Midfielder Tyler Adams has returned to the United States men's national team roster for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, as the USMNT looks to claim the Concacaf Nations League title later this month.
AC Milan winger Christian Pulisic and Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie also headline the 23-player squad selected by coach Gregg Berhalter on Wednesday.
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The United States will look to win the Nations League for the third time and will face Jamaica in the semifinals on March 21 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The final and third place matches will be played three days later at the same venue, with Mexico and Panama being the other teams involved. American players will begin performing on March 18 in the Dallas metropolitan area.
Pulisic is the player with the most caps on the squad with 64 appearances. Fulham defender Tim Ream follows with 55.
“The objective ahead of us is clear. We want to compete for our third Nations League title and continue to challenge ourselves to succeed in the round of 16 matches,” Berhalter said as part of the announcement. “This is a group of players with a lot of experience in these types of games and we are looking forward to the opportunity.”
Adams overcame an injury to join the USMNT for the first time since captaining the team at the World Cup in Qatar more than 15 months ago. The 25-year-old is joined by Norwich City striker Josh Sargent, who has also been hampered by injuries since that tournament. Adams has dealt with a recurring hamstring issue, while Sargent suffered an ankle injury in August that kept him out for four months.
Just hours after the squad was announced, Adams made his first Premier League appearance of the season when he came on as a 71st-minute substitute in Bournemouth's 4–3 win over Luton Town.
“This decision was basically the result of months of communication with his club, to track where he is, to see the levels at which he is performing in training, the loads that he is doing and training,” Berhalter said of Adams during a Press conference.
“And then finally a conversation with his coach two days ago, and really listening to the coach, where he thinks Tyler is, he couldn't say enough about him. Certainly, around the club they think he has enough to play.” 45 minutes for us.”
“So once we heard that, we jumped on the idea because he means a lot to the team, both on and off the field. It will be good to get him back. His last time with the national team was at the World Cup, so “We've missed him for a while and it will be good to have him back in this group.”
Sargent has been in top form since his return at the end of December and has scored a total of 12 goals in 19 league and cup games this season. Ten of those goals have been scored since the beginning of 2024.
In total, 21 of the 23 players have been part of at least one winning Nations League team. Seven participated in both championship races: Sergiño Dest, McKennie, Yunus Musah, Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson and Tim Weah. Dest is suspended for the semifinal against Jamaica after receiving a red card in the USMNT's final CNL game in Trinidad and Tobago last November.
“Of all the times we had to choose teams, this was probably the most difficult team we had to choose because of the nature of the competition, or the level at which the players perform and the depth we have in our national team. pool now,” Berhalter added.
The Reggae Boyz are familiar enemies of the United States, as the two teams have met 32 times in their history, dating back to 1988. Twenty-two of those meetings occurred in official competition, including four in the last three years. While the United States holds a 19-3-10 all-time lead, seven of the last 10 games have been decided by one goal or less.
Complete USMNT Roster (Club/Country; international matches/goals):
GOALKEEPERS: 22-Drake Callender (Inter Miami; 0/0), 18-Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City/WAL; 9/0), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 37/0)
DEFENDERS: 2-Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 32/2), 23-Kris Lund (Palermo/ITA; 3/0), 16-Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 13/0), 13-Tim Ream ( Fulham/ENG; 55/1), 3-Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 14/1), 5-Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 39/4), 12-Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 28/3) , 19-Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 8/0)
CENTER FIELDERS: 4-Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG; 36/1), 15-Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 9/0), 14-Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 20/0), 8- Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 49/11), 6-Yunus Musah (AC Milan/ITA; 33/0), 7-Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 24/7)
FORWARDS: 20-Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 8/3), 17-Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 8/0), 9-Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 22/10), 10-Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 64/28), 11-Josh Sargent (Norwich City/ENG; 23/5), 21-Tim Weah (Juventus/ITA; 35/5)
