UNITED STATES national team interim head coach Anthony Hudson today announced his roster for the upcoming friendly against Mexico on April 19 (10pm EST, TBS) at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Of course, the game will be played outside of a FIFA window which means clubs are not required to release players for this camp. But last month, Hudson called in just one MLS-based player for the Nations League games which were during the international window, as MLS continued to schedule games. As a result, there was likely more cooperation from MLS teams for these games.

The roster is about what was expected. Each MLS-based player who was on the 2022 World Cup team is at this tournament along with Sergino Dest, who is in a difficult club position on loan at Milan. Three players are eligible for the U.S. U-20 World Cup team next month and those three along with Aidan Morris are eligible for the Olympic team.  

Between the U-20 World Cup, the U.S. U-23 team which will likely begin play later this year to build towards the Olympics, the Nations League, the Gold Cup, and fall friendlies, the U.S. team will need a lot of players over the next year.

Here is the roster as well as some thoughts.

The Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): Drake Callender (Inter Miami; 0/0), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Sean Johnson (Toronto FC/CAN; 11/0)

DEFENDERS (9): Sergiño Dest (AC Milan/ITA; 24/2), Aaron Long (LAFC; 31/3), Julian Gressel (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 2/0), Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati; 22/1), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC; 17/1), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United; 0/0), Joshua Wynder (Louisville City; 0/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami; 77/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 39/3)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Kellyn Acosta (LAFC; 57/2), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew; 2/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 32/0), James Sands (New York City FC; 7/0), Alan Soñora (FC Juárez/MEX; 2/0), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; 16/0)

FORWARDS (5): Paul Arriola (FC Dallas; 50/10), Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; 2/0), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 17/7), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; 51/11), Brandon Vazquez (FC Cincinnati; 2/1)

Acosta & Aidan Morris

Two players who have a lot at stake in this camp are Kellyn Acosta and Aidan Morris. Both players have had strong starts to their season and both have the ability to play the No. 6 defensive midfield position. The U.S. team is going to have a busy summer with the Nations League and the Gold Cup coming up and there are serious questions whether Tyler Adams will be able to play in either tournament after injuring his hamstring. Having a clear pecking order at the No. 6 has been a weakness for the U.S. team.

Acosta is still the more familiar option and he is playing well for an LAFC team that is flying. Acosta also has a very strong history of always playing well against Mexico. But is he still the right guy?

Meanwhile, Aidan Morris, 21, has been one of the breakout young players at the start of the MLS season. He was always considered a strong player and made huge impression in 2020 after getting the start at MLS Cup in place of the sick Darlington Nagbe. In 2021 he tore his ACL and then 2022 was about him returning to form. Now he is fully back and living up to his promising level. He seems like a strong candidate to play a role on the 2023 Olympic team but perhaps he is ready to help this summer.

Dest’s inclusion

Sergino Dest, 22, has been included in this roster despite it not being a FIFA international window. The U.S. national mainstay is simply out of favor with his club, AC Milan, which has no intention of playing him the remainder of this season. Dest is currently on loan at Milan from Barcelona and Barcelona will need to sell him this summer for budget reasons.

It’s a good opportunity for both Dest and the U.S. national team. Dest needs games and this will give him one. It will also be a great opportunity for him to take a break from being at a club that does not want him. At this camp, Dest will also get to play a leadership role as one of the normal first team starters.

Dest also has an important few months coming up in his pursuit of a new club and then also with the national team this summer. This should allow him to focus on soccer for a brief change as opposed to the very difficult season he has been involved in Italy.

Vazquez’s opportunity

One of the players who also has a huge opportunity is center forward Brandon Vazquez. The Cincinnati striker hasn’t been scoring at a torrid rate like last season, but he is still playing well and helping Cincinnati to a strong start this season.

The center forward position also has not been claimed on this team. Josh Sargent and Daryl Dike have cooled off recently. Ricardo Pepi is likely the starter now. It remains to be see where Haji Wright fits with the team and there is still no firm commitment from Folarin Balogun. But Vazquez showed an impressive ability to score last season in a number of different ways.

Vazquez is also being scouted. Last month, Borussia Monchengladbach’s sporting director even recently traveled stateside just to watch him. Can Vazquez use this opportunity against Mexico, where his parents are from, to step into the spotlight and impress the U.S. staff and scouts? It’s a great opportunity.

U.S. U-20 trio called

The United States U-20 national team is represented in this camp with the inclusion of San Jose winger Cade Cowell, Atlanta United left back and winger Caleb Wiley, and Louisville City central defender Josh Wynder.

While this is a good experience for these players, each should be expected to be at the U-20 World Cup starting next month as opposed to the summer tournaments with the first team. But all three have a good reason to be here.

Cowell is a starting winger for the Quakes and he had a strong January camp.

Wiley has been one of the top teenagers in MLS this season for Atlanta United. He is physical and can cover the left side well. He gives the option to play left back or left wing.

Wynder is one of the top 2005-born American players and he is also eligible for the next U-20 cycle. He is on the verge of forcing himself onto this current U-20 World Cup team next month. He also looks set to join Benfica next month once he turns 18.

Any other surprises?

There weren’t too many surprise exclusions. It’s tough to specifically pinpoint because players are not required to be released for this tournament. We know Miles Robinson would not be called up for this after he participated in the Nations League March camp.

It was a little surprising that Hudson only took three U.S. U-20 players and only four eligible for the Olympics. I thought that number was low – but we also don’t know exactly who was released and completely healthy. Brian Gutierrez seemed to have a strong case after he has helped Chicago off to a nice start to the season. John Tolkin likely would have been involved if he was healthy, but he has missed the last few games with the Red Bulls. It’s not clear if Jalen Neal was not released after he played in January.

In terms of surprise inclusions, Alan Sonora call-up was interesting given that he has been off to a very slow start with FC Juarez in Liga MX. Drake Callender earned his first call-up as Inter Miami head coach Phil Neville had been publicly supporting for him to get called up since the start of the season.

In terms of a return to the team after a lengthy absence, I was most surprised by Jackson Yueill’s return he’s done well to start this year under Luchi Gonzalez but I would have guessed Hudson would have wanted to look at others – perhaps Josh Attencio, Frankie Amaya, or Paxton Pomykal.

There was some speculation that Timothy Tillman, now at LAFC and brother of U.S. national team midfielder Malik Tillman, would have been added but he would need to file a one-time switch with FIFA after appearing in official youth games with Germany. There has been no announcement from U.S. Soccer that he has filed.