Top 50 players in the USMNT player pool: Never a better time for the program
U.S. Soccer called up 23 players for the USMNT’s CONCACAF Nations League semifinal and another 22 for Olympic training camp this week, with three more players joining the fray after injuries to Josh Sargent, Luca de la Torre, and Gaga Slonina.
The group of Olympic hopefuls wasn't simply the next 22 up given the age restrictions on Olympic rosters, but it's still relatively wild to read the names of players who aren't among those 48 players given that this United States national team program wasn't even regularly qualifying for the World Cup until the 1990s.
[ MORE: USMNT upcoming schedule, latest results ]
Cameron Carter-Vickers misses out after a minor injury suffered as arguably the best player on Scotland's best club team, Celtic FC. Also injured is Lennard Maloney, a close to full-time starter for Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, while Utrecht winger Taylor Booth has been out for about a month after scoring five times in an Eredivisie week.
Sheffield United may be a 20th-place Premier League side, but Auston Trusty is a regular starter on a club in the top division in world football. And Brandon Vazquez has eight goals in 13 appearances for Liga MX side Monterrey. Players like John Brooks (Hoffenheim), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC), Erik Palmer-Brown (Panathinaikos), Richy Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven) are out of the mix for various reasons but would've been shoo-ins for so many previous squads.
We've often power ranked the USMNT’s pool as a Top 25, but instead let's use this international break to rank the Top 50 players in the USMNT player pool. Be gentle with us.
Top 25 50 players in the USMNT player pool right now
Before we go any further with this list, here’s a reminder of how we sort the talent with some ground rules:
The ranking is meant to illustrate who would be most likely to positively affect a USMNT match, regardless of manager or teammates, right now.
Health doesn’t matter to our rankings if a current injury isn’t one that could drastically alter the player’s skill set moving forward.
Age/potential/experience doesn’t matter either, at least not much; It’s how likely you are to contribute to the team if put on the field right now. Obviously, Paxton Aaronson is a better long-term prospect than Jordan Morris, but the Seattle Sounders forward is currently better prepared for the stage than the Philadelphia Union youngster.
Finally, if you’re breaking a tie between players… ask which you’d be more upset to hear was unavailable for a USMNT camp.
Yunus Musah, AC Milan
Sergino Dest, PSV Eindhoven
Timothy Weah, Juventus
Johnny Cardoso, Real Betis
Folarin Balogun, AS Monaco
Tim Ream, Fulham
Luca de la Torre, Celta Vigo
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Celtic
Matt Turner, Nottingham Forest
Ricardo Pepi, PSV Eindhoven
Josh Sargent, Norwich City
Malik Tillman, PSV Eindhoven
Joe Scally, Borussia Monchengladbach
Haji Wright, Coventry City
Ethan Horvath, Cardiff City
Walker Zimmerman, Nashville SC
Gianluca Busio, Venezia
Kevin Paredes, Wolfsburg
Auston Trusty, Sheffield United
Lennard Maloney, Heidenheim
Kristoffer Lund, Palermo
Brandon Vazquez, Monterrey
Mark McKenzie, Genk
Gaga Slonina, Eupen
John Brooks, Hoffenheim
Jordan Morris, Seattle Sounders
Tanner Tessman, Venezia
Taylor Booth, Utrecht
Bryan Reynolds, Westerlo
Cade Cowell, Chivas
Erik Palmer-Brown, Panathinaikos
Matt Miazga, FC Cincinnati
Julian Gressel, Inter Miami
Cristian Roldan, Seattle Sounders
Brian White, Vancouver Whitecaps
Zack Steffen, Colorado Rapids
