USMNT adds Sargent in final Copa América squad

United States men’s national team manager Gregg Berhalter announced his 26-player roster for the upcoming Copa América on Friday, with Norwich City forward Josh Sargent having recovered sufficiently from a foot injury to be included.

Berhalter had called in 27 players to a pre-tournament training camp that played a pair of friendlies against Colombia and Brazil.

The U.S. suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to Los Cafeteros in the first match before recovering to tie Brazil 1-1, just the second time the USMNT had avoided defeat in that matchup. Sargent wasn’t on the roster for either friendly but will now take part in his first Copa América.

LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman is the odd player out and will return to his club. The remainder of the squad was part of that training camp. Now, after a brief break, the 26 players will resume training in Dallas starting on June 16.

Tournament organizers recently expanded the number of players on a roster from 23 to 26. The official list must be submitted no later than June 15. The original deadline was June 12.

The USMNT opens group play against Bolivia on Sunday, June 23, at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, then faces Panama on Thursday, June 27, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and concludes on Monday, July 1, against Uruguay at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

The tournament opens in Atlanta on June 20, when World Cup and defending Copa América champion Argentina meets Canada.

The average age of the players on the U.S. roster is 25 years, 230 days as of the day of the team’s opening match against Bolivia.

It is the second-youngest squad the United States has sent in five editions of the Copa América, behind only the 2007 roster (24 years, 280 days). Eighteen of the 26 players were on the 2022 World Cup roster, with nine players age 23 and younger.

The squad has an average of 27 caps, 16 in official competition.

ROSTER BY POSITION (Club/Country; Caps/Goals)

GOALKEEPERS (3): 18-Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City/WAL; 9), 25-Sean Johnson (Toronto FC/CAN; 13), 1-Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 41)

DEFENDERS (9): 2-Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 17/0), 23-Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 3/0), 24-Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 13/0), 16-Shaq Moore (Nashville SC; 19/1), 13-Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 58/1), 3-Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 18/1), 5-Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 43/4), 12-Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 29/3), 22-Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 11/0)

MIDFIELDERS (7): 4-Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG; 39/2), 15-Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 13/0), 14-Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 21/0), 8-Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 53/11), 6-Yunus Musah (AC Milan; ITA; 37/0), 7-Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 28/8), 17-Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 11/0)

FORWARDS (7): 11-Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin/GER; 41/8), 20-Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 12/3), 9-Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 25/10), 10-Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 68/29), 26-Josh Sargent (Norwich City/ENG; 23/5), 21-Timothy Weah (Juventus/ITA; 39/6), 19-Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 10/4)