Which players will make an impact for USMNT at Copa America? (2024)

Hosting the 2026 World Cup presents an odd conundrum for the U.S. men’s national team.

With no need to play World Cup qualifiers, finding high-stakes, high-level games will not be easy, leaving the 2024 Copa America as the biggest test the U.S. team will have ahead of the 2026 tournament. U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter will want his best-possible squad to be battle-tested. But with the U-23 Olympic tournament also taking place this summer, some interesting decisions await for younger players who are on the fringe of the national team.

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That reality, plus an injury to Sergiño Dest that alters not just the depth chart at right back, but the debate around depth players with positional flexibility,means there are several question marks on the roster going into the Copa America.

On Thursday, CONMEBOL announced that squads would expand from 23 to 26 players for the tournament. That, too, has changed the math for a lot of roster-related debates. In this, our final squad prediction for the Copa America, it pushed two Olympic-eligible players over to the Paris games as my concern about positional flexibility faded away.

Here is a look at a predicted USMNT roster for Copa America, and a player from each position group whose performances will be vital this summer.

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Goalkeepers

Drake Callender, Ethan Horvath, Matt Turner

There is real competition at the goalkeeper spot for the second and third position behind Matt Turner, who remains the starter for this U.S. team despite being on the bench at Nottingham Forest. Younger options like Gaga Slonina (20), Chris Brady (20) and Patrick Schulte (23), however, are going to be prioritized for the Olympics.

Ethan Horvath was a consistent starter for Cardiff City down the stretch in the English Championship, and his tournament experience gets him a nod here to compete with Turner. Inter Miami’s Drake Callender hasn’t had his best start to the season with Inter Miami, but he’s been in multiple USMNT camps and could get the nod here as the third goalkeeper. The Olympics help hold off some of the younger prospects who would otherwise be in competition with the 26-year-old.

X-Factor: Matt Turner

There’s arguably more competition to make the Olympics roster than there is for Copa America. Callender appears to be next in a lineage of third-string goalkeepers who are good in the locker room and dependable for their clubs, akin to Nick Rimando and Sean Johnson in recent cycles. In fact, it wouldn’t be a complete shock if Berhalter preferred the more veteran Johnson (who’s having a slight bounceback season with Toronto FC) to Callender as a consistent voice from the 2022 World Cup roster.

What remains uncontestable is Turner’s post atop the depth chart. Since making his debut on February 1, 2021, the USMNT has averaged 2.03 points per game in Turner’s 39 starts and 1.7 in the 20 games he hasn’t. Turner has kept 24 clean sheets for his country (61.5% of his starts), while other goalkeepers have do so at a a more moderate 40% rate.

Turner’s rise coincided with Zack Steffen’s wane from involvement, and no alternative has forged nearly as strong of a relationship with the team’s defensive line. Even if he’s spent the spring on the bench as Forest fights for Premier League survival, his importance to this team is unimpeachable. – Jeff Rueter

Defenders

Cameron Carter-Vickers, Kristoffer Lund, Tim Ream, Bryan Reynolds, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Miles Robinson, Joe Scally, Auston Trusty

Losing Dest at right back has a bigger knockdown effect than that position alone; his flexibility to play on the left and right side gave Berhalter options with where to bring other players for depth. Scally can start on either side, but he struggled in his last game with the U.S. The door could be open for Reynolds, who has played consistently at Westerlo in Belgium. Kristoffer Lund has been a consistent backup for the U.S. at left back and is playing every week for Palermo in Serie B. I wondered whether Berhalter would potentially sacrifice Lund for someone like Kevin Paredes, who could be a starter for the Olympic team but adds depth at both left back and left wing for the U.S. in this tournament. Once the rosters expanded, however, it made the decision for me: move Paredes to the Olympic team and call up Lund.

The roster changes also allowed me to add another center back. Tim Ream became a leader in this team in Qatar, but he has not played for Fulham since February. Chris Richards is a lockdown starter. Miles Robinson will have the chance to win the job next to him. I think Walker Zimmerman and Mark McKenzie are candidates to start for the Olympic team as over-age selections, and that allows Auston Trusty to sneak into this side. – Paul Tenorio

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X-factor: Chris Richards

Another unintended consequence of Dest’s injury will come in the form of the team’s buildup in possession. Since Dest claimed ownership of the right back position, his combination of first-touch interplay up the flank and dribbling mastery has allowed the USMNT to progress upfield no matter what approach an opponent’s defense takes. There isn’t a like-for-like option in the pool (unless Tim Weah reprises his wingback role with Juventus, anyway), and the team’s patterns of play will need to adapt as a result.

