USMNT roster, players for Gold Cup 2023 as USA sends B team for CONCACAF continental competition

With all the key starters called up for the Nations League final four in mid-June, there weren't many top stars left to participate in the 2023 Gold Cup as the USMNT selected a "B team" roster of mostly fringe players.

The main phase of the Gold Cup will take place from June 24-July 16, with the United States set to open the tournament against Jamaica on the first day of competition.

That first match comes just six days after the final match of the Nations League, which saw USA beat Canada, and with such a short turnaround, interim head coach BJ Callaghan has decided to swap most of the participants out from one to the other.

As defending champions of the competition, the United States will hope to keep themselves atop the Gold Cup mountain, as the competition has not had a back-to-back winner since Mexico topped the bracket in both 2009 and 2011.

MORE: All about new interim USA head coach BJ Callaghan and the departure of Anthony Hudson

USMNT roster for 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup

The USA Gold Cup roster features just five players that remain from the 23-man Nations League roster, two of them goalkeepers. Instead, the squad features mostly new call-ups for the competition, with inexperienced or fringe players given a chance to shine.

The holdovers from the Nations League are Sean Johnson, Matt Turner, Miles Robinson, Alan Sonora, and Alex Zendejas. For the knockout stage, U.S. Soccer announced that Sonora would be replaced due to a right hamstring strain, with Jackson Yueill called into the squad in his place.

The roster also features exciting prospects Gaga Slonina and winger Cade Cowell who are fresh off their quarterfinal appearance at the U-20 World Cup. Jalen Neal, who was denied a spot on the U-20 World Cup roster by his club LA Galaxy, was also called in, with the MLS side now forced to release him for this senior international window.

The only player over the age of 30 on the roster is goalkeeper Sean Johnson, while there are nine players 22 years old or younger.

USA strikers must step up

With Folarin Balogun now committed to the U.S. and taking part in the CONCACAF Nations League, it's on the rest of the striker pool to stand above the rest.

Balogun is the presumed starter on the depth chart at this point, but the race remains wide open for others to see time in the future. Jesus Ferreira probably stands the most to lose, as the top option prior to Balogun's arrival, and he will need to earn his place moving forward.

Brandon Vazquez, who just missed out on a place in the World Cup squad this winter, is also one who stands to lose ground in the race.

USMNT injuries, snubs for Gold Cup roster

Leading the list of injured absentees is captain Tyler Adams, who is still recovering from his season-ending hamstring injury suffered back in mid-March. Adams missed the final 12 Premier League matches of the campaign, of which Leeds won just two and suffered relegation. Adams was on the preliminary Nations League roster, but was not selected to the final 23-man group, and misses this tournament as well.

Also missing is Tim Ream, who, like Adams, suffered a season-ending injury in Premier League play. Ream's campaign was ended prematurely in late April thanks to a broken arm. Another defender in Cameron Carter-Vickers is also not on the roster. The Celtic center-back had knee surgery which kept him out of the final six matches of the Scottish league season. Goalkeepers Zack Steffen and Ethan Horvath are also injured and miss out on both summer tournaments, as does Josh Sargent and Malik Tillman.

Players who did not get a roster spot for either the Nations League or the Gold Cup include full-backs Sam Vines, Reggie Cannon, and Shaq Moore, center-backs Erik Palmer-Brown and Mark McKenzie, midfielders Jackson Yueill, Eryk Williamson, and Paxton Pomykal, and forwards Haji Wright and Paul Arriola.

2023 Gold Cup schedule for USA

The United States was drawn into Group A for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup final stage alongside Jamaica, Nicaragua, and St. Kitts & Nevis.

Nicaragua was subsequently disqualified from the tournament after CONCACAF levied sanctions for fielding an ineligible player, and thus Trinidad & Tobago was elevated from the preliminary round into the group stage, while Antigua & Barbuda was sent to the preliminary round in their place.

Group stage

Group A standings

Group A fixtures

Knockout Stage

No matter its finish in Group A, as long as the U.S. qualify for the knockout stage, they would play their quarterfinal game on July 9 in Cincinnati.

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final