Poll results: Copa América roster (post-Nations League vote)

In case you hadn’t heard, Copa América is coming to the United States this summer. Copa is the best test and tune-up the USMNT will get prior to hosting the World Cup in 2026.

With Nations League in the rearview mirror, we published a poll last Monday to get readers’ picks for who to bring to Copa – and received a record 1,046 responses! Here are the results!

GOALKEEPERS (3): Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest), Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City), Gaga Slonina (KAS Eupen)

DEFENDERS (6): Sergiño Dest (PSV), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Tim Ream (Fulham), Joe Scally (Mönchengladbach), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic FC)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Weston McKennie (Juventus), Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest), Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Malik Tillman (PSV), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo)

FORWARDS (7): Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Juventus), Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Ricardo Pepi (PSV), Haji Wright (Coventry City), Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin)

Goalkeepers

Matt Turner continues to be the top GK picked, with no real contest. Ethan Horvath sees a 13% bump compared to Nations League roster picks, while Gaga Slonina falls 19% but maintains his #3 place.

Defenders

Readers chose to bring only 6 defenders, opting to include all four of Haji Wright, Malik Tillman, Luca de la Torre, and Brenden Aaronson, rather than having either a 4th CB or a 4th fullback. Chris Richards and Tim Ream maintain top spots, with Cameron Carter-Vickers filling out the roster.

Miles Robinson was the 24th pick – first man off the 23-man squad, despite a 15% bump since the Nations League poll.

Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson continue as the starting fullbacks, with Joe Scally the only backup fullback selected. Tim Weah can also deputize on the back line (as did Weston McKennie in Nations League), but Berhalter has mainly used Weah as a winger with the USMNT. Joe Scally sees a 20% drop after an unimpressive Nations League showing.

Kevin Paredes’ Nations League numbers were overstated due to him being listed as both a winger and a fullback in that poll.

Midfield

The midfield remained basically unchanged from Nations League, with readers choosing to bring Luca de la Torre as a 7th midfielder rather than a 4th CB or 4th fullback.

Gio Reyna, Malik Tillman, Paxten Aaronson, and Diego Luna’s Nations League numbers were overstated since they were listed as both midfielders and forwards in that poll. So the 23% drop for Malik Tillman is most likely due to the change in polling format. We’ll most likely repeat this poll in May, it will be interesting to see if results remain steady.

Tyler Adams sees the biggest increase among midfielders, likely due to his return from injury – but hey, his game-winning banger against Mexico didn’t hurt.

Attack

The big change from Nations comes with the name Haji Wright, who sees his stock soar from 12% to 71% after . We now have four nominal strikers included on a 23-man roster, although Haji is certainly capable of playing on the wing, which he’s done a lot for Coventry during this club season. Brenden Aaronson keeps his place as the last field player on the 23-man roster.

Once again, Brenden Aaronson and Kevin Paredes’s Nations League numbers were overstated in the Nations League poll.

Overall picks

Here’s a snapshot of the overall top selections. Miles Robinson had a higher share of the vote than Gaga Slonina, but Copa rules require 3 goalkeepers, which is why Robinson is left out.

How do you feel about the roster? What changes would you make to this polling process in the future? Hit the comments to let us know.