CHICAGO (November 15, 2023) – The U.S. men’s national team begins its quest for its third straight Concacaf Nations League title with two games against Trinidad and Tobago in the quarterfinal round. The home game will take place in Austin on November 16th, with kick-off scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET (8:00 p.m. local time) at Q2 Stadium. The away game will be played on November 20th at 7pm ET at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Both games will be broadcast live on TNT, Universo, MAX and Peacock. Live audio of the game in Spanish will be available on Fútbol de Primera radio. Fans can also follow the games on Facebook, Twitter @USMNT, Instagram @USMNT and the official US Soccer app.
DETAILED LINEUP BY POSITION (Club/Country; Internationals/Goals)
GOALKEEPER (3): Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 9/0), Gaga Slonina (KAS Eupen/BEL; 1/0), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 35/0)
DEFENSE (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 14/0), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 30/2), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 3/0), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 53/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 14/1), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 37/2), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 27/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 7/0)
MIDFIELDER (7): Paxten Aaronson (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; 1/0), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 19/0), Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim/GER; 1/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 48/11 ), Yunus Musah (AC Milan/ITA; 31/0), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 22/6), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 6/0)
FORWARD (5): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin/GER; 36/8), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 6/3), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; 2/0), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 20/9), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 7/1)
The squad represents significant continuity: a total of 19 of the 23 players who took part in camp last month are heading to Austin, including goalscorers Folarin Balogun and Gio Reyna. The roster features 12 players who were part of the USMNT team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and 15 players helped the U.S. win its second consecutive Concacaf Nations League title last June.
EYES ON THE PRICE
The quarterfinal round not only positions the USMNT to win its third consecutive CNL championship, but also serves as qualification for the prestigious Copa America 2024, South America’s premier international tournament, which will be played in the United States next summer. The 2024 edition of the event will feature ten CONMEBOL nations and six Concacaf host nations, including defending World Cup and Copa America champions Argentina, led by captain and Inter Miami attacker Lionel Messi.
Light the lamp
With 43 goals scored in 16 games this year, the U.S. goal scorers are varied. Seven of the 13 players who hit the net for the USMNT in 2023 are on this roster: Ricardo Pepi (6), Brenden Aaronson (2), Folarin Balogun (2), Weston McKennie (2), Gio Reyna (2), Chris Richards (1), Alex Zendejas (1)
THE BUDDY SYSTEM
There are four groups of clubmates on the squad, all from European teams: Fulham (Ream, A. Robinson), PSV Eindhoven (Dest, Pepi, Tillman) and Nottingham Forest (Horvath, Turner).
The PSV trio all met with former US Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart in Eindhoven this summer. Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson are teammates at Craven Cottage in their fourth season. Matt Turner moved from Arsenal to Nottingham Forest where he met Ethan Horvath, who had returned to the English Championship from a successful promotion campaign with Luton Town.
Brothers on and off the field
Brenden and Paxten Aaronson are the ninth pair of brothers to represent the USMNT and could become the eighth pair to play in the same international match. The first opportunities will come during this month’s Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series against Trinidad and Tobago.
Both are products of the Philadelphia Union’s YSC Academy and play in the top German league. Brenden is on loan at FC Union Berlin for a year, while Paxten is enjoying his first year in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt.
Here’s more on the fascinating story of the brothers who shared the field for the USMNT.
VS. THE SOCA WARRIORS
The USA and Trinidad & Tobago have met 28 times so far, making the Soca Warriors the fifth most frequent opponents in USMNT history.
- The USA has a 21-3-4 lead against Trinidad and Tobago. The 21 wins against Trinidad are the USMNT’s second-most against an international opponent after Mexico (23 wins).
- The last competitive meeting between the teams took place during the 2023 Gold Cup group stage. The USMNT secured a 6-0 victory in their final group game on July 2 in Charlotte, North Carolina, with an outstanding performance from striker Jesús Ferreira. Hat trick at the half, while Cade Cowell, Gianluca Busio and Brandon Vazquez scored second-half goals to secure the U.S. top spot in Group A.
- The rivalry between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago dates back to March 21, 1982, a 2-1 friendly win in the Trinidadian capital Port of Spain.
