ON SUNDAY, United States national team interim head coach Mikey Varas announced a 24-player roster for the upcoming friendlies against Canada and New Zealand. The roster is mostly full strength although a few key players were left off.

This will be the team’s first set of games since the ill-fated Copa America campaign where the team did not advance out of group play. Following that tournament, U.S. Soccer fired head coach Gregg Berhalter but is yet to announce his replacement – with former Tottenham, PSG, and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino widely reported to be the front-runner.

In terms of key absences, Weston McKennie will not be with the team as he missed all of preseason with Juventus due to a contractual dispute but ended up signing a new deal with the legendary Italian club.  Also, Antonee Robinson was left off as Varas said: “[Robinson] has been playing banged up for the last year, and the best thing for him at this moment is to stay back, reset, and get ready for a long, grueling Premier League season.”

There is also Cameron Carter-Vickers who has been dealing with a toe injury. This window was seen as a chance to let it heal properly.

These absences are combined with noted injuries to Tyler Adams, Tim Weah, and Sergino Dest as well as younger fringe players like Kevin Paredes and Gianluca Busio.

First the roster, and then some thoughts on it.

USMNT Roster for September

(Club/Country; Caps/Goals) 

GOALKEEPERS (4): Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City/WAL; 9/0), Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona II/ESP; 0/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 1/0), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG; 44/0) 

DEFENDERS (8): Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 2/0), Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege/BEL; 0/0), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 3/0), Mark McKenzie (Tolouse/FRA; 13/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 61/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 21/1), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 11/0), Caleb Wiley (Strasbourg/FRA; 2/0) 

MIDFIELDERS (6): Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 15/0), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 22/0), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 5/0), Yunus Musah (AC Milan; ITA; 39/0), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 31/8), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 12/0) 

FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 42/8), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 15/5), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 28/10), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 71/30), Josh Sargent (Norwich City/ENG; 25/5), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 11/4)  

Much continuity & Pochettino motivation

The USMNT has had a tough year. The team had a disappointing Copa America and did not advance out of a group, where it was seeded, and where it played on home soil. It’s a results-oriented business and that cost Gregg Berhalter his job.

Despite those failures, there was not a huge turnover for this roster. Most of the same players remain unless the players are injured (Robinson, Weah, Dest, Adams) or missed most of the preseason due to transfer or contract issues (McKennie).

Is it the right thing for a one-window interim manager like Varas to be the one being the process of making massive changes or sending messages with a big shakeup? Probably not. A coach who swings the wrecking ball needs to be the one to pickup the pieces to build what comes next.

That then raises the question over what can possibly be accomplished this window? If Varas is one-window coach, the players have to know that the next coach will be watching these games – either at the stadium or on television. If the players are out there and look unmotivated, or still upset about what transpired this summer, then they run the risks of not being part of the first steps under the new coach.

This is part of what went wrong with the U.S. team after Qatar. The team got stale. Berhalter tried to roll with the same group of players for a very long time. Players were getting called up despite bad form. The competition for minutes and roster spots did not seem as intense.

There are less than two years to go until the World Cup. It’s a poorly kept secret that Mauricio Pochettino is likely to be the next USMNT manager. Getting off on the right foot is imperative for players. Otherwise, they’re running the risk of being on the outside looking in.

In terms of what to expect, it would not be a stretch to expect that the USMNT players are going to play with a sense of urgency with the realization that call-ups might to be as automatic anymore.

Form concerns

Unfortunately for many of the U.S. national team players, there are too many issues with regards to their status at their respective clubs. Performing well against Canada and New Zealand is good, but being part of this team (likely under Pochettino) will come down to playing well at the club level.

With this roster, the lost is not short of players who are not in a great place.

Gio Reyna: He did not leave Borussia Dortmund this summer and there are questions whether he is in the plans at the German club. The reports in Germany have said different things. But Reyna has not exceeded 650 minutes in any of his last three seasons.

Luca de la Torre: it was reported Celta Vigo wanted to sell him this summer, but there were not many takers at the asking price. What can we expect from him this season? He seems like a prime candidate to be replaced on the USMNT roster if he doesn’t play – and he doesn’t seem wanted by Celta Vigo after being part of two relegation battles after joining the club from Heracles – which was relegated out of the Eredivisie.

Matt Turner: After crashing out at Nottingham Forest, he is now on loan at Crystal Palace where he will likely be the No. 2. But what happens if Patrick Schulte has a good camp? Or if other emerging options play, and play well? Pochettino or any other manager might not just hand the USMNT starting job to a keeper who doesn’t play.

Folarin Balogun: The USMNT striker saw his goal production in Ligue 1 go from 21 to seven last year. He has looked ordinary to start 2024/25. He’s not trending positively, and he could run into a bad spot at Monaco unless things turn around.

Ricardo Pepi: The recent injury to Luuk de Jong might changes things, but Pepi has been limited to just garbage minutes at PSV and most of his games come when the game is already decided. With a new coaching staff coming, he will likely feel pressure to be in a club situation where he handles more responsibility to be on the field at important times.

Notable newcomers

There are several players on the team who are either in camp for the first time, or for the first time in a long time. These players have a lot to gain at this camp with the next coaching staff potentially taking note or watching.

Aidan Morris: is one of the top newcomers at this camp and the central midfielder has had a great year. He’s won MLS Cup with Columbus, then he led the Crew to a run to the CONCACAF Champions Cup final. Then he sealed his move to Middlesbrough. That kept him off the Olympic team but it also allowed him to participate in Boro’s preseason where he has been very sharp to start the season.

