Four Orlando City Players Make USMNT Roster for Trinidad & Tobago Friendly

Gregg Berhalter has named his team for next Sunday’s friendly between the United States Men’s National Team and Trinidad & Tobago, and four Orlando City players’ names are among the 25 selected. Chris Mueller, Daryl Dike, Benji Michel, and Andres Perea are among the 25 players who will be available for selection on Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. when the USMNT plays T&T at Exploria Stadium (FS1, UniMás and TUDN).

“These last two weeks have been an absolute pleasure. The hard work and determination demonstrated by the entire group confirms that the player pool is headed in the right direction,” Berhalter said. “As we transition to Orlando, we switch gears and focus on competing as we prepare to face Trinidad and Tobago.” 

The 25 players were selected from a pool of 36, which included the recent 12-player USMNT camp roster and the 24-player U-23 USMNT camp roster. Dike, Michel, and Perea — all part of the U-23 camp roster — will be seeking their first ever U.S. cap, while Mueller, who attended the senior camp, will try to build upon his two-goal, one-assist performance in his first-ever cap last month against El Salvador.

Berhalter will go with a young roster for the match, with the average age just 23 years, 302 days. The roster average is 10 caps, which is skewed heavily by Jozy Altidore’s 115. Nobody else has more than Paul Arriola’s 34.

Orlando City is the most heavily represented MLS club, with four players. The Colorado Rapids have three representatives but no other club has more than two.

The match will be a valuable opportunity for Berhalter to evaluate young players at the start of a busy 2021 calendar year that will include the Concacaf Nations League final four, Gold Cup, and the start of 2022 World Cup qualifying, as well as U-23 Olympic qualification. Concacaf qualifying for the Olympics will take place in March.

USMNT Roster (Club; Caps/Goals):

Goalkeepers (3): Matt Freese (Philadelphia Union; 0/0), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 0/0). 

Defenders (9): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy; 1/0), George Bello (Atlanta United FC; 0/0), Kyle Duncan (New York Red Bulls; 1/0), Aaron Herrera (Real Salt Lake; 0/0), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 18/3), Mauricio Pineda (Chicago Fire FC; 0/0), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United FC; 2/0), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids; 2/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 13/2).

Midfielders (7): Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 24/2), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 17/4), Benji Michel (Orlando City SC; 0/0), Andrés Perea (Orlando City SC; 0/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 19/0), Tanner Tessmann (FC Dallas; 0/0), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; 8/0).

Forwards (6): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC/CAN; 115/42), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 34/6), Daryl Dike (Orlando City SC; 0/0), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 1/0), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids; 6/0), Chris Mueller (Orlando City SC; 1/2).