Miles Robinson headlines USMNT's Olympic-heavy January squad
The U.S. men's national team's annual January training camp has a decidedly Olympic flavor this year.
More than half of those on the 25-man squad coach Gregg Berhalter named Friday to the USMNT's first roster of 2024 are age-eligible to compete at this summer's Olympics in Paris — the first Games in which the U.S. men will participate in since 2008. Olympic squads on the men's side are limited to players 23 years old or younger, with three over-age age exceptions available to each team.
With USMNT headliners such as Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie unavailable for this month's national team camp — which will conclude with a friendly match against Slovenia Jan. 20 in San Antonio, Texas — because of commitments to their European clubs, Berhalter's picks are exclusively MLS-based. Because the camp and game fall outside a FIFA window designated for national team activity, clubs were not required to release players this month.
Just one player, Nashville SC fullback Shaq Moore, was on the American roster at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Three representatives each were summoned from the MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew and Supporters Shield-winning FC Cincinnati. With 27 USMNT appearances, FCC central defender Miles Robinson is the most experienced invitee. Midfielder Timmy Tillman, the older brother of U.S. regular Malik Tillman, is one of 17 players hoping to earn his first cap at the senior international level.
Here's the full roster:
Goalkeepers: Drake Callender (Inter Miami), Roman Celentano (Cincinnati), Patrick Schulte* (Columbus)
Defenders: Nathan Harriel* (Philadelphia Union), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution), Shaq Moore (Nashville), Ian Murphy (Cincinnati), Jackson Ragen (Seattle Sounders), Miles Robinson (Cincinnati), James Sands (New York City FC), Nkosi Tafari (FC Dallas), John Tolkin* (New York Red Bulls), Caleb Wiley* (Atlanta United)
Midfielders: Joshua Atencio* (Seattle), Aziel Jackson* (St. Louis City), Jack McGlynn* (Philadelphia), Aidan Morris* (Columbus), Timmy Tillman (LAFC), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus)
Forwards: Esmir Bajraktarevic* (New England), Cade Cowell* (San Jose Earthquakes), Bernard Kamungo* (Dallas), Diego Luna* (Real Salt Lake), Duncan McGuire* (Orlando City), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps)
*Age eligible for the 2024 Olympics
"This is an opportunity to identify and work with the next generation of players who have the potential to make an impact on our program," Berhalter said in a news release. "We appreciate the support from MLS and all their clubs so that we can utilize this platform. Our priority is on getting as many players as possible experience in important competitions, and this camp and the match against Slovenia will be extremely valuable in the evaluation process."
Those selected will report to Orlando on Sunday. The 13-day camp will begin Jan. 8, with the team heading to Texas a few days before facing the Slovenians. In addition to his usual USMNT staff, Berhalter will be assisted throughout by Olympic team head coach Marko Mitrović.
Before booking a spot at the Paris Games last year, the Americans had failed to qualify for three consecutive Olympic football tournaments. Their best finish came at the turn of this century, when a U.S. side led by future World Cup standouts Landon Donovan and Josh Wolff reached the semifinals at Sydney 2000. The U.S. men were eliminated in the group stage in their most recent appearance, in 2008 in Beijing.
"A lot of these guys are going to be contending for spots in the Olympic team," Berhalter said later Friday during a news conference in San Antonio. "[It’s a] very inexperienced roster, but what it does is give us an opportunity to work with these players."
Robinson's availability is a pleasant surprise
Wednesday's news that Robinson had inked a free agent contract with Cincinnati was somewhat surprising, as many expected the 26-year-old to leave MLS for Europe this month. Robinson's sudden availability is a boon to this young group; a regular with the full-strength USMNT, only an untimely injury prevented Robinson from starting at the last World Cup just over a year ago. Now healthy again, he should vie for a first choice role during the Copa América in June and July. And now that he's staying in the domestic at least though 2024, Robinson could also be a candidate for one of the three overage slots Mitrović that allowed to fill in France.
Which future USMNT regular will break out this year?
Often unfairly derided as "Camp Cupcake," the January camp has a long and impressive history of affording future program legends their formative opportunities with the national team. That list includes all-time USMNT leading scorers Donovan and Clint Dempsey. More recent examples are 2022 World Cup captain Tyler Adams, stalwart defender Tim Ream and No. 1 goalkeeper Matt Turner — the only three U.S. players to log every minute of the Americans four games in Qatar.
Time will tell who this year's standout will be. There are several early candidates, among them left backs DeJuan Jones and John Tonkin; former U-20 national team winger Diego Luna; and two-way Crew midfielder Aidan Morris, who is coming off a superb performance at last moth's MLS Cup.
Goalkeeping spots up for grabs
There was no place for veteran backstops Sean Johnson or Zack Steffen, who joined the Colorado Rapids this week following four years as a depth option at mighty Manchester City. That means at least one keeper will make his USMNT debut this month, with Callender the clear front-runner after participating in several senior camps last year.
Celentano and Schulte are also highly regarded, though. With Turner's future as a Premier League starter in perpetual doubt and a dearth of good options behind him, the two youngsters will be desperate to catch Berhalter's eye.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