- The away game in Trinidad comes one day after the 34th anniversary of one of the most significant goals in U.S. soccer history. On November 19, 1989, Paul Caligiuri’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” gave the USMNT a 1-0 victory on the final day of qualifying for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, sending the United States back to the tournament for the first time since 1990 40 years.
USMNT IN TWO-LEG SERIES
While November’s games officially count as the quarterfinals of the 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League, the home-and-away series also serves as qualifiers for next year’s Copa America in the United States. Although two-game series are more common in the knockout stages of competitions such as the UEFA Champions League, this will be the seventh time the USMNT will play a two-game series with a different opponent and it is the first time they have takes place outside of World Cup qualification. The USMNT enters this month’s series with the Soca Warriors holding a 4-2 record in two-game series and winning each of their last four games.
|
USMNT in the two-leg series | |||
opponent (competition) | First leg | Second leg | Aggregate |
Mexico | 3-3 D | 0-3L | 3-6L |
Haiti | 0-2L | 0-1L | 0-3L |
Netherlands Antilles | 4-0 win | 0-0 D | 4-0 win |
Jamaica | 0-0 D | 5-1W | 5-1W |
Grenada | 3-0 win | 3-2W | 6-2W |
Barbados | 8-0W | 1-0 win | 9-0W |
IN THE Q2 STADIUM
Q2 Stadium has hosted USMNT games in three different official competitions, with all three previous visits ending in narrow victories in front of sellout crowds. Gyasi Zardes scored the 86th-minute winner in the team’s 1-0 semifinal win over Qatar en route to the 2021 Gold Cup title. Three months later, 18-year-old striker Ricardo Pepi scored two goals to give the United States a 2-0 win over Jamaica in World Cup qualifying.
Last June, Jesús Ferreira’s four goals led the USA to a 5-0 win over Grenada as the team began its successful 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League season. Ferreira’s four goals set a team record for most goals in a game. The win extended the USMNT’s unbeaten streak on U.S. soil to 26 straight games and also tied the team’s record set in 2013-2015.
ABOUT THE CONCACAF NATIONS LEAGUE
Launched in September, the 2023–24 Concacaf Nations League was created to maximize the quality, quantity and frequency of competitive matches for all 41 member associations of the Concacaf competitions.
The 2023-24 CNL will continue to be played in a three-league format (A, B and C), with the region’s 41 men’s national teams distributed among the leagues according to the results of the 2022-23 CNL.
The U.S. will compete in League A, which has expanded to 16 teams (up from 12) and a new quarterfinal round was created to allow for more direct elimination games.
ROSTER NOTES
- The squad has an average age of 24 years and 7 days as of match day, November 16, with 14 players aged 24 and under.
- The squad has also averaged 19 international matches and 10 in official competitions.
- The roster features 12 players who were part of the USMNT team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and 15 players helped the U.S. win its second consecutive Concacaf Nations League title last June.
- Nineteen players participated in the USMNT’s October camp.
- With 53 appearances, veteran defender Tim Ream is the leading cap winner, followed by Weston McKennie (48), Antonee Robinson (37), Brenden Aaronson (36), Matt Turner (35), Yunus Musah (31) and Sergiño Dest (30). . ).
The 23 players practice their craft in 10 different countries: Germany (6), England (5), Italy (3), Netherlands (3), Belgium (1), France (1), Mexico (1), Scotland (1 ). , Spain (1), USA (1). 23 players represent clubs in their respective first divisions.
- Four players return to the squad: forward Paxten Aaronson, defender Antonee Robinson, goalkeeper Gaga Slonina and midfielder Malik Tillman, who was originally part of the October squad before being forced to withdraw due to injury.
The two youngest players on the November squad, Paxten Aaronson (20) and Slonina (19), made their USMNT debuts during January camp this year. Still 18 years old at the time, Slonina became the youngest goalkeeper to play for the USMNT when he started the game against Serbia on January 25th. The then 19-year-old Aaronson started in the 0-0 draw against Colombia on January 28th.
With his start against Colombia, Paxten joined his brother Brenden Aaronson as the ninth group of brothers to earn appearances for the USMNT. They joined John and Pedro DeBrito, Otto and Rolf Decker, Angelo and Paul DiBernardo, Charlie and Henry McCully, George and Michael Nanchoff, Ken and Steve Snow, James and Russ Murphy, Archie and Tommy Stark.
