USMNT roster for June features first-time call-ups Malik Tillman, Haji Wright and Joe Scally

United States men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter announced his 27-man roster for upcoming friendlies and Nations League matches in June in what will prove to be a critical international window of preparation ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November. Nineteen-year-old Bayern Munich prospect Malik Tillman, who recently switched from Germany to represent the United States, will have an opportunity to impress as a new recruit along with CF Montréal’s 23-year-old midfielder Djordje Mihailovic, arguably one of the hottest players in MLS this season. 

Notably, half-an-hour before the squad list was dropped, Chicago Fire’s 18-year-old goalkeeper Gabriel Slolina announced his commitment to the United States despite not being called up for this window by Berhalter. Slolina was called up by Poland for this upcoming window but has turned down the invite in order to represent the U.S. down the road. 

Miles Robinson’s season-ending injury and Ricardo Pepi’s poor form have paved way for the inclusion of Joe Scally, Haji Wright and Cameron Carter-Vickers as they will have opportunities to impress Berhalter during this window. When it comes to Tillman, he has represented Germany at the youth levels and is an attacking midfielder for Bayern Munich while having played every midfield position, including attacking midfield and striker at times. He has made seven appearances for the senior squad and has scored once. This could be a massive coup for the senior squad if he continue to develop his skill set.

The United States will face Uruguay and Morocco in friendlies before the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League play begins with matches against Grenada and El Salvador. This is expected to be the longest period of time that the team will be together in a window before the World Cup, which is why it’s an important time for fringe players on the bubble to make an impact as the fall window could serve for final tune-ups. 

Let’s take a look at the full 27-man roster:

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 7/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 29/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 16/0)

DEFENDERS (9): George Bello (Arminia Bielefeld/GER; 6/0), Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 24/1), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 8/0), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 23/3), Erik Palmer-Brown (Troyes/FRA; 3/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 25/2), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 0/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami; 73/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 28/3)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Kellyn Acosta (LAFC; 51/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 27/1), Luca de la Torre (Heracles/NED; 7/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 31/9), Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montreal/CAN; 6/1), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 16/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 31/0), Malik Tillman (Bayern Munich/GER; 0/0)

FORWARDS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/AUT; 18/5), Paul Arriola (FC Dallas; 44/9), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 9/3), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; 46/10), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 48/21), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 22/2), Haji Wright (Antalyaspor/TUR; 0/0)