The annual January US national team camp is, as much as anything, a chance for new faces to make a strong first impression. This goes double for the 2017 camp, considering that there’s a new (well, sort of) coach at the helm in Bruce Arena.
This time around, Arena included seven uncapped players in his 32-man roster for the camp. History and the simple numbers game tell us that not all the January campers will go on to have full-fledged international careers, but there are always a few who do. Here are three of those uncapped players that look set to stick around with the USMNT:
Kekuta Manneh
We may not even see the fleet-footed winger take the field in either of the USMNT’s upcoming friendlies against Serbia and Jamaica – Manneh (pictured above) is still finishing up his US eligibility requirements – but there’s little doubt that this camp will be the first of many looks he’ll get with the national team.
The pace that the Vancouver Whitecaps man brings to the table is a rare commodity in the international game and matched only perhaps by DeAndre Yedlin in the current US player pool. He recently recovered from a broken metatarsal that kept him out for the last half of the 2016 MLS campaign, and professed to using the time away to work on the mental and tactical aspects of his game, which will be crucial if Manneh hopes to have a long international career with the his adopted country.
In the immediate future, Manneh hopes to be eligible to get his first on-field looks with the US in their upcoming March qualifiers. It will likely take a stellar camp outing, though, considering the importance of those two games versus Honduras and Panama and the players he’ll have to beat out to get there.
Keegan Rosenberry
The Philadelphia Union right back was a narrow runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting, and will look to build on his impressive first MLS season with a strong showing in camp. He'll be helped by a paucity of players in his position. Rosenberry, 23, will likely be competing with Graham Zusi – until now typically a wide midfielder – and veteran utility man Brad Evans for reps in camp and a place in the lineup in the two friendlies.
Rosenberry’s rookie season left little doubt as to his abilities as a one-on-one defender. Despite some uneven performances later in the year, typical of many rookies, he managed to play every single minute of every game while committing just 13 fouls and not earning a single yellow card all season. How this translates to the international game will be seen over the coming weeks and months, but US fans should be hopeful of having a lockdown defender on the right for years to come.
Sebastian Lletget
One of two players Arena worked with immediately prior in his stint with the LA Galaxy, the 24-year-old Lletget will now get a chance to step up at the international level after finding his way at the club level in 2016.
After a breakout 2015 season that saw him register seven goals as an winger, Lletget struggled to maintain his regular starting spot last year – until he made the move to central midfield. From that spot, his two-way play proved essential in the LA Galaxy’s stretch run, with the West Ham product showing smarts, stamina, and ability on both sides of the ball.
Competition for the US will be fierce in the central midfield spots, but Lletget’s skill set will surely offer an intriguing option for Arena when it comes to setting out his team this month and beyond.