Should he play in both games, 20-year-old midfielder Yunus Musah (31 caps) would set a new record for most appearances by a USMNT player before his 21st birthday. Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan and Christian Pulisic jointly hold the record with 32 international matches each. Musah (29 starts) already has the most starts by a USMNT player before his 21st birthday, and if he played 153 minutes he would surpass Landon Donovan (2,507 minutes) in the most minutes before turning 21. Musah turns 21 on November 29th.
Should he appear in both games this month, midfielder Weston McKennie would become the 61st player to win his 50th cap and the fifth youngest player to do so (25 years, 84 days).
With 11 appearances already in 2023, goalkeeper Matt Turner is the fourth USMNT goalkeeper to earn double-digit caps in at least three calendar years, and the third to do so in consecutive years: Tim Howard (6; 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012 ). , 2013, 2017), Tony Meola (5; 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994), Turner (3; 2021, 2022, 2023), Kasey Keller (3; 1998, 2002, 2005).
Nineteen players have Concacaf Nations League experience, with nine players having five or more CNL caps. Weston McKennie has appeared in 11 of the 12 all-time CNL games, followed by Brenden Aaronson (7), Luca de la Torre (6), Tim Ream (6), Gio Reyna (6), Antonee Robinson (6) and Sergiño Dest (5), Yunus Musah (5) and Matt Turner (5).
Six players have already played against Trinidad and Tobago: Tim Ream (2), Miles Robinson (2), Matt Turner (2), Brenden Aaronson (1), Weston McKennie (1), Alex Zendejas (1).
Miles Robinson, who scored his first goal against Trinidad on January 31, 2021, along with Turner and Zendejas, helped the USA to a 6-0 victory over the Soca Warriors in the Concacaf Gold Cup game on July 2, 2023 in Charlotte.
Striker Ricardo Pepi scored his second and third international goals at the Q2 Stadium, scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over Jamaica in World Cup qualifying on October 7, 2021.
Defender Tim Ream is the only player in the squad to have appeared in a game in Trinindad and Tobago. In the 0-0 draw on November 17, 2015 during the semi-final round of World Cup qualifying, he was in the starting line-up and played the entire 90 minutes.
Five players are aiming for their debut in official competition and their first appearance against Concacaf opponents: Paxten Aaronson, Kristoffer Lund, Lennard Maloney, Kevin Paredes and Gaga Slonina.
Six players made their USMNT debuts in recent November windows: Tim Ream (November 17, 2010 in South Africa); Weston McKennie and Cameron Carter-Vickers (November 14, 2017 in Portugal); Yunus Musah and Gio Reyna (12 November 2020 in Wales); and Chris Richards (November 16, 2020 vs. Panama).
- Seven players are with clubs currently participating in the UEFA Champions League: Sergiño Dest, Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven); Yunus Musah (AC Milan); Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin), Cameron Carter Vickers (Celtic), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund).
Nine players have represented the USA at a FIFA Youth World Cup: Cameron Carter-Vickers (2015, U-20 2017), Luca de la Torre (U-17 2015, U-20 2017), Sergiño Dest (U-17 2017). , 2019 U-20), Kevin Paredes (2023 U-20), Ricardo Pepi (2019 U-17), Gio Reyna (2019 U-17), Joe Scally (2019 U-17), Chris Richards (2019 U-20 ), Gaga Slonina (2023 U-20)
- Thirteen players are products of the US Soccer Development Academy, ten of whom come from MLS Academies: Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Chris Richards and Alex Zendejas (FC Dallas); Brenden Aaronson and Paxten Aaronson (Philadelphia Union); Gio Reyna and Joe Scally (New York City FC); Luca de la Torre (San Diego Nomads); Ethan Horvath (Real Colorado); Kevin Paredes (DC United); Miles Robinson (Boston Bolts); Gaga Slonina (Chicago Fire).
IN FOCUS: TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
THE ROAD TO THE CNL DISTRICT
Trinidad has competed in four CNL competitions and has a record of 3-1-0. The Caribbean team started with a 1-0 win over Curaçao, with Nathaniel James scoring a dramatic 87th-minute goal in Port of Spain on September 7. In a see-saw battle three days later, T&T defeated El Salvador 3-2, in San Salvador. Ryan Telfer, Malcolm Shaw and Justin Garcia (game winner in the 72nd minute) set the pace for the visitors.
