United States men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter says that he believes in his squad ahead of the Copa America as he revealed the roster for a series of friendlies before the summer tournament.
The roster revealed on Monday was for tune-up matches against Colombia and Brazil – but considering this was a 27-man group and the Copa America roster size is 26, it was implied that a majority of this roster will be a part of the tournament the United States is hosting in about one-month’s time.
Responding to a question asked by DailyMail.com if he believes this roster could fight for the most prestigious trophy in the Americas, Berhalter said he believes that his roster is talented and the tournament will be a great building block ahead of the 2026 World Cup – which will also be held in the USA.
‘I think we have a talented squad, there’s no question about it,’ Berhalter replied. ‘We’re going to use these weeks to prepare for Copa America, and then we’re going to do our best. We’re going to learn from every game we play leading up to it. Then in the Copa America itself, we’re going to compete and see where we go with it.
‘All this is really building this group for 2026, but realizing that this is an important tournament as well, and we’re really focused on it. This is a great opportunity for this group to play in the world’s most historic soccer tournament that there is.
Gregg Berhalter has named a 27-man roster for a pair of June Copa America tuneup matches
‘We’re looking forward to it. It’s a different type of soccer that gets played at Copa America. We’re looking forward to battling through that. It represents a great opportunity for this group.
The 27-man group features the absences of some younger players, but that’s less due to their form and more due to the United States’ inclusion in the soccer tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Berhalter said that roster decisions ‘were easier’ because of the Olympics.
The June camp team itself goes largely unchanged from the previous roster that was released for the CONCACAF Nations League finals in March.
Toronto FC keeper Sean Johnson replaces Inter Miami’s Drake Callender as the third option behind Nottingham Forest’s Matt Turner and Cardiff City’s Ethan Horvath.
Cameron Carter-Vickers of Celtic returns to the roster as one of five centerbacks on the preliminary team.
That’s partially due to a major injury sustained by PSV right back Sergino Dest – who will be out for the foreseeable future.
Berhalter spoke about Dest’s absence, saying that there are plenty of players on this team capable of filling the right back role.
‘We just wanted the ability in this training camp to have options – to have flexibility,’ Berhalter told reporters about the right back position.
He said that those options include ‘like-for-like’ players such as Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Joe Scally and Nashville SC’s Shaq Moore, as well as other options on defense and in midfield and attack.
The team is reeling from the loss of Sergino Dest (left) due to a long term injury
A surprise addition to the midfield is Los Angeles FC midfielder Timothy Tillman
The entire midfield corps from the Nations League has made a return – including Bournemouth man Tyler Adams and Coppa Italia winner Weston McKennie of Juventus.
That group is joined by two additions – a pair of brothers in Malik and Timothy Tillman.
Malik’s performances for PSV were phenomenal – as he bagged nine goals and 15 assists across 40 games in all competitions.
But Timothy’s addition is an odd one. The former Bayern Munich academy player has one cap with the USMNT and has managed four goals and three assists along with four yellow cards in 13 matches for Los Angeles FC.
‘Timmy made a good impression on us in January,’ Berhalter said before adding, ‘When we’re looking at this roster vs. the Olympic roster, there are some other guys that were in contention as well. But we felt like the balance would be better to move [other players] to the Olympic group and move Timmy to the senior team.’
While listed as a midfielder, Gio Reyna’s position is more that of an advanced eight or a number ten. Despite his lack of playing time with Nottingham Forest, Berhalter says that a roster spot for Reyna was never in doubt.
‘I don’t think there’s any added pressure for Gio, all he has to do is continue to do what he’s been doing with our team,’ Berhalter said, later adding, ‘We are really looking at how they perform really well for us.
‘They’ve built up credit, but now it’s about supporting them using this time… to build up their fitness and get them ready as we prepare for the Copa America.’
A lack of minutes at Nottingham Forest didn’t dissuade Berhalter from selecting Gio Reyna
A strong finish to his season at Union Berlin will see Brenden Aaronson return to the USMNT
Berhalter also said that he plans on deploying striker Haji Wright in a wider role as a winger
As for the forwards, Union Berlin’s Brenden Aaronson won’t have to hope for an last-minute inclusion like in March. He was initially off the March roster, but came in as an injury replacement.
‘What we’re looking for when things aren’t perfect is the determination, the resiliency to keep going and keep battling… He’s been an important part of what we’ve been doing and we’re excited to have him in the group.’
While Berhalter also named four strikers – Haji Wright, Ricardo Pepi, Josh Sargeant, and Folarin Balogun – to the roster, he told reporters that he sees Wright ‘fulfilling the winger role’.
‘It’s related to how he moves and how he is able to get chances. They generally come from wider positions. With us lacking some depth in those positions, we think it’s a great option,’ Berhalter said.
Rounding out the group are two staples of the squad – wingers Timothy Weah of Juventus and Christian Pulisic of AC Milan.
The USMNT’s first match of the warmups will be against Colombia in suburban Washington, DC on June 8 before taking on Brazil in the ‘Allstate Continental Clasico’ in Orlando on June 12.
Neither team has been a sign of success for the USA – who have just three wins against Los Cafateros and one win at the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup against the Seleção.