UPDATE (March 21) – Philadelphia Union homegrown product Brenden Aaronson has been ruled out of the US men's national team's upcoming trio of World Cup qualifiers after suffering a knee injury this past weekend for Austrian Bundesliga side Red Bull Salzburg.
The forward's absence bumps head coach Gregg Berhalter's roster down to 26 players while chasing one of the region's three automatic Qatar 2022 spots.
"After reviewing the updated medical information and in consultation with Red Bull Salzburg, we have determined that Brenden Aaronson would not be available to play in the upcoming World Cup Qualifying matches," said a US Soccer release. "We were hopeful he would be able to recover in time; unfortunately, that will not be the case. We hope he makes a speedy recovery."
UPDATE (March 18) – Atlanta United homegrown product George Bello, who earned a wintertime transfer to German Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld, has been called in as an injury replacement for FC Barcelona fullback Sergiño Dest.
The move gives the US men's national team another left back behind Fulham's Antonee Robinson, with Dest injuring his hamstring in the La Liga club's Europa League match Thursday vs. Turkey's Galatasary.
Bello, 20, has earned six caps ahead of the March trio of World Cup qualifiers.
ORIGINAL (March 17) – US men's national team head coach Gregg Berhalter has called in 27 players for the all-decisive March window of Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers, the federation announced Thursday.
Seeking to stamp their Qatar 2022 ticket, the upcoming Octagonal trio begins with an away match on March 24 against Mexico at Estadio Azteca. The Yanks then host Panama on March 27 at Orlando's Exploria Stadium before traveling to Costa Rica on March 30 to conclude a compressed journey that began in September 2021.
With 11 of 14 WCQs already played, the USMNT enter second in the Octagonal standings with 21 points and a 6W-2L-3D record. Concacaf's top three teams earn an automatic bid to the World Cup, while the fourth-place team enters an inter-confederation playoff in June against Oceania's representative. The USMNT need to earn five points to absolutely guarantee automatic qualification; beyond that, the calculus will change after virtually every match this window.
The roster contains 10 MLS-based players from eight different clubs, including center backs Miles Robinson (Atlanta United) and Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), midfielder Kellyn Acosta (LAFC) and forward Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC). They'll join European-based standouts like Barcelona defender Sergiño Dest, RB Leipzig midfielder Tyler Adams, Borussia Dortmund forward Giovanni Reyna and Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic.
Several key players are absent from the squad due to injury, including Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie (foot) and New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner (foot/ankle).
Adams, Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen, Lille forward Tim Weah and Inter Miami CF defender DeAndre Yedlin enter camp on caution watch. Should any of them receive a yellow card during the next three games, they will be suspended for the next qualifying match.
Check out the full roster below.
United States roster for March World Cup qualifiers
GOALKEEPERS (3)
- Ethan Horvath – Nottingham Forest
- Sean Johnson – New York City FC
- Zack Steffen – Manchester City
DEFENDERS (9)
- George Bello – Arminia Bielefeld
- Reggie Cannon – Boavista
- Aaron Long – New York Red Bulls
- Erik Palmer-Brown – Troyes
- Antonee Robinson – Fulham
- Miles Robinson – Atlanta United
- James Sands – Rangers
- DeAndre Yedlin – Inter Miami CF
- Walker Zimmerman – Nashville SC
MIDFIELDERS (6)
- Kellyn Acosta – LAFC
- Tyler Adams – RB Leipzig
- Gianluca Busio – Venezia
- Luca de la Torre – Heracles
- Yunus Musah – Valencia
- Cristian Roldan – Seattle Sounders FC
FORWARDS (8)
- Paul Arriola – FC Dallas
- Jesús Ferreira – FC Dallas
- Jordan Morris – Seattle Sounders FC
- Jordan Pefok – Young Boys
- Ricardo Pepi – Augsburg
- Christian Pulisic – Chelsea
- Gio Reyna – Borussia Dortmund
- Tim Weah – Lille
