7): Sergiño Dest (AC Milan/ITA; 24/2), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 8/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 34/2), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 21/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 4/0), Auston Trusty (Birmingham City/ENG; 1/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 39/3)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional/BRA; 6/0), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 14/0), Weston McKennie (Leeds United/ENG; 43/11), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 25/0), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 18/4), Alan Soñora (FC Juárez/MEX; 2/0),
FORWARDS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 30/7), Folarin Balogun (Stade Reims/FRA; 0/0), Taylor Booth (Utrecht/NED; 2/0), Ricardo Pepi (Groningen/NED; 14/6), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 58/23), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 29/4), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 3/1)