USMNT: Jordan Morris and others included in January camp

Ahead of the World Cup Qualifying matches at the end of this month, nineteen players from Major League Soccer have been called up to the USMNT’s January training camp in Phoenix, Arizona. Some of the most notable call-ups include Jordan Morris, Kellyn Acosta, Matt Turner, Miles Robinson, Walker Zimmerman and first-time call up DeJuan Jones of the New England Revolution.

https://twitter.com/USMNT/status/1479188688722706439?s=20

USMNT January Training Camp Roster

Here is the 19-man roster for the January Training Camp:

GOALKEEPERS: Sean Johnson (New York City FC), Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)

DEFENDERS: George Bello (Atlanta United), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution), Brooks Lennon (Atlanta United), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)

MIDFIELDERS: Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids), Cole Bassett (Colorado Rapids), Djordje Mihailovic (CF Montrêal), Sebastian Lletget (New England Revolution), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes)

FORWARDS: Paul Arriola (D.C. United), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew)

Opportunity To Make The Final Roster

According to Coach Gregg Berhalter, the sole “focus for the next two weeks is to prepare the domestic-based players to be included in the World Cup qualifying training camp.” The press release also stated that the roster for the World Cup Qualifying matches will be finalized at the end of training camp, and that would include both domestic and European-based players.

For those attending camp, this will be an opportunity for some players to make a good impression in front of Berhalter and make a bid for a roster spot in the upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against El Salvador, Canada and Honduras.

I assume players like Acosta, Turner, Robinson, Zimmerman and maybe even Paul Arriola are a shoo-in to make it to the final roster, but I would keep an eye out on a few other players.

One of those players is Jordan Morris, who appeared in the December friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina, his first match after a two-year break. USMNT fans are hoping for Morris to have a good camp, as he is now faced with the challenge of forcing himself into a roster of crowded wingers like Christian Pulisic, Timothy Weah, Gio Reyna, Brenden Aaronson, and others.

Djordje Mihailovic, who is coming off a career year with CF Montreal and who missed out on the December friendly because he was training with Bologna in Serie A, is also back with the squad. The last time Mihailovic was on the roster and played for the squad was back in December of 2020 when the team beat El Salvador 6-0 in a friendly match.

From the December camp, Brooks Lennon, Cole Bassett, George Bello and Jesus Ferreira are also back in the squad after impressive debuts in December. While Bassett has drawn interest from clubs in the Netherlands, La Liga and elsewhere, Ferreira is fresh off signing a new Designated Player deal with FC Dallas. For Bello, it was reported that Premier League side Watford recently made an inquiry about him and it will be interesting to see what comes of that report. Lastly, although he did not see the pitch in December after being called up for the first time, Gabriel Slonina was also included in the January Training Camp roster. According to Patrick McCraney, Manchester United might be interested in the 17 year-old Chicago Fire goalkeeper, but the team has not reached out.

The training camp will run from January 7th until January 21st, and will include closed-door scrimmages. USMNT fans will be looking forward to seeing how this group of players will do in camp and which ones will ultimately make the cut for the upcoming World Cup Qualifying matches.

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