The USMNT March Roster Breakdown | Reyna in, Adams out
The March roster has been released with 24 names being called up for the Nations League matches against Grenada and El Salvador. These will be the first competitive matches for the US since the World Cup last November.
Interim manager Anthony Hudson will continue at the helm for these matches.
Who is in?
One of the best things you can do as a federation is reward players in good form for their clubs. The national team environment is about getting the most out of players in a short timeframe and not necessarily about improving those players while in camp. Bryan Reynolds has been one of the best fullbacks in the Belgian first division and will have the opportunity the opportunity to represent the US for the third time in his career.
Miles Robinson also makes it back into the squad after the devastating injury that kept him out for most of last year including the World Cup. He has started the season well with Atlanta United and notably is the only MLS player on the roster which is a huge surprise considering players like Walker Zimmerman and Kellyn Acosta are not with this squad.
I also want to highlight two attacking midfielders who make this roster in Alan Sonora and Taylor Booth - two highly touted players that seem to just now be reaching their potentials. Taylor Booth has played his way into the transfer targets of Champions League clubs like Ajax.
Ale Zendejas commits to the USMNT and will become a part of a distinguished class of USMNT players called in while in Liga MX. His talent will raise the floor for this squad, but not necessarily the ceiling.
Gio Reyna is also called in despite his parents being embroiled in useless drama currently impacting US Soccer. It’s good to see on sporting merit he’ll still be considered a large part of this team.
Who is out?
Tyler Adams has a hamstring injury that will keep him out of contention for these matches. The one positive I can find in this is that the backup 6 is now completely open for competition. And using the 2022 World Cup as our guide, we have to find a backup for Adams.
CCV is the standout centerback right now. He is having a best XI season for Celtic and will likely be sold back to the Premier League this summer. The fact that he’s not here makes me think he’ll need to be included in the next competitive matches or else I’ll start to think something is wrong.
Chris Richards has started to work his way back into the Crystal Palace backline but can’t work his way back to the USMNT squad. I’m going to assume we felt good about our centerback core group and wanted to give Richards more time with his club to help break back into the starting lineups.
Walker Zimmerman is a stalwart for the USMNT at the back but wasn’t called into this roster. I do think he’ll be a critical player for the US this summer when European players get more of a break. Zimmerman’s club team in MLS is not taking a break for the international window and that may have something to do with him not being on the roster.
Folarin Balogun recently unfollowed the England national team on Instagram and I had a small but unrealistic hope he would accept a call-up for these matches. I’ll keep dreaming because his name is not on this list.
Kevin Paredes probably deserves a shout as well. He’s starting to get important minutes and improving his production for Wolfsburg. Hudson again spoke about Paredes saying “he’s right on the edge of this roster and will get an opportunity for sure”.
Overall Thoughts
MLS is not taking an international break for these matches so I’m not incredibly surprised to only see one player here from the league. Hudson in the press conference after the roster was released spoke about the Summer call-ups being the time for MLS players and giving the Europe-based players a rest.
These 24 players are essentially the best we have outside of an injured Tyler Adams and the centerbacks we spoke about. Everyone else deserves to be here on merit, form, or impact. This squad should easily make it past Grenada away and Honduras at home with 6 points.