As expected, United States men’s national team interim manager Dave Sarachan has called in a young and experimental team for this international break’s friendly against Portugal. Five of the players who have been called in are currently uncapped, and four of those uncapped players are teenagers.
4 uncapped teenagers headline USMNT squad to face Portugal
The future is now. Welcome Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Josh Sargent to the USMNT.
Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images
USMNT fans are hoping that those players, some of the country’s brightest talents, get a chance to shine against one of Europe’s top teams. Defender Cameron Carter-Vickers, midfielder Tyler Adams, and striker Josh Sargent have all recently starred for the Under-20s, while Weston McKennie — possibly the most advanced prospect of the group — was held back from the U-20 World Cup due to club commitments. He’s established himself as a first-team regular at FC Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga this season.
This squad features just three of the players who took the field in the Americans’ embarrassing defeat to Trinidad and Tobago that kept them out of the World Cup. Those players are DeAndre Yedlin, Jorge Villafaña and Kellyn Acosta, who are all expected to be significant contributors going forward. The next USMNT manager will decide the fate of some of that squad’s more veteran players, some of whom are likely to be welcomed back onto the team. But many are likely to be frozen out.
Sarachan hasn’t gone with all youth, bringing in some veterans to balance out the team. Tim Ream and Alejandro Bedoya will be expected to lead this group, along with star defender John Brooks, who missed the T&T match due to injury.
Here’s the entire roster.
Goalkeepers: Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge), Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas).
Defenders: John Brooks (Wolfsburg), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna), Matt Miazga (Vitesse), Tim Ream (Fulham), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Sheffield United)
Midfielders: Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls), Weston McKennie (Schalke), Kelyn Rowe (New England Revolution), Danny Williams (Huddersfield), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland)
Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution), Dom Dwyer (Orlando City), C.J. Sapong (Philadelphia Union), Josh Sargent (St. Louis Scott Gallagher)
The United States takes on Portugal on Tuesday, Nov. 14. The game kicks off at 3:45 p.m. ET on FS1.
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