Berhalter calls 22 players ahead of USA-El Salvador on December 9 at Inter Miami FC stadium in Ft. Lauderdale

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CHICAGO (November 30, 2020) – U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter called up 22 players to training camp in South Florida ahead of USA-El Salvador on December 9. USMNT’s first game kicks off at Inter Miami CF’s home in Fort Lauderdale at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised live on ESPN, UniMás and TUDN.

Fans will be able to follow via Twitter @USMNT, Instagram @USMNT, Facebook, and the official American football app.

In view of next year’s important competitions, the almost exclusively domestic roster follows a similar approach to the friendlies in November, comprising players from the national grassroots team as well as younger players who have won opportunities. The match is outside a FIFA international window, leaving players still in season largely unavailable for selection.

Additional players may be added after the MLS Western Conference Semifinals have ended.

“Since returning to the field, the focus has been on continuing to build our foundations and preparing the team for important competitions in 2021,” said Berhalter. “We took advantage of these opportunities to work with our core group while evaluating young talent with the aim of strengthening our overall player pool.”

DETAILED LIST BY POSITION (Club; Selections / Goals):

GOALKEEPERS (3): CJ Dos Santos (Benfica / POR; 0/0), Bill Hamid (DC United; 7/0), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (8): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy; 0/0), Kyle Duncan (New York Red Bulls; 0/0), Marco Farfan (Portland Timbers; 0/0, Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 17/3), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; 1/0), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids; 1/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 12/2)

MIDFIELDS (5): Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union; 1/0), Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 23/2), Frankie Amaya (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Cole Bassett (Colorado Rapids; 0/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy ; 16/3)

FRONT (6): Ayo Akinola (Toronto FC / CAN; 0/0), Efrain Alvarez (LA Galaxy; 0/0), Paul Arriola (DC United; 33/5), Daryl Dike (Orlando City SC; 0/0), Djordje Mihailovic ( Chicago Fire; 5/1), Chris Mueller (Orlando City SC; 0/0)


SIMPLY THE BEST (XI)


A trio of players secured a spot in the 2020 MLS Top XI, led by Defenseman of the Year and Nashville SC center-back Walker Zimmerman. He is joined by the Philadelphia Union duo of Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie. All three were part of the USMNT’s 1-0 win over Costa Rica on February 1, 2020, alongside teammates Paul Arriola, Bill Hamid, Sebastian Lletget, Aaron Long and Sam Vines.

Aaronson and Daryl Dike, first called to USMNT, from Orlando City SC, were also finalists for the 2020 MLS Young Player of the Year award.


RETURN OF THE VETERANS


While a number of players have their first chances with USMNT, the camp is also an opportunity for two veterans to get back into the mix. With 33 caps, Paul Arriola is the most senior player on the roster and comes to camp after recovering from a ripped right ACL that sidelined him for most of the MLS campaign for DC United. . Determined to go back, the 25-year-old winger returned for the club’s last game of the season, playing 21 minutes on November 28 against the Montreal Impact. A member of the 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup winning team, he will be looking to put an exclamation mark on 2020 with an appearance against El Salvador.

The camp also marks the return of 25-year-old midfielder Kellyn Acosta. Also a member of the 2017 Gold Cup Champions Team, Acosta has 23 caps to his name and will make his first appearance at the USMNT camp since January 2019. The Plano, Texas native travels to Florida to help the Colorado Rapids to win an MLS Cup. The playoffs are this season.


AGAINST EL SALVADOR


Concacaf’s enemies are fairly familiar, with USMNT holding an all-time 17-1-5 advantage in the 1977 series. This will be the first friendly in more than a decade, with the previous match also having took place in Florida, when goals from Brian Ching and Sacha Kljestan saw the United States win 2-1 on February 24, 2010 in Tampa. The most recent encounter was in the 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup quarter-finals, as first-half goals from defenders Omar Gonzalez and Eric Lichaj led to a 2-0 shutout in front of 31615 at Lincoln Financial Field.