Morris has a big opening on the team with McKennie out, Adams injured, and de la Torre in club limbo. If he has a good camp and other players are struggling, he might just be on the inside of the team with the new management.

Marlon Fossey: was a surprising call given that even in Belgium, Bryan Reynolds has arguably doing better as Westerlo’s right back. But Fossey is a very aggressive and very athletic fullback who is always looking to push forward into the attack. The fact that he is even here is a great story after he suffered knee injury after knee injury at Fulham. His first ACL tear forced him to withdraw from the 2017 U-20 World Cup with the U.S. team. The right back pool is far more shallow on the USMNT than at left back, and Fossey doesn’t have too much competition other than Scally or Reynolds until Dest returns.

Patrick Schulte: the starting Olympic team goalkeeper has had a great season with Columbus (like Aidan Morris) and he arrives at a time when the goalkeeper player pool is faced with many, many questions starting with Matt Turner’s lack of playing time and Ethan Horvath playing for a Cardiff City team sitting at the bottom of the table in the early going of the Championship season. Schulte has a huge opportunity.

Caleb Wiley: The former Atlanta United homegrown sealed a transfer to Chelsea this summer and was immediately loaned to Strasbourg in France. He has played in the team’s first three games, although mostly as the left winger. Antonee Robinson is the lock starter at left back for the USMNT, but the backup position is wide open as Kristoffer Lund probably doesn’t have a firm grip on the spot behind Robinson, despite having been called up regularly the past year. Wiley also faces competition from John Tolkin, who is not at this camp but who started over Wiley at the Olympics and played well.

Diego Kochen: The Barcelona B goalkeeper is one for the future and is probably going to shift to the U.S. U-20 team (which doesn’t have a camp this window) in the coming year. But U.S. Soccer believes in him and is giving him this experience at a time when goalkeeping is not great.

Auston Trusty: was invited to this camp after completing at move to Celtic. Despite playing in the Premier League last season (albeit with a bad Sheffield United team that conceded over 100 goals), he has struggled for callups. He potentially gives the team another left-footed option behind Tim Ream, who will soon turn 37.

Notable omissions

Another important observation about this roster is that just two Olympians from the past summer. Berhalter said that after the Olympics, he hoped that team’s pool would merge with the USMNT pool to make it more competitive. The only players from that team who made this team are Schulte and Wiley.

But it’s important to note that perhaps club considerations came into play. Clubs needed to voluntarily release players for the Olympics, and perhaps as a way to repay the favor, some players were not called up to this camp. This is true especially for MLS-based players as the league plays through the international window.

That would seem very likely with Miles Robinson who missed most of the summer for Cincinnati while on the roster for both the Copa America and the Olympics. Walker Zimmerman also missed time at the Olympics and the June pre-Olympic camp. Other players who could be in the same situation are John Tolkin at the Red Bulls and Jack McGlynn at the Philadelphia Union.

It’s not just MLS-based players. Gaga Slonina is now on loan at Barnsley in League One in England and that third-tier league plays through the window. Paxten Aaronson at Utrecht was also allowed to participate in the Olympics and he is off to a strong start. Like McGlynn and Solnina, Aaronson has played for Varas while with the U.S. U-20 team.

Cade Cowell is someone that had a case to be called up as he has been in solid form and was recently named the Liga MX player of the month. On top of that, he also has a history with Mikey Varas with the U.S. U-20 team. 

Richie Ledezma is off to a nice start at PSV where he is playing out of position at right back, but he now faces competition from newly acquired Rick Karsdorp from Roma. He needs to compete for minutes.

Tanner Tessmann also missed almost all of preseason as his transfer out of Venezia took longer than expected and he is still getting adjusted to Lyon.

Zack Steffen: After resetting his career in Colorado, it is surprising he was not called up to the USMNT at a time when the team needs improvement at goalkeeping. He has experience and he’s back to playing well.

What to watch for this camp

In terms of what to watch for in the coming friendlies, here is a brief list:

Intensity: How eager are the players to turn the page from the Copa American and impress a new staff that is watching? If the U.S. puts out a dull and lethargic effort, it would be yet another sign this team needs a lot of work.

Central defense pairings: From this lineup, it’s impossible to say what the best central defense pairing is. Chris Richards has the inside track, but maybe not. Is Tim Ream at 37 still there? It’s been a long time since Mark McKenzie was given a real shot, is he now ready to compete after his move to Toulouse? Auston Trusty should also be hungry? These players all have a chance to showcase themselves with other players like Robinson, Zimmerman, and Carter-Vickers not involved.

Goalkeeping: Turner comes into this camp still the No. 1, but he can’t have a tight grip. Also, is Horvath still the automatic No. 2? Can this be an opportunity for Schulte?

Striker depth order: Folarin Balogun is struggling at the club level, but is this a time someone can move past him? Josh Sargent has to be seen as the most likely candidate to make a big jump with the USMNT after his play since December. The issue with Sargent is his health. If he’s close or at 100%, Sargent could be a player to potentially improve his standing to start life under a new staff.

Midfield combinations: The 2022 World Cup had the “MMA” midfield for Musah, McKennie, and Adams. Two of those three are not here. Then there are issues with other options like Gio Reyna, who continues to not play. Two players to watch are Morris and Cardoso who actually are playing and should be hungry to leave a mark on this team for the new coach to build from.