Nothing Set in Stone for Copa America Squad, Says USA Coach Berhalter

Veteran players Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie are among the notable names on the United States’ 27-man training camp roster ahead of the Copa America. Still, coach Gregg Berhalter emphasized on Monday that roster spots for the tournament are not guaranteed.

The United States will host Colombia on June 8 and five-time world champions Brazil on June 12 for a pair of friendlies, before the Copa America begins on home soil on June 20.

“The messaging was very clear that although a large majority of this roster will make up Copa America, nothing’s set in stone,” said Berhalter. “That’s the important thing. We want to have a good training camp, we want to have some good performances against Colombia and Brazil, and we have to monitor a couple of players for their fitness standpoint and a couple of others for how they’re performing.”

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Several familiar faces from Berhalter’s 2022 World Cup team are returning, including captain Pulisic, Juventus midfielder McKennie, goalkeeper Matt Turner, and his Nottingham Forest teammate Gio Reyna.

Forward Josh Sargent is back for the first time since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after he withdrew from the Nations League Final camp with an injury earlier this year. Tyler Adams has also been called up after missing the final game of an injury-stunted season with Bournemouth.

“Trying to get Tyler and Josh in a place where they’re healthy, they feel great going into Copa America,” Berhalter said. “Josh has a little bit of foot swelling going on that we want to get control of. Tyler has been training… we want to build him up again in the right way to get them ready.”

The Copa America will run from June 20 to July 14, featuring 16 teams—10 from CONMEBOL and six from CONCACAF.