CHICAGO (AP) — Members of the U.S. under-23 pool and a few foreign-based veterans are among the 21 Americans who will start training Monday ahead of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, while regulars such as Christian Pulisic and Michael Bradley will report in early June.
Just 11 players on the 40-man preliminary Gold Cup roster are on the initial training camp roster announced Wednesday.
Players from Major League Soccer will report following their games from May 31 to June 2 along with Europe-based players being given time off.
Among those who will be absent at the start of training are goalkeeper Brad Guzan; defenders Tyler Adams and Aaron Long; midfielders Sebastian Lletget, Weston McKennie, Darlington Nagbe, Cristian Roldan and Wil Trapp; and forwards Jozy Altidore, Paul Arriola, Tyler Boyd, Jordan Morris and Gyasi Zardes.
The U.S. plans to finalize its full training camp roster by May 31 and expects to have 26-27 Gold Cup-eligible players for exhibitions against Jamaica on June 5 at Washington, and Venezuela on June 9 at Cincinnati.
Gregg Berhalter, hired as U.S. coach in December, wants the young players to experience his training regimen and culture.
Players not eligible for the Gold Cup will depart as the others arrive. There will be a separate Under-23 team training camp at Salt Lake City from June 10-16 under coach Jason Kreis to prepare for 2020 Olympic qualifying.
The 23-man Gold Cup roster, which must be selected from the preliminary list, is due to CONCACAF by June 5 and will be announced the following day.
Berhalter's roster for next week has 10 players who have never played for the national team, including three eligible for the Gold Cup: defenders Marlon Fossey and Andrew Gutman, and midfielder Duane Holmes. Thirteen players are age-eligible for the 2020 Olympics, which is for players under 23 plus three players per team over the age limit.
The Americans open their title defense in the Gold Cup, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean, against Guyana on June 18 at St. Paul, Minnesota. It will be their first competitive match in 20 months since an October 2017 loss at Trinidad and Tobago caused them to miss the 2018 World Cup. They play Trinidad on June 22 at Cleveland and complete group play against Panama on June 26 at Kansas City, Kansas.
The initial training camp roster (x-on 40-man preliminary Gold Cup roster):
Goalkeepers: JT Marcinkowski (San Jose), Andrew Thomas (Stanford), Justin Vom Steeg (LA Galaxy)
Defenders: Kyle Duncan (New York), x-Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham, England), x-Marlon Fossey (Fulham, England), x-Omar Gonzalez (Atlas, Mexico), x-Andrew Gutman (Charlotte), x-Matt Miazga (Chelsea, England), x-Tim Ream (Fulham, England), x-Antonee Robinson (Everton, England)
Midfielders: x-Duane Holmes (Derby, England), Emerson Hyndman (Bournemouth, England), Keaton Parks (New York City), Eryk Williamson (Portland)
Forwards: x-Jonathan Amon (Nordsjaelland, Denmark), Luca de la Torre (Fulham, England), x-Joe Gyau (Duisburg, Germany, Josh Perez (Los Angeles), x-Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen, Germany); Haji Wright (Schalke, Germany)
