The United States men's national soccer team is gearing up for a busy summer as it's set to defend its CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup titles. The USMNT is taking a unique approach to the construction of its rosters for the two events.
The USMNT will reportedly use “mostly, if not entirely, different squads for Nations League finals and Gold Cup,” according to Doug McIntyre. Interim coach Anthony Hudson will stay in charge for both competitions.
The USMNT used a similar strategy in 2021 when they faced the same predicament of playing in two tournaments in quick succession. There were five weeks between the Nations League final and the start of the Gold Cup that year. Only three players were part of both rosters.
This year the turnaround between tournaments is much quicker, with just six days separating the Nations League final from the opening day of the Gold Cup. Add in the fact that the club season ran longer this year due to last year's World Cup and it wouldn't be surprising to see multiple CONCACAF countries take this approach, or at least the four teams that are competing in both tournaments.
The USMNT will be joined by Mexico, Canada and Panama in the Nations League semifinals. If one of those teams were to make the final of both competitions they'd play a total of eight games in 32 days.
The USMNT has certainly grown its depth in recent years and fans will likely get a chance to see a lot of different faces for the Stars & Stripes this summer.
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