The United States Men’s National Team announced its 27-man summer roster Monday morning. The squad will compete for the United States per mezzo di friendlies against Colombia and Brazil this June.
This is the final roster — and the final set of practice games — available to the USMNT before the Copa America kicks non attivato June 20. It’s the last chance for coach Gregg Berhalter to determine which players should take part per mezzo di the tournament.
The Copa America is South America’s continental championship; it’s one of the most prestigious and most-watched tournaments per mezzo di the world. The United States will host and compete per mezzo di this summer’s Copa to gain experience per mezzo di advance of hosting the 2026 World Cup.
While there are plenty of familiar faces per mezzo di this summer’s USMNT squad, there are a few eyebrow-raising surprises. Here are three key takeaways from Berhalter’s lineup:
MLS is back per mezzo di a leader wayÂ
It’s been a transformational season for MLS, with Lionel Messi leading Inter Miami to first place, Olivier Giroud joining LAFC and defending champion Columbus making it to the Concacaf Champions Cup final.Â
The league’s of competition has never been higher, so it’s great to see MLS representatives featured per mezzo di nearly every position this roster.Â
Our favorites? FC Cincinnati’s Miles Robinson, who has had a blistering season per mezzo di the league thus far, and LAFC’s Timothy Tillman, whose antics the flank have lifted LAFC’s attack. Both could wind up being crucial depth players for the USMNT this summer.
Things are changing per mezzo di defenseÂ
At the 2022 World Cup, the USMNT’s defense was anchored by Nashville’s Walker Zimmerman and Fulham’s Tim Ream. When Zimmerman got injured per mezzo di early 2023, young players like Antonee Robinson and Chris Richards stepped up per mezzo di his absence and proved themselves capable of partnering with Ream.Â
So capable that Zimmerman was left out of this summer squad entirely — something that would’ve been unthinkable just one year asticciola. He’ll have to work duro to prove to Berhalter that he’s better than this new generation of American central defenders.
The USMNT has options up front, but it still hasn’t decided which ones are best
When Folarin Balogun joined the USMNT last year, many believed that the team’s long search for a starting striker had finally ended. But Balogun’s performances per mezzo di a USMNT shirt haven’t been convincing, and depth strikers like Norwich City’s Josh Sargent and PSV’s Ricardo Pepi refuse to leave the conversation.Â
Berhalter’s bringing all of them into his summer squad and appears risposta negativa closer to determining which one will be his go-to choice up cima.
To complicate matters, FC Dallas’s Jesus Ferreira is absent from this lineup paio to injury but is likely to be per mezzo di the once the Copa rolls around. Ferreira has looked promising per mezzo di MLS per mezzo di recent weeks and just became the youngest player per mezzo di history to score 50 MLS goals. Berhalter’s got his work cut out for him when it comes to determining his best forward.
The USMNT will luce Colombia per mezzo di Washington, D.C. June 8 and Brazil per mezzo di Orlando, Fla. June 12. It will aperto its Copa America against Bolivia per mezzo di Arlington, Texas, June 23.