The Soca Warriors overcame a two-goal first-half deficit to record a 3-2 victory over Guatemala in Port of Spain. Alvin Jones opened the rally with a penalty in the 36th minute. Reon Moore equalized in the 54th minute and James scored another dramatic late winner in the 89th minute.
Their winning streak ended on October 17th with a 3-5 defeat against Curaçao. For the second time in a row, Trinidad fell behind, this time trailing 4-0 before a two-second surge failed. Moore (68th minute), Kristian Lee Him (74th minute) and Kareem Moses (86th minute) made it interesting.
DETAILED LINEUP BY POSITION
GOALKEEPER (3): Denzil Smith (Club Sando; 5/0), Christopher Biggette (Defence Force; 0/0), Rushon Sandy (Yavapai College/USA; 0/0)
DEFENSE (7): Alvin Jones (Club Sando; 48/4), Aubrey David CS Cartagines/CRC; 77/1), Justin Garcia (Defence Force; 15/1), Ross Russell (La Horquetta Rangers; 14/0), Jesse Williams (Central Valley Fuego/USA; 9/0), Andre Raymond (Vilar de Perdizes/POR ; 4/0), Shannon Gomez (San Antonio FC/USA; 12/0)
MIDFIELDER (7): Neveal Hackshaw (Oakland Roots/USA; 39/2), Noah Powder (Northern Colorado Hailstorm/USA; 17/2), Michel Poon-Angeron (AC Port of Spain; 11/0), Kristian Lee-Him (IFK Eskilstuna/ SWE; 4/1), Kaile Auvray (Mount Pleasant/JAM; 9/0), Andre Rampersad (Halifax Wanderers/CAN; 9/1), Daniel Phillips (St. Johnstone FC/SCO; 8/0)
FORWARD (6): Ryan Telfer (Miami FC; 26/9), Real Gill (Club Sando; 4/1), Reon Moore (Defence Force; 24/7), Nathaniel James (Mount Pleasant/JAM; 4/2), Levi Garcia ( AEK Athens/GRE; 41/8), Malcolm Shaw (Atletico Ottawa/CAN; 5/1)
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO MANAGER
Angus Eve took over as head coach and U20 coach on September 2, 2021. He replaced former England international Terry Fenwick, who failed to make it past the first round of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup with the team.
His coaching experience includes stints as an assistant coach with San Juan Jabloteh and Ma Pau Stars in the TT Pro League and as manager of the Trinidad U23 squad during qualification for the 2012 Olympics.
Eve, 51, played 117 times as a midfielder for the Soca Warriors, scoring 34 goals. At club level he played for Joe Public, Defense Force and San Juan Jabloteh in the TT League and one season for Chester City (England).
ROSTER NOTES
- Of the 23-member squad, a total of 15 play abroad while eight artists are based domestically.
- Club Sando and Defense Force have the most local players on the team, with three each.
- Six players appear at various levels in the United States. These include goalkeeper Rushon Sandy (Yavapai College), defenders Jesse Williams (Central Valley Fuego, USL League One) and Shannon Gomez (San Antonio FC, USL Championship), midfielders Neveal Hackshaw (Oakland Roots, USL Championship) and Noah Powder ( Northern Colorado). Hailstorm, USL League One) and striker Ryan Telfer (Miami FC, USL Championship).
- The Soca Warriors goalkeepers – Denzil Smith, Christopher Biggette and Sandy – have a total of six international caps to their name.
- Striker Levi Garcia has returned to the squad after missing the last four CNL games due to injury. Garcia, who scored the 11th-minute opener for AEK Athens in a 3-0 home win over Lamia in the Greek Super League on Sunday, November 12, has eight international goals in 41 appearances.
- Striker Malcolm Shaw, who missed games against Guatemala and Curaçao, is also back in the team.
- Telfer leads all Trinidad players with nine goals in 26 games.
- 33-year-old defender Aubrey David, who plays for CS Cartagines (Costa Rica), is the player with the most appearances (77).
- Alvin Jones scored in the Soca Warriors’ 2-1 win over the Americans in 2017, eliminating the USA from contention for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Jones, who scored four international goals in 48 games, plays for Club Sando. He is the younger brother of former Trinidad international striker Joevin Jones, who played for the Chicago Fire, Seattle Sounders and Inter Miami of Major League Soccer.