The U.S. men's national soccer team is preparing to resume its 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, and the players involved in the upcoming international window of matches was named Wednesday.
U.S. Soccer and head coach Gregg Berhalter unveiled the 27-man roster set to report to Austin, where qualifying continues Oct. 2 at Q2 Stadium against Jamaica.
Three days later, the Americans travel to face Panama at Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City before closing out the window in Columbus at Lower.com Field in Oct. 13 against Costa Rica.
More:Cincinnati, TQL Stadium to host US-Mexico 2022 World Cup qualifier
The USMNT sits at 1-0-2 and five points in the "octagonal" World Cup qualifying pool that includes Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico and Panama.
The top three finishers from that group advance directly to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and the Americans are tied for second place with Canada on points (five) and goal difference.
The qualification process is of added interest to the Cincinnati region with the Oct. 13th match in nearby Columbus and the Nov. 12 match against Mexico scheduled to be held at FC Cincinnati's TQL Stadium.
Detailed Roster by Position (Club/Country; Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 9/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 23/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 10/0)DEFENDERS (10): George Bello (Atlanta United; 4/0), John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 45/3), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona/ESP; 13/1), Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 7/0), Shaq Moore (Tenerife/ESP; 11/1), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 46/1), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim/GER; 3/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 15/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 12/2), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray/TUR; 67/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 40/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 17/1), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 6/0), Luca de la Torre (Heracles/NED: 3/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 32/8), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 25/7), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 6/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 28/0)
FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/AUT; 10/5), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 8/0), Matthew Hoppe (Mallorca/ESP; 5/1), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; 1/1), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 13/1), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew; 62/14)
Included in the USMNT call-ups is Weston McKennie, the former MLS star and Juventus (Italy) player. McKennie was sent home from the last round of qualifiers for violating team policies.
Chelsea FC's Christian Pulisic (ankle) and Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna (hamstring), thought to be America's top two male attacking talents, were excluded from call-ups due to injuries.
This round of call-ups includes eight newcomers, including Matthew Hoppe (Mallorca, Spain), D.C. United’s Paul Arriola and the Columbus Crew’s Gyasi Zardes.
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