BERHALTER SELECTS 23-PLAYER USMNT TRAINING CAMP ROSTER AHEAD OF OCTOBER MATCHES AGAINST GERMANY AND GHANA
Strong, Consistent Roster Selected to Face World-Class Opponents to Continue Building Progress Towards 2026 FIFA World Cup
CHICAGO (Oct. 5, 2023) – U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter has selected the 23-player USMNT training camp roster that will prepare for the upcoming high-profile friendlies against four-time World Cup champion Germany and African powerhouse Ghana. Players will begin reporting to Nashville on Oct. 8 for training.
First up is USA-Germany, presented by AT&T, on Saturday, Oct. 14 in East Hartford, Conn. Kickoff from Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field is set for 3 p.m. ET and the match will be available live on TNT, Telemundo and Peacock. Three days later, the USA takes on the Black Stars in its first visit to GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tenn. [TICKETS] The match will kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET and be available on TNT, Universo and Peacock. Live Spanish-language audio for both matches will also be available on Futbol de Primera.
Fans will also be able to follow the matches via Facebook, Twitter @USMNT, Instagram @USMNT and the official U.S. Soccer App.
Germany boasts talent from some of the top clubs in Europe and are preparing to host the 2024 UEFA European Championship. Ghana has twice knocked the United States out of World Cups (2006, 2010) and will be seeking their first win on U.S. soil in the all-time series.
The roster represents significant continuity, with a total of 19 of the 23 players heading to Nashville that featured on the roster last month for the consecutive shutout victories against Uzbekistan and Oman. There are 13 players who helped the U.S. reach the Round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 15 players that were a part of the squad that claimed its second consecutive Concacaf Nations League title this past June.
“In line with our long-term strategic approach towards 2026, we have a great opportunity to play against two world-class opponents and continue to progress our group of players,” Berhalter said. “We are focused on selecting strong rosters and maintaining continuity as much as possible, and this is another important building block.”
DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (Club/Country; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 9/0), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 33/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 12/0), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 28/2), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution; 7/0), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 2/0), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 52/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 12/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 26/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 6/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional/BRA; 7/0), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 17/0), Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim/GER; 0/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 46/11), Yunus Musah (AC Milan/ITA; 29/0), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 20/4), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED;64/0)
FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin/GER; 34/8), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 4/2), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; 1/0), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 18/9), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 62/26), Tim Weah (Juventus/ITA; 33/5)
ON THE BIG STAGE
USMNT players continue to gain seasoning at the elite level of European soccer, with a total of eight players from this roster on clubs currently taking part in the UEFA Champions League: Sergiño Dest, Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven); Yunus Musah and Christian Pulisic (AC Milan); Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin), Cameron Carter Vickers (Celtic), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund).
LIGHTING THE LAMP
With 38 goals scored through 14 matches this year, U.S. goalscorers have been varied. Seven of the 13 players who have found the back of the net for the USMNT in 2023 are on this roster: Ricardo Pepi (6), Christian Pulisic (4), Brenden Aaronson (2), Folarin Balogun (2), Weston McKennie (2), Chris Richards (1), Tim Weah (1)
THE BUDDY SYSTEM
The roster features four sets of club teammates, all of which come from European sides:
PSV Eindhoven (Dest, Pepi, Tillman), AC Milan (Musah, Pulisic), Juventus (McKennie, Weah) and Nottingham Forest (Horvath, Turner).
The PSV trio all joined former U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Earnie Stewart in Eindhoven this summer. Christian Pulisic – who already has three goals and an assist in his seven Serie A appearances this season – was followed by Yunus Musah to Milan, while Weah linked up with McKennie in Turin. Matt Turner moved from Arsenal to Nottingham Forest, meeting up with Evan Horvath, who returned from a successful promotion campaign with Luton Town in the English Championship.
BERHALTER BACK
Gregg Berhalter resumed the role of head coach last month after being re-hired on June 16 of this year. The first USMNT head coach to have played for the USA at a FIFA World Cup, Berhalter has amassed of 39-11-12 record in 62 matches during four years as head coach. After becoming the second-fastest manager in team history to achieve double-digit victories (17 games), he led the team to back-to-back confederation championships in 2021, defeating Mexico in both the inaugural Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup finals, utilizing almost two completely different rosters in the process.
