The U.S. men's national team's Nov. 12 date with Mexico in a FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifier at TQL Stadium will be going to be right up there with some of the most memorable and unique nights in Cincinnati sports history.
Part of that is due to the star power USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter is calling into his November camp ahead of two upcoming qualifiers, the first of which will take place at FC Cincinnati's first-year venue.
Four days later, the USMNT will face Jamaica.
More:As the USMNT-Mexico match at TQL Stadium approaches, here's what you need to know.
U.S. Soccer unveiled the 25-player roster Thursday, and it's complete with players representing some of the biggest clubs and league in the world.
Included in the roster are Christian Pulisic of Chelsea FC in England's Premier League, Tim Weah of defending French champions Lille, and Weston McKennie of traditional Italian power, Juventus.
FC Cincinnati fans should also be familiar with plenty of the names included. The roster features 10 active MLS players and all 10 have faced Cincinnati over its time in the league.
Berhalter's roster also includes former MLS players that have effectively graduated to European competition including former Philadelphia Union players Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg in Austria) and Mark McKenzie (Genk in Belgium), FC Dallas' Reggie Cannon (Boavista in Portugal), Sporting Kansas City's Gianluca Busio (Venezia in Italy), and others.
More:FC Cincinnati takeaways: Has anything gone right recently? Yes, for some.
Aaronson, McKenzie and Busio all previously played against FC Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium.
The biggest exclusions from the roster for this window included Barcelona's Sergiño Dest due to injury and defender John Brooks, who has been out of form for his club, VFL Wolfsburg.
DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION
(CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS):
GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 9/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 24/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 12/0).
DEFENDERS (9): Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 22/1), Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 8/0), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim/GER; 4/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 17/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 14/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 0/0), Sam Vines (Royal Antwerp/BEL; 8/1), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray/TUR; 69/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 20/2).
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 42/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 20/1), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 7/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 33/8), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 27/7), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 9/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 29/0).
FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/AUT; 13/5), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 41/8), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 2/2), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; 4/3), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 40/16), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 16/1).
With the match in Cincinnati kicking off the upcoming two-match window of qualifiers, the city and its soccer infrastructure will serve a critical role for the national team.
Players are set to begin arriving in the Queen City on Sunday, U.S. Soccer officials said, and will train locally leading up to the Nov. 12 game against Mexico.
USMNT enters this round of matches in World Cup qualifying for the Concacaf region, which features eight nations, in second place on a (3-1-2, 11 points). Mexico (4-0-2, 14 points) is leading the group.
USMNT don't have to win the eight-team group to reach the FIFA 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar. The aim is to finish within the top three places in what some soccer journalists are calling "the Octagonal."
A top-three finish guarantees an automatic spot in the group stage of the Qatar World Cup. The fourth place finisher in the group of eight advances to a two-leg playoff against a nation from another FIFA region in the world.
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