Three players out of U.S. men's national team squad due to injuries, replaced by Max Arfsten, Brian Gutiérrez and Jack McGlynn
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- USMNT makes roster changes ahead of Nations League semis
- Robinson, Cardoso, Trusty are all out with injury issues
- Three players called up as replacements
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WHAT HAPPENED?
LOS ANGELES – The USMNT made three changes to their CONCACAF Nations League squad ahead of Thursday's semifinal match with Panama. Antonee Robinson, Johnny Cardoso and Auston Trusty have all been removed from the 23-man roster because of injury issues. In their place, the USMNT called in defender Max Arfsten, midfielder Brian Gutiérrez and forward Jack McGlynn.
The replacement trio were a part of January camp and were named to Mauricio Pochettino's 60-man preliminary squad. Per CONCACAF rules, any substitutes had to be selected from that 60-man squad and approved by the federation.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
The trio of changes weaken an already shorthanded USMNT as Pochettino's squad is dealing with a number of key injuries.
Up top, the USMNT is missing Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright, although the latter did recently make his return to the field with Coventry City. Those three were left off the preliminary squad. Also left out of that 60-man list was Sergino Dest, who recently returned to the field for PSV after missing the better part of a year with an ACL injury.
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DID YOU KNOW?
The loss of Robinson will be a significant for the USMNT, who will now be without one of the world's most in-form left-backs. That form earned Robinson recognition in 2024 as he was named U.S. Soccer's Male Player of the Year award.
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WHAT NEXT FOR THE USMNT?
The USMNT will face Panama on Thursday night in Los Angeles in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals. They'll then play in either the final or the third-place game on Sunday against either Mexico or Canada. The U.S. will be looking to defend their Nations League title, having won each of the three prior iterations of the tournament.
