USMNT interim coach Anthony Hudson calls up five World Cup players for annual January camp
The U.S. men's national team released its January camp roster and Wednesday, which includes an unconventional squad breakdown and a new coach leading the team on an interim basis.
Interim head coach Anthony Hudson called up 24 players for the USMNT's annual January camp, which begins Saturday. The U.S. will play two friendlies during this camp. First, against Serbia on Jan. 25 in Los Angeles at Banc of California Stadium and against Colombia on Jan. 28 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Hudson is filling in after Gregg Berhalter's contract expired at the end of 2022 following the FIFA World Cup and notably called in five players from the USMNT's World Cup roster. Another unique feature, seven of the 24 players come from outside Major League Soccer, which is uncommon during this camp lying outside of a FIFA window.
Nashville SC center back Walker Zimmerman joins Los Angeles FC's Aaron Long and Kellyn Acosta, FC Dallas forward Jesus Ferreira and goalkeeper Sean Johnson. Zimmerman logged 278 minutes in three starts, playing all four games for the U.S. in Qatar. Acosta came off the bench against Wales and Iran, playing 40 minutes.
In an interview with ussoccer.com regarding the five 2022 World Cup veterans, Hudson said: "The other thing is these guys they know what's expected on and off the field. They know how we train, the intensity that we want to train at, and they know the standards. All of them individually have leadership skills."
Hudson also called up seven players who currently play their club soccer outside of Major League Soccer, which marks the highest contingent ever in a January camp. Among them, U.S.-Mexico dual international Alejandro Zendejas, a 24-year-old winger who plays for Club America in Mexico. Another is Middlesbrough's Matthew Hoppe.
U.S. Under-20 national team standouts Paxton Aaronson of Eintracht Frankfurt and Real Sociedad's Jonathan Gomez also accompany that list.
"The starting point was ‘who do we want to bring in?’ Who's available, who's not playing first-team football right now overseas, whether it's a young player, whether it's a dual national that we've been looking at, and let's go after it," Hudson said. "And then there's a bunch of us just making calls speaking to the clubs, speaking to the players, and the response has been really good. I think it's made this squad stronger and gives us the opportunity to look at some overseas players that have been with us before and we haven't seen them for a little while. These are high-potential players.
"And the other one is to look at some dual nationals, some players that have been on the radar," he continued. "This gives us a chance to bring those guys in get to know them, get to know us, and then to play in two really good games. It's great these guys are coming in and I think we were feeling very fortunate that we were able to get them because some are playing competitive games with their clubs."
USMNT January camp full squad
Goalkeepers: Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati), Sean Johnson (free agent), Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/England)
Defenders: Jonathan Gómez (Real Sociedad/Spain), Julian Gressel (Vancouver Whitecaps), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution), Aaron Long (LAFC), Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy), Sam Rogers (Rosenborg/Norway), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
Midfielders: Paxten Aaronson (Eintracht Frankfurt/Germany), Kellyn Acosta (LAFC), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas), Alan Soñora (free agent), Eryk Williamson (Portland Timbers)
Forwards: Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Matthew Hoppe (Middlesbrough/England), Emmanuel Sabbi (Odense/Denmark), Brandon Vazquez (FC Cincinnati), Alejandro Zendejas (Club America/Mexico)
For stories about Nashville SC or Soccer in Tennessee, contact Drake Hills at DHills@gannett.com. Follow Drake on Twitter at @LiveLifeDrake. Connect with Drake on Instagram at @drakehillssoccer and on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: U.S. men's national soccer team calls up 24 players to January camp
