The head coach of the United States Men’s National Team spoke to the media on Monday after the 27-player squad was revealed for the upcoming June matches against Colombia and Brazil.
Video transcript
Very excited for this coming summer.
We have two high-level friendlies with Colombia and Brazil and then we enter the Copa América, which will be the most competitive tournament besides the World Cup that we will play.
So we’re really looking forward to it and it really represents an opportunity for this group.
Um, we’ve seen what the players have been doing.
They just finished the season in Europe.
Um, Midway and MLS and a lot of them are really performing at a high level.
They have won trophies, they have qualified for the Champions League, their teams are at the top of the premier football league table.
And we look forward to seeing how this growth continues with our team this summer.
A really good opportunity for this team to continue to grow and progress collectively as we get to 2026 with this, with this group of 27.
Hey, how is this not essentially the Copa América team?
Obviously you would have to cut a player and injuries are always a concern.
But is this essentially the group?
And then the second part of the question is: how much Olympic planning contributed to this?
Thanks.
You know, it was, it was a lot, it was a full two.
We were looking for players who could have been in this lineup but who would have gotten more playing time with the Olympic group.
And we decided that this is the best possible option, you know, for us to really offer a broader pool of players, international experience, in good competition this summer.
So that was part of the discussion and a lot of players fell into that category.
Kevin Peredes is one of them, Aiden Morris another.
you know, Brian Reynolds, potentially another one.
So just making these decisions can really impact the entire group of players.
And so in terms of the Copa América lineup, the message was very clear that although, you know, the vast majority of that lineup will make up the Copa América and nothing set in stone.
And I think that’s the important thing.
We want to have a good training camp.
We want to have good performances against Colombia and Brazil and, you know, we have to monitor, monitor some players for their physical point of view, um, and some, another four, for our performance.
So, you know, this will set the stage for Cope America for sure, but it’s not, it’s not set in stone for the strikers.
We spoke to you a few months ago.
And you, we asked, um, how many attackers would likely be on the COPA roster when the roster size was 23?
And you said it would probably be two or three pure attackers.
Is there a chance that all four of these guys that are on this roster are on the COPA team or are you, is this a place where you can, you know, one of the, the cut can come from?
Well, I think that’s how we look at, you know, his assigned positions now, currently, we see Haji fulfilling more of the winger role.
Um And, you know, specifically it’s related to how he moves and how he’s able to get chances, they generally come from wider positions and, um, because we lack some depth in those positions, we think it’s a great option to move. it inward in that position.
Um So, you know, that would leave us with three strikers and when you look at all the guys, um, you know, they’ve been, they’ve been doing well when they’ve had the opportunity and, um, you know, among their the form of club and what they’ve done for the national team in the, in the past, you know, we, we think it’s a talented group of forwards.
Um, you’ve talked in the past about how the national team can be a place that offers an opportunity for a player to build, um, or find, um, some positivity in their career.
You know, it’s obviously been a year of ups and downs for GEO, not getting as much forest time as he expected, how important this summer is for him and, and how much you and the team are trying to embrace, um, that’s an opportunity for him to take the next step and see if he can get things working again before the start of the club’s season, uh, next year.
Yes.
You know, Paul, I don’t think there’s any additional pressure for Geo, all he needs to do is continue to do what he’s been doing with our team.
Um, and he’s performed extremely well over the last nine months.
Um, you know, and showing that he’s going to be an important part of this team.
Um, if you look at the impact in the Nations League, it was, it was, um, very good and, you know, we’re hoping for something similar, uh, this summer and our job as coaches is to put him in the best possible position to perform at a high level and we will use the training camp, um, the friendly games to, to prepare ourselves and then the whole team, um, using, using the, the friendly games and, and the tournament as a measure of what we can achieve together
