UNITED STATES NATIONAL TEAM interim manager B.J. Callaghan today announced his 23-player roster for the 2023 Gold Cup which will run from June 24 through July 16 in venues in the USA and Canada. The U.S. team is the defending champion having won the tournament in 2021.

The tournament kicks off almost immediately after the Nations League tournament that will run through July 18.

Most of the European-based players who are already core to the national team were left off this team. It’s been a difficult season for many players and there are transfer rumors involving most of them. In such a pivotal offseason,

It will mostly be a completely different team as only five players will overlap from the Nations League roster: goalkeepers Sean Johnson and Matt Turner, central defender Miles Robinson, midfielder Alan Soñora, and winger Alex Zendejas.

But only six of the players on this team were part of the 2021 Gold Cup winning team: Matt Turner, Miles Robinson, Gianluca Busio, Cristian Roldan, James Sands, and Sean Johnson.

Here is the roster along with some of the thoughts:

USMNT Gold Cup Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (Toronto FC/CAN; 12/0), Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG; 1/0), Matt Turner (Arsenal/ENG; 26/0)

DEFENDERS (8): DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution; 2/0), Aaron Long (LAFC; 32/3), Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati; 23/1), Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy; 2/0), Bryan Reynolds (Roma/ITA; 3/0), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 21/3), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; 1/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami; 78/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 9/0), Djordje Mihailovic (AZ Alkmaar/NED; 6/1), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew; 2/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 32/3), James Sands (New York City FC; 8/0), Alan Soñora (FC Juárez/MEX; 2/0)

FORWARDS (6): Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; 3/0), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 18/8), Julian Gressel (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 2/0), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; 52/11), Brandon Vazquez (FC Cincinnati; 3/1), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 3/1)

Young players involved

The roster includes seven players who are eligible for the 2024 U.S. U-23 Olympic team.

Goalkeeper Gaga Slonina, central defender Jalen Neal, right back Bryan Reynolds, left back John Tolkin, midfielders Gianluca Busio and Aidan Morris, and winger Cade Cowell.

For these players, it is a great chance to use this tournament to cement their way into becoming the core of that team.

Particularly, Reynolds and Tolkin are likely the front runners to be the starting fullbacks in Paris next year. Tolkin, however, has even more on the line because the backup left back position on the full national team behind Antonee Robinson is not set. To date, the most used options have been using right backs out of position on the left side.  

Players missing

In terms of players missing from this team.

 There are explanations for some.

Regarding Hoffenheim central defender John Brooks, Callaghan made the following statement:

"We had a number of good conversations with John,” Callaghan said. “As a starting point, he reiterated his commitment to the national team program and how much it means to him. He is coming off a season at Hoffenheim where he was a key member of their fight to avoid relegation. This summer he will have the chance to participate in a full preseason with them for the first time, so we felt in this particular moment it’s best for him to take advantage of that opportunity and be performing at his highest level in the upcoming season to position himself to contribute to the national team in the future.”

Mark McKenzie is coming off a very strong start to the season with Genk. He was injured in the final game of the season and this report out of Belgium cast doubt on his involvement in the Gold Cup. But Callaghan did not issue a statement about his absence.

This report from Belgium says Mark McKenzie suffered a dislocated shoulder in Genk's last match of the season. He doesn't need surgery but the report paints a questionable picture over his possible #USMNT Gold Cup involvement. https://t.co/mxRfbBUf8l

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) June 7, 2023

Other surprising exclusions include Tanner Tessmann who had a very nice season with Venezia in Serie B and is also Olympic eligible.

Kellyn Acosta will miss both summer tournaments and he was one of the best players at the 2021 Gold Cup. But he has been carrying an injury lately at LAFC. The same with his teammate Timothy Tillman who recently completed his change of association switch from Germany to the United States.

Surprising inclusions

There were some surprising inclusions with some players you wouldn’t expect.

Alan Sonora is truly getting an extended look with the team at a time when he is not playing real minutes in Mexico with Club Juarez.

Gianluca Busio is also another player who arrives not just in a tough season, but one where his minutes have seriously declined at Venezia.

Miles Robinson is double shifting with the Nations League and the Gold Cup (unlike Walker Zimmerman), and this comes at a time when he is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. It leaves the impression that Atlanta is trying to increase his value so that they can get money for him before he leaves.

Overall thoughts

Based on how this roster has been discussed, it is about what we expected. There are so many concerns in the midfield. Busio and Sonora haven’t been battle tested recently and could struggle physically. Similarly, Djordje Mihailovic’s minutes have been up and down since he arrived at Alkmaar midway through the season (it seems as if heading into his first preseason with AZ, that he would want to be there to build a case for more minutes).

This is going to put a lot of stress on Cristian Roldan, Aidan Morris, and James Sands as the players who are playing regularly heading into the tournament.

For Aidan Morris, this is a big audition. He’s having a big season and had previously been set back by COVID and his ACL tear.

Brandan Vazquez also has a huge opportunity to build his resume. But the time is now for him because with Folarin Balogun joining the USMNT, center forward spots are now dwindling. With Balogun and Ricardo Pepi rising, the pressure is on players such as Haji Wright, Josh Sargent, Jesus Ferreira, and Vazquez to show their talents.

Finally, according to U.S. Soccer: “Six dual national players will be cap-tied to the United States should they appear in any match during the Gold Cup: Cade Cowell, Julian Gressel, Aidan Morris, Gaga Slonina, Alan Soñora and Brandon Vazquez.”