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Jun 24, 2024

Gregg Berhalter names veteran squad for first matches back as USMNT coach

Gregg Berhalter set his first U.S. men’s national soccer team roster since he was reappointed this summer, and Gio Reyna, the rising star at the center of Berhalter’s extended absence, was omitted

Gregg Berhalter set his first U.S. men’s national soccer team roster since he was reappointed this summer, and Gio Reyna, the rising star at the center of Berhalter’s extended absence, was omitted while recovering from injury.

Naming a 24-man roster Wednesday for friendlies against Uzbekistan on Sept. 9 in St. Louis and Oman on Sept. 12 in St. Paul, Minn., Berhalter turned to 12 players from the World Cup squad he led to the round of 16 last fall in Qatar, including standouts Matt Turner, Sergiño Dest, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah.

“Watching the team from the outside in these last six months, it’s been very clear that there’s a strong identity both on and off the field,” Berhalter said. “That’s one of the exciting things is that we continue to build on this strong foundation.”

Reyna, who suffered a calf injury during his dominant first-half performance in the United States’ victory over Canada in June’s Concacaf Nations League final, will not participate after recently returning to full training with Germany’s Borussia Dortmund. Goalkeepers Zack Steffen and Sean Johnson, defenders Walker Zimmerman and Cameron Carter-Vickers, midfielder Tyler Adams and forward Taylor Booth also were left out because of injury or fitness concerns, a U.S. Soccer spokesperson said.

The friendlies will be the first matches coached by Berhalter since the World Cup loss to the Netherlands in December. U.S. Soccer allowed Berhalter’s contract to expire several weeks later amid his rift with Reyna’s family that spilled into public view and prompted an independent investigation into his behavior, following an admission that he kicked his future wife decades ago while they were students at the University of North Carolina. U.S. Soccer said in March that the probe cleared Berhalter of additional wrongdoing and that there was “no legal impediment” to employing him. In June, the federation announced Berhalter’s return.

After recently telling Vanity Fair that he had not spoken to Reyna since the World Cup, Berhalter on Wednesday addressed the need to clear the air.

“Those are conversations that I look forward to, and it’s just understanding sensitivities around it,” Berhalter said. “He’s a young player. I think for everyone involved it’s been a lot for the last six months, and we just want to do it in the best possible way to put him in position to help the team.”

In Berhalter’s absence, interim coach B.J. Callaghan led the United States through a pair of regional competitions: the Concacaf Nations League finals and the Concacaf Gold Cup. The first-string U.S. team swept aside Mexico and Canada en route to defending its Nations League title in June, while a more experimental squad was upset by Panama in July’s Gold Cup semifinals.

Folarin Balogun, the newly acquired Monaco striker who made his international debut in June after choosing the United States over England and Nigeria, will be playing his first matches under Berhalter. He will be joined by another recently committed dual-national: Kristoffer Lund, a left back for second-tier Italian club Palermo who is making a one-time switch to the U.S. program after representing Denmark at the youth level.

“We think that he could potentially fill the void that we had at the left back position in terms of our depth,” Berhalter said. “That’s something that we’ve struggled at for a while. Antonee Robinson has been the clear starter, is a fantastic player, but no one’s really grabbed that second position.”

Three players will join Lund in seeking their first caps: goalkeeper Drake Callender and Argentine-American midfielder Ben Cremaschi — Inter Miami players lifted by that club’s Lionel Messi-inspired surge — and left back Kevin Paredes, a D.C. United academy product who plays for Germany’s Wolfsburg.

Berhalter summoned just three players from the Gold Cup squad for this camp — Turner, defender Miles Robinson and forward Cade Cowell — while right back Bryan Reynolds, midfielder Gianluca Busio and striker Jesús Ferreira were omitted.

These matches, along with October’s exhibitions against Germany and Ghana, will serve as tuneups for the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals in November. That two-leg series, against an opponent to be determined, will double as qualifying for next summer’s Copa América in the United States. (Despite hosting, the United States does not automatically qualify.)

Berhalter also announced that Callaghan, U.S. under-20 men’s coach Mikey Varas and Borussia Mönchengladbach goalkeepers coach Fabian Otte will be on his staff. Isaac Oriol Guerrero, a longtime Barcelona youth coach now with Italian club Venezia, is in final talks to join the staff as well, Berhalter said.

Goalkeepers: Drake Callender (Inter Miami), Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest).

Defenders: Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg), Tim Ream (Fulham), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach).

Midfielders: Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Ben Cremaschi (Inter Miami), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven).

Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Juventus).