The United States Men’s National Team has now finalized who will take on Concacaf this month. Today, U.S. Soccer announced the 26-man USMNT roster who will compete in the Concacaf Gold Cup, which begins next weekend.
The training roster had been amended several times as players needed to be excused due to injury. Folarin Balogun, Patrick Schulte, Sean Zawadski, and DeJuan Jones were players originally named to the training camp roster that had to depart early due to injuries. Yesterday, goalkeeper Zack Steffen also departed camp due to injury. And with today’s roster announcement, we learn that defender Sergiño Dest will not participate in the Gold Cup. He is replaced by John Tolkin.
“We are extremely excited to work with this group of players and compete for the championship,” USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino said in a statement. “Of course our priority is to win the tournament and to show the right mentality and approach, and we are confident these players will take advantage of the opportunity.”
The USMNT 26-man Gold Cup roster:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace)
DEFENDERS (9): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United); Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Luca de la Torre (San Diego FC), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union); Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven)
FORWARDS (5): Paxten Aaronson (FC Utrecht), Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC),Damion Downs (FC Köln), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps), Haji Wright (Coventry City)
The biggest news on the roster was the departure of Sergiño Dest, who had just returned to the national team after a knee injury kept him off the field for much of the last year. His return was thwarted by not being physically ready to go for the Gold Cup. “We determined the best decision is for [Dest] to have an individualized training program for the summer so he can focus on being fully recovered and ready to perform next season,” Mauricio Pochettino said. His absence adds to the number of USMNT stars that will not be on the team for the Gold Cup this summer.
Another player whose status was in question was midfielder Johnny Cardoso, who according to several reports has been linked with a transfer to Atlético Madrid. Atleti is competing in the FIFA Club World Cup, which will take place at the same time as the Gold Cup. Should a move have gone through in time, Cardoso would have had to leave USMNT camp to join his new club. As it stands, his inclusion on the roster should mean that even if a transfer is finalized, he would join his new team after the Gold Cup.
The roster features four players who are in USMNT camp for the first time: defenders Alex Freeman and Quinn Sullivan, midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and forward Damion Downs. Also included are Brendan and Paxten Aaronson, the ninth set of brothers ever capped by the USMNT. They hope to become the second set of brothers to play on the field together for the USMNT.
While the roster does have some experienced players, only five have Gold Cup experience: Matt Turner, Tim Ream, Miles Robinson, Walker Zimmerman, and John Tolkin. For all of the players, it’s a chance to play themselves into the conversation for the 2026 World Cup roster. And for the USMNT, the Gold Cup marks the final competition they will have before they co-host the World Cup next summer.
The USMNT will play two friendlies – on Saturday against Türkiye and on Tuesday against Switzerland – before they enter the Gold Cup group stage. They open up group stage play on June 15th against Trinidad & Tobago, followed by matches against Saudi Arabia on June 19th and Haiti on June 22nd.