Enter Richards, who spent much of 2023-24 putting out fires wherever Crystal Palace went ablaze.

Both Roy Hodgson and midseason successor Oliver Glasner utilized Richards in a variety of roles beyond his primary position, most commonly either in central midfield or out wide on the right end of the backline. With Ream’s role diminishing in recent months, Richards’ versatility could be vital to the USMNT, as he also spent the season refining his mid-to-long distribution. The four pass clusters directed upfield in the visual above will need to be replicated for Berhalter’s side to meet their internal expectations for the Copa América.

Throughout the 2022 qualifying cycle, injuries prevented Richards from making the leap to being an unquestioned starter for his country. Having now been regularly involved in his second Premier League season, that could change this summer. – Jeff Rueter

Midfielders

Tyler Adams, Johnny Cardoso, Luca de la Torre, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna, Malik Tillman

The midfield group has become much easier to pick this season. When healthy, we know that Adams, McKennie, Musah and Reyna are in the team. Johnny Cardoso’s move to La Liga has cemented him as the backup for Adams at the No. 6 position. With the U.S. now playing with a No. 10, Malik Tillman is a natural fit to back up Reyna.

Luca de la Torre was my odd man out before the roster expansion. With a 26-man squad, he’s back into the team as a depth player who can provide cover at all three midfield spots. – Paul Tenorio

X-factor: Weston McKennie

Since the final months of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, it has seemed like a foregone that the USMNT is best fueled by MMA (McKennie, Musah and Adams). The 2023-24 club season complicated that no-doubt status for some of them. In Musah’s case, his alternating involvement with Milan and a few frustrating USMNT performances left his spot in the midfield up for debate whenever Reyna was available. For Adams, it was the latest of a few injury-riddled seasons that saw play just 138 competitive minutes for Bournemouth.

The exception has undoubtedly, and somewhat surprisingly, been McKennie. He was openly available on the transfer market as Juventus looked to recoup funds and shake up its squad, but the 25-year-old made himself among the club’s most important players in ways both familiar and evolving.

For all of his added value in receiving passes in dangerous areas, winning aerial duels, and being a tenacious player in all phases, McKennie’s distribution has historically left something to be desired at the highest level. This season, he played a greater rate of long passes (12%) than he has in any season, while playing the highest volume of passes since his first season in Serie A. His seven assists are tied for a career-high, and his improved progressive passing game could help unlock a low defensive block by offering another player capable of dishing from deep. – Jeff Rueter

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Forwards

Brenden Aaronson, Folarin Balogun, Christian Pulisic, Josh Sargent, Tim Weah, Haji Wright, Alejandro Zendejas

It wasn’t long ago that we looked at the No. 9 position as the weakest in the pool. Now there are five strikers legitimately pushing for a spot on the Copa America roster: Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Josh Sargent, Haji Wright and Brandon Vazquez.

Choosing Sargent over Pepi was my hardest call on this roster, though it may not matter if Sargent’s ankle injury keeps him out. Ultimately, if he’s fit I think it’s less likely that Norwich approves Sargent going to the Olympics to play for the U.S.

Pepi is age-eligible and would be the starter for the Olympics. While he’s carved out a nice role as a super sub with the senior team, I think the chance to start in Paris will be the preferred destination and I don’t see PSV turning down that call-up.

Wright can play on the wing as well as the No. 9, and Zendejas sneaks in as an extra winger who has scored regularly at Club America. Balogun will get another chance to prove he can be the No. 9, but let’s not forget that Sargent was the best performer at the position for the U.S. in Qatar. I wouldn’t count him out of this competition.

Pulisic and Weah are lock starters for me. Aaronson can play on either wing and in midfield and has started consistently down the stretch in the Bundesliga for Union Berlin. – Paul Tenorio

X-factor: Folarin Balogun

Balogun followed up his breakout 2022-23 loan spell at Reims with a frustrating first season at AS Monaco. The 22-year-old was dropped from the first-choice lineup midway through the Ligue 1 season as he woefully underperformed his expected goals. He managed seven goals in 28 games (1,609 minutes), well below what you’d hope from his 12.3 expected goal accumulation. Five assists helped salvage his first year with the club, but it was far off expectations for a $43.4 million signing.

Still, there’s no better time to remind the world what you’re capable of than a major international tournament. This tournament will be his first true high-stakes involvement with the USMNT, and he’s now had 9 games (3 goals, 2 assists) to acclimate with his new teammates.

If the United States is going to outpace expectations as Copa América hosts, they’ll need players to deliver in pressure situations. A strong tournament from Balogun would go a long way toward that end.

(Top photos: Getty Images)