Matthew Hoppe, Justin Che named to USMNT squad ahead of Switzerland friendly

Matthew Hoppe and Justin Che are the new faces set to join up with the U.S. men’s national team ahead of a friendly against Switzerland.

The U.S. is set to take on Switzerland on May 30 ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals and, potentially, final, along with a post-tournament friendly against Costa Rica.

Gregg Berhalter’s squad features plenty of the team’s heavy hitters, with some familiar faces making their returns for the primarily European-based camp.

Who made the cut for the USMNT?

GOALKEEPERS: Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge), Chituru Odunze (Leicester City), David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS: John Brooks (Wolfsburg), Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Justin Che (Bayern Munich), Sergino Dest (Barcelona), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Matt Miazga (Anderlecht), Tim Ream (Fulham), Bryan Reynolds (Roma), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray)

MIDFIELDERS: Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), Julian Green (Greuther Furth), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes)

FORWARDS: Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg), Daryl Dike (Barnsley), Matthew Hoppe (Schalke), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen), Jordan Siebatcheu (Young Boys), Tim Weah (Lille)

A strong squad

Berhalter’s team includes many of the USMNT’s top stars, players like Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, John Brooks, Gio Reyna and Sergino Dest.

It also features several players who have notably surged into the picture, like Daryl Dike, Bryan Reynolds, Brendan Aaronson and Yunus Musah, all of whom will be looking to push for more consistent roles after earning tastes of the national team setup over the last 12 months.

Notable, though, are the returns of veterans like DeAndre Yedlin and Julian Green, who are both back in camp, with the Galatasary forward back for the first time since 2019 and the Greuther Furth midfielder seeking his first cap in nearly three years.

Hoppe, Che and David Ochoa are the players joining up for their first USMNT camp, with Hoppe in on the heels of his breakout six-goal campaign for Schalke.

Che, meanwhile, has made seven appearances for Bayern Munich II since joining the German giants on loan in January while Ochoa served as the U.S. U-23s starter during Olympic qualifying and has started all four matches for Real Salt Lake this season.

Notable absences

Two players notably not on the squad are Christian Pulisic and Zack Steffen, both of whom are penciled in as starters heading toward World Cup qualifiers later this year.

The two were unable to head to camp as they are set to square off in the Champions League final on May 29.

Looking ahead

With the Nations League set to kick off once again in June, Berhalter does not have to submit a 23-player roster for the Final Four until May 24.

This camp and this friendly against Switzerland give him the chance to get one more look at the player pool before deciding on a roster.

The U.S. will take on Honduras on June 3 and then potentially the winner of Mexico’s clash with Costa Rica three days later, with a friendly against Costa Rica already penciled in for June 9.

After that, focus will turn toward the Gold Cup, with the U.S. expected to feature an MLS-heavy roster with most of the team’s big stars expected to be given time to rest ahead of World Cup qualifiers in the fall.

Further reading

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