Arena names 24-player USA roster to face Honduras, Panama

United States men’s national team manager Bruce Arena has revealed the 24 names he’s picked for the upcoming crucial World Cup qualifiers against Honduras (March 24) and Panama (March 28).

After starting the CONCACAF Hexagonal 0-2 with losses to Mexico and Costa Rica, Jurgen Klinsmann was relieved of his duties and Arena was summoned for his second spell as national team boss.

His first competitive roster includes many of the names you’d expect on any full-strength USMNT squad list such as Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, Christian Pulisic, Bobby Wood, and Fabian Johnson. Some questions leading up to this announcement included the availability of fixtures like DeAndre Yedlin, Clint Dempsey, Geoff Cameron, and Tim Howard. Three of the four are fit as the veterans have been all called up, while Yedlin, who picked up a thigh injury less than two weeks ago, was deemed not ready for competition.

Some interesting names included that might be considered surprises are the FC Dallas duo of Walker Zimmerman and Kellyn Acosta. While both have appeared for the team in friendlies, this will be their first taste of meaningful competition. Meanwhile, veterans such as DaMarcus Beasley and Dax McCarty get brought back into the fold.

The U.S. will host Honduras in the third match of the Hex in what could be a must-win with two losses already on the board. They’ll follow that up by traveling to Panama in what will be a tough match, as all CONCACAF away matches are.

Here’s the full USMNT roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan, Tim Howard, Nick Rimando

DEFENDERS (8): John Brooks, DaMarcus Beasley, Geoff Cameron, Omar Gonzalez, Michael Orozco, Tim Ream, Jorge Villafaña, Walker Zimmerman

MIDFIELDERS (9): Kellyn Acosta, Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Fabian Johnson, Jermaine Jones, Sebastian Lletget, Darlington Nagbe, Dax McCarty, Christian Pulisic

FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Jordan Morris, Bobby Wood