An unusual camp will be shaped by plenty of factors, but the USMNT will take what it can get to make up for lost time.
A U.S. men's national team made up almost entirely of European-based players got its chance to perform earlier this month. Soon enough, it'll be the U.S.-based players' turn.
In an effort to make up for some lost time–and training camps–the U.S. men are staging a December session outside of the FIFA international calendar in order for manager Gregg Berhalter to get some time with his domestic-based talent. That time is usually reserved for the annual January camp, which is still scheduled to take place, but with the MLS season coming to a close and most teams already eliminated, U.S. Soccer is sneaking in one more camp before the year ends. It will close with a friendly vs. El Salvador at Inter Miami's home stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Dec. 9.
There are a number of complications and factors when considering a squad for this unusual camp. LAFC, Atlanta United, NYCFC and the Montreal Impact are all alive in the postponed Concacaf Champions League, which will resume Dec. 15 in Orlando. It's difficult–though not impossible–to envision any of those clubs releasing players for a national team camp before then, which would figure to rule out quite a few possible call-ups.
Those clubs still alive in the MLS playoffs–which, as of Monday morning, are Eastern Conference finalists Columbus Crew and New England Revolution and Western Conference semifinalists FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders, Minnesota United and Sporting Kansas City–would also not figure to be sending players to camp. It's feasible that the two clubs in the West that fall in Tuesday and Wednesday night's matches could then make players available–but when you consider that with the required COVID-19 testing and the bubble-like protocols U.S. Soccer is taking in Florida, by the time those players would be cleared to join training, it might be a little late in the process.
That leaves a dwindling pool of clubs, which can still yield a capable group and increase the sample size of evidence from which Berhalter can draw some conclusions.
“Playing against El Salvador gives us an opportunity to face a Concacaf opponent that we haven’t seen yet and will be a valuable experience,” Berhalter said in a statement. “We want to build on this year’s work while continuing to evaluate the player pool as we head into a busy 2021.”
The year ahead is slated to include multiple competitions for players of all ages, and with that means an expanded number of players upon which Berhalter and U-23 coach Jason Kreis will call in the coming months.
So who could be in frame for the Pre-January Camp Camp? After combing through the available players, here's a look at who may be headed to Florida before Berhalter makes his selections public on Tuesday:
GOALKEEPERS
Bill Hamid (D.C. United), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union)
New England's Matt Turner would've surely been the top choice, but with his team playing on, he's out of picture, and the 30-year-old Hamid and a pair of U-23 national team regulars are the next likeliest to get the call. Real Salt Lake's seldom-used David Ochoa could also be in frame if part of the goal here is to use this as extra prep for the scheduled Olympic qualifying tournament in March. Marcinkowski, Freese and Ochoa were the three goalkeepers selected for Kreis's qualifying squad this past March before the pandemic forced the postponement of the competition.
DEFENDERS
Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy), Kyle Duncan (New York Red Bulls), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake), Aaron Herrera (Real Salt Lake), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Mark McKenzie (Philadephia Union), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
Nashville's ouster Sunday night made Zimmerman available, with his MLS Defender of the Year-caliber season coming to a close. He and Long remain the top MLS-based center backs in the U.S. pool, though if last month's friendlies showed anything definitive, it's that the competition to join John Brooks atop the depth chart remains wide open.
Bryan Reynolds, the 19-year-old right back who has been linked with a move to join Weston McKennie at Juventus, wouldn't figure to be available with FC Dallas alive in the playoffs.
MIDFIELDERS
Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union), Efrain Alvarez (LA Galaxy), Cole Bassett (Colorado Rapids), Caden Clark (New York Red Bulls), Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy), Djordje Mihailovic (Chicago Fire), Memo Rodriguez (Houston Dynamo), Wil Trapp (Inter Miami), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes)
Alvarez's appearance is reportedly going to happen, which will raise more than just an eyebrow or two on either side of the U.S.-Mexico border. The highly regarded 18-year-old LA Galaxy talent has represented Mexico in official youth competitions before and is ineligible to play for the U.S. in a game until he files a FIFA one-time switch. His appearance in this camp is also not an indicator that he's absolutely going to change allegiances. It does give the U.S. a chance, though.
Elsewhere, this group is littered with other young talent, though it remains to be seen if Aaronson would join this camp ahead of his transfer to Salzburg or if he'll put all his focus on Jesse Marsch's club. It also remains to be seen whether the injury Eryk Williamson suffered in the Portland Timbers' season-ending match is prohibitive.
Gianluca Busio (Sporting KC) and Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders) are two others who would figure to be in frame if their clubs weren't still alive in the playoffs.
FORWARDS
Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Ayo Akinola (Toronto FC), Paul Arriola (D.C. United), Daryl Dike (Orlando City), Jeremy Ebobisse (Portland Timbers), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids), Chris Mueller (Orlando City)
The U.S. forward pool remains a work in progress, especially when it comes to the No. 9 spot. Last month's camp in Europe was a solid indicator of that, with Lletget serving as a false nine for the friendly vs. Wales before the previously uncapped Sebastian Soto and Nicholas Gioacchini stepped into a more traditional role vs. Panama. It's quite possible that after all this time, Altidore is still the top talent available for the spot, though his inability to stay healthy and be a consistent 90-minute player is something Berhalter has addressed quite candidly. He's fresh off another hamstring strain.
Akinola, Altidore's club teammate who rose to prominence at the MLS Is Back tournament, still maintains eligibility for Canada and Nigeria, while Dike is also eligible to play for Nigeria. Their inclusions would give Berhalter and Kreis a chance to make their pitch regarding their futures with the Olympic qualifying squad and full national team.
Arriola is nowhere near peak shape after returning from a torn ACL to make a cameo on Decision Day, but he's played a significant role with the U.S. since Berhalter took charge, and this camp would be a low-risk environment to assess his status.
Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew), Jesus Ferreira and Ricardo Pepi (both FC Dallas) are among those who would figure to be in frame for January but should not be available this time around.