Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna, Matt Turner and Tim Ream, all coming off club seasons in which they saw little playing time over the final three months, were among 27 players picked Monday for the U.S. roster for a pair of friendly games ahead of the Copa America.
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen was left off by U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter despite making 14 starts for Colorado in his return to Major League Soccer. Ethan Horvath and Sean Johnson were picked along with Turner as Berhalter went with the same three goalkeepers he took to the 2022 World Cup.
Players omitted from the 2022 World Cup roster included defenders Aaron Long, DeAndre Yedlin and Walker Zimmerman, midfielders Kellyn Acosta and Cristian Roldan, and forwards Jess Ferreira and Jordan Morris. Right back Sergio Dest will miss the tournament after tearing an ACL in training with PSV Eindhoven on April 20.
Players on the roster who didn’t go to Qatar included defenders Kristoffer Lund, Mark McKenzie, Chris Richards and Miles Robinson, midfielders Johnny Cardoso, Malik Tillman and Timmy Tillman, and forwards Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi.
Players report from May 28 through June 2, and the U.S. plays Colombia on June 8 at Landover, Maryland, and Brazil four days later at Orlando, Florida. The U.S opens the Copa America against Bolivia on June 23 at Arlington, Texas, and then has first-round games against Panama and Uruguay.
Teams must submit their 26-man Copa America rosters by June 15. The Americans finished fourth in the 1995 and 2016 editions, and failed to advance past the first round in 1993 and 2007.
Turner lost his starting job at Nottingham Forest after allowing a series of weak goals and played just one club match after Feb. 28 and none since April 2.
Adams, the United States captain, played just one club match from March 2023 until this past March 13 because of a torn right hamstring that needed surgery. After returning to play two matches for Bournemouth in March, the midfielder was limited to one game over the rest of the season, an 11-minute appearance on May 11.
Reyna played just 280 league minutes for Borussia Dortmund in the first half of the season and 235 for Nottingham Forest following a Jan. 31 loan. He didn’t play at all after April 28.
Ream lost his starting role at Fulham during the second half of the season. The 36-year-old started and captained the Cottagers in Sunday’s season finale, his first appearance since Feb. 17.
Just four players are from Major League Soccer: goalkeeper Sean Johnson, defenders Shaq Moore and Miles Robinson, and midfielder Timmy Tillman.
United States roster:
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Cardiff), Sean Johnson (Toronto), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest)
Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Shaq Moore (Nashville), Tim Ream (Fulham), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
Midfielders: Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven), Timmy Tillman (Los Angeles FC)
Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Josh Sargent (Norwich), Tim Weah (Juventus), Haji Wright (Coventry)