Deploying the youngest roster in the world during World Cup Qualifying, the USMNT qualified for Qatar 2022 and advanced to the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup with the second youngest team at the tournament while recording multiple shutouts on the world stage for the first time since 1930.
FACING THE GERMAN GIANTS
While the USMNT holds a 4-7-0 record against the four-time World Cup champs, the team has been successful in two of the last three matches. The USA defeated Die Mannschaft 4-3 in U.S. Soccer’s Centennial Celebration Match on June 2, 2013, in Washington, D.C. Two years later in Cologne, Germany, a late game-winner from Bobby Wood lifted the USA to a 2-1 win on June 10, 2015 -- less than a year after they captured the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The teams have also met three times in World Cup competition, with the USA falling 2-1 in 1998 before the Germans ended the USA’s farthest run in a World Cup in 72 years by snatching a 1-0 win in the quarterfinal of the 2002 tournament. The U.S. also narrowly surrendered a 1-0 win in the last match of group play during Germany’s run to the 2014 World Cup title.
ALL EVEN AGAINST THE BLACK STARS
Having met four times in their history, the series is perfectly split with each side collecting two wins with matching 2-1 score lines. Remarkably, three of the four meetings have taken place in World Cups, with Ghana getting the edge in the 2006 and 2010 while the USA snatched the opening group game in 2014 in Brazil. Most recently, first-time goal scorers Kellyn Acosta and Dom Dwyer along with a penalty save by goalkeeper Brad Guzan lifted the USA to a 2-1 win on July 1, 2017, in Hartford – the same venue of the upcoming Germany game. Always one of the top contenders in African football, Ghana has qualified for four of the past five World Cups.
ROSTER NOTES
- The roster will average 24 years, 59 days as of the first day of training on October 9.
- The squad averages 20 caps overall.
- Nineteen players took part in the USMNT’s September camp.
- The roster is made up of 13 players that were part of the USMNT side at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 15 players helped the USA claim its second consecutive Concacaf Nations League titles this past June.
- With 62 appearances, Christian Pulisic is the leading cap-winner on the roster, followed by Tim Ream (52), Weston McKennie (46), Brenden Aaronson (34), Matt Turner and Tim Weah (33 each).
- The 23 players ply their trade in nine different countries: Germany (5), Italy (5), England (4), Netherlands (3), USA (2), Brazil (1), France (1), Scotland (1), Spain (1).
- Gio Reyna returns after recovering from the leg injury suffered during June’s Concacaf Nations League Final victory against Canada.
- Center back Cameron Carter-Vickers will take part in his first camp since the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
- Midfielder Johnny Cardoso, who also last appeared in the CNL Final against Canada, also returns to the squad after having to withdraw from September camp due to injury.
- Midfielder Lennard Maloney is the lone first-time call-up to October camp. The German-American dual national has appeared in all six Bundesliga matches for newly promoted Heidenheim this season. Maloney made two appearances for the U.S. U-20 MYNT in 2018 and has also previously played for Germany’s U-18 and U-19 sides.
- Should he appear in either match during the October window, 20-year-old Yunus Musah would be just the fourth USMNT player to reach 30 caps before their 21st birthday. Only Jozy Altidore, Christian Pulisic and Landon Donovan have previously hit 30 caps before age 21.
- Eight players are on clubs currently taking part in the UEFA Champions League: Sergiño Dest, Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven); Yunus Musah and Christian Pulisic (AC Milan); Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin), Cameron Carter Vickers (Celtic), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund).
- Seven players on the roster have found the back of the net for the USMNT in 2023: Ricardo Pepi (6), Christian Pulisic (4), Brenden Aaronson (2), Folarin Balogun (2), Weston McKennie (2), Chris Richards (1), Tim Weah (1)
- With strikes against Uzbekistan and Oman, Ricardo Pepi has six goals in as many matches this year. Pepi now has four goals as a substitute in 2023, setting a new record for most goals by a USMNT substitute in one calendar year.
- Twelve players are products of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy: Brenden Aaronson, Luca de la Torre, Ethan Horvath, Weston McKennie, Kevin Paredes, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Chris Richards, Miles Robinson, Joe Scally and Tim Weah.
- Nine players are products of Major League Soccer Academies. The FC Dallas trio of Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi and Chris Richards lead the way, following Gio Reyna and Joe Scally (New York City FC), Brenden Aaronson (Philaldephia Union), Kevin Paredes (D.C. United) and Tim Weah (New York Red Bulls).
