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Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie made the cut despite
lingering concerns over a thigh injury, along with goalkeeper
Matt Turner, Lille forward Tim Weah and Inter Miami CF defender
DeAndre Yedlin.
"This is the revenge tour, if you want to call it that," said
Yedlin, the lone World Cup veteran on the squad.
Little has gone as hoped for the Americans ahead of their World
Cup opener against Wales on Nov. 21, as injuries have plagued
their squad and Pulisic got limited playing time in the Premier
League for Chelsea.
They failed to record a shot on goal in their penultimate
warm-up match, a 2-0 defeat by Japan in September. Days later,
the far lower-ranked Saudi Arabia held them to a 0-0 draw.
"It’s a little bit underrated how this young group has
developed, how this program has developed," head coach Gregg
Berhalter told reporters. "We virtually started with a new
player pool (in) 2018 and now we're back at the World Cup.
"And I think the final determination on this group - and I've
said this before - will be at the World Cup."
Pulisic is the charismatic face of a nation eager to drum up
enthusiasm for the sport among fans more interested in baseball
and basketball four years from when the United States host the
tournament along with Canada and Mexico.
But there was no lack of vigor among the American fans on
Wednesday, where VIPs packed into a trendy Brooklyn concert hall
for the squad announcement.
It is the second-youngest men's team the United States have sent
to a World Cup, with an average age of 25 years, 175 days.
"We have a lot of good experience with each other," Fulham
defender Antonee Robinson told reporters. "The only thing I see
is hunger, determination, intensity, energy."
Two notable snubs were forward Ricardo Pepi, who has scored five
goals in the last seven games with FC Groningen, and
Middlesbrough keeper Zack Steffen, whom analysts had widely
expected to vie with Turner for the starting job in goal.
Berhalter told reporters he was leaning toward Turner to start
after receiving encouraging reports from club Arsenal on his
recovery from a minor groin injury.
The U.S. also face England and Iran in Group B.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Luton Town), Sean Johnson (New York
City FC), Matt Turner (Arsenal)
Defenders: Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Sergiño Dest (AC
Milan), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Shaq Moore (Nashville
SC), Tim Ream (Fulham), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Joe Scally (Borussia
Mönchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami CF), Walker
Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
Midfielder: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds), Kellyn Acosta (LAFC),
Tyler Adams (Leeds), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Weston
McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Cristian Roldan
(Seattle Sounders FC)
Forwards: Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle
Sounders), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Gio Reyna (Borussia
Dortmund), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Tim Weah (Lille), Haji
Wright (Antalyaspor)
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Ed Osmond and
Stephen Coates)
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