LIST NOTES

  • As of December 1, the list had an average age of 22, 201 days

  • The 22 players have an average of five caps.

  • Fifteen players are eligible for the 2021 Summer Olympics, including nine aged 20 and under.

  • Twelve MLS clubs are represented, with Colorado Rapids and LA Galaxy leading with three caps each. The others: Chicago Fire, DC United, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC and Philadelphia Union (2 each); FC Cincinnati, Nashville SC, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC (1 each).

  • In total, 11 players have the opportunity to win their first cap: Ayo Akinola, Frankie Amaya, Julian Araujo, Cole Bassett, CJ Dos Santos, Daryl Dike, Kyle Duncan, Marco Farfan, Chris Mueller, David Ochoa and Mauricio Pineda.

  • Nine of these players will attend their first USMNT camp. Julian Araujo was part of the January camp of this year, while Kyle Duncan had previously attended the senior team camp in May 2019.

  • LA Galaxy midfielder Efrain Alvarez has spent time with the national youth teams of the United States and Mexico. Having participated in the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup for Sorting, Alvarez would need to file a one-time change in order to play for the United States.

  • A member of the US squads at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Benfica goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos is the only non-MLS player.

  • Eight players appeared in USMNT’s 1-0 win over Costa Rica on February 1, 2020: Brenden Aaronson, Paul Arriola, Bill Hamid, Sebastian Lletget, Aaron Long, Mark McKenzie, Sam Vines and Walker Zimmerman

  • Sebastian Lletget is the only player to have been called up to all USMNT camps in 2020 and has the chance to appear in all four matches this year. Lletget scored his third international goal in the United States’ 6-2 win over Panama on November 16 in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.

  • With 33 caps, Paul Arriola is the most senior player on the list. The 25-year-old winger suffered a torn right ACL pre-season with DC United in February, but returned to play in the club’s last game of the MLS regular season on November 8 against the Impact. from Montreal.

  • Holding the second-most caps on the roster, 25-year-old midfielder Kellyn Acosta returns to USMNT for the first time since January 2019. Acosta has 23 appearances and two goals for the senior team and was part of the game. of the 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup victory side.

  • 2020 MLS Defenseman of the Year, Nashville SC center-back Walker Zimmerman tops the team’s list of three MLS Best XI selections. He is joined by the duo of midfielder Brenden Aaronson and defenseman Mark McKenzie of the Philadelphia Union.

  • Aaronson will attend his last USMNT camp before joining Austrian Bundesliga team Red Bull Salzburg in January.

  • The Orlando City SC offensive duo of Daryl Dike and Chris Mueller have had breakout campaigns this year. In his third season in MLS, Mueller recorded 10 goals and seven assists in 22 games, while rookie Dike had eight goals and four assists in 17 games.

  • Aaronson and Dike were both finalists for the 2020 MLS Young Player of the Year award.

  • USMNT first call Ayo Akinola was also originally on the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup roster before injury ruled him out of the tournament. The 20-year-old forward had a breakout season for Toronto FC, totaling nine goals in 15 appearances.

  • A total of 19 players were part of the US Soccer Development Academy.

  • Having been captain of the US U-23 team regularly this round, Djordje Mihailovic was part of the winning team of the 2015 U-17/18 championship for the Chicago Fire alongside Mauricio Pineda, USMNT first player.

  • Colorado Rapids midfielder Kellyn Acosta took home the Development Academy Central Conference Player of the Year award as he led the club to the 2011-12 Championship game where they claimed a 3 victory -2 against the Vancouver Whitecaps at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.

  • The summons from Dos Santos and his compatriot David Ochoa mean that 13 players from the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup USA team have been called up by the USMNT under Gregg Berhalter.

  • Having just completed his second season in MLS, FC Cincinnati midfielder Frankie Amaya was part of the US squad that won the 2018 Concacaf U-20 Championship to advance to the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. .

  • Playing his third season in MLS, midfielder Cole Bassett shone for Colorado Rapids, racking up five goals and five assists in 14 games to help the club advance to the playoffs.



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