Folarin Balogun headlines USMNT roster for CONCACAF Nations League finals
Folarin Balogun headlines the U.S. men’s national team roster for the upcoming CONCACAF Nations League finals as the newly-committed forward appears set to make his debut after filing a one-time switch to represent the country.
Balogun, who has scored 20 goals on loan at Reims in France’s Ligue 1, committed to the U.S. over England and Nigeria last month. The Arsenal striker turns 22 on July 3 and becomes yet another exciting young player to join a core that advanced to the Round of 16 in last fall’s World Cup.
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The U.S. will face rival Mexico in the Nations League semifinals on June 15 in Las Vegas. Should they win, they would advance to play the winner of Panama-Canada in the Nations League final on June 18.
The roster includes 13 players from the roster that went to the World Cup in Qatar, including star winger Christian Pulisic, winger Tim Weah and midfielders Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Gio Reyna. Several players from that team were not available due to injury, most notably captain Tyler Adams, center back Tim Ream and forward Josh Sargent.
Other 2022 World Cup members included in this roster are goalkeepers Matt Turner and Sean Johnson; defenders Sergiño Dest, Antonee Robinson, Joe Scally and Walker Zimmerman; midfielder Luca de la Torre; and forward Brenden Aaronson.
The U.S. will be competing under interim manager B.J. Callaghan, the second interim manager for the U.S. in the last six months. Previous interim manager Anthony Hudson stepped down to take a job with a club in the Middle East, according to multiple sources. The USMNT has been without a full-time manager since Gregg Berhalter’s contract expired at the end of 2022. New sporting director Matt Crocker said he hopes to have a hire in place by August.
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Balogun will compete at the No. 9 spot against Ricardo Pepi, the 20-year-old striker who was controversially left off the roster for Qatar. Pepi has 12 goals and three assists this season on loan with Groningen in the Dutch Eredivisie and has attracted attention from some of the top teams in Holland, including PSV and Feyenoord, as he looks for a potential move away from Augsburg.
The roster includes some interesting names, including Maccabi Haifa goalkeeper Josh Cohen, who worked his way up through the USL before making a move to Israel and eventually playing in the Champions League. Players represent clubs in 10 different countries: England (7), USA (3), France (2), Germany (2), Mexico (2), Netherlands (2), Spain (2), Brazil (1), Canada (1), Israel (1) and Italy (1).
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Chris Richards is back in the U.S. camp for the first time since being injured in January 2022 in a World Cup qualifier in Canada. The center back played just nine games this season with Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
With Adams not on the roster, midfielders Johnny Cardoso, who plays professionally with Internacional in Brazil, and Alan Soñora, who features at FC Juarez in Mexico, will try to make a claim on the No. 6 role. De la Torre played there earlier this year but typically plays in a higher role.
Other players that are not available for selection due to injury include goalkeepers Zack Steffen and Ethan Horvath, forward Daryl Dike, center back Cameron Carter-Vickers and midfielder Malik Tillman.
Notably, Reyna is listed as a midfielder on the roster, meaning he will likely feature in a central role. Taylor Booth, meanwhile, was listed as a forward, meaning he will more likely be deployed as a winger in this camp.
Eight players were part of the roster that claimed the inaugural 2021 CONCACAF Nations League title: Aaronson, Dest, McKennie, Musah, Pulisic, Reyna, Robinson and Weah.
Detailed roster by position (Club/Country; Caps/Goals)
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),
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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)
The team will begin gathering for camp on June 4 in Los Angeles.
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(Photo: Sylvain Lefevre / Getty Images)
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