Poll results: SSFC’s Nations League USMNT roster picks

The Concacaf Nations League finals are almost here! The USMNT will face Jamaica on Thursday, March 21 at AT&T Stadium (Jerryworld) in Arlington, TX. The winner will advance to the Nations League final against either Mexico or Panama on Sunday, March 24. The official roster will be announced around 2:30 this afternoon prior to Champions League matches.

Last Tuesday, we published a poll to get readers’ picks for who to bring to camp – and were blown away by the number of responses! There were nearly 800 votes (789 in total). Here are the results!

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

DEFENDERS: Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Tim Ream (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo)

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

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

This is a 23-man roster, according to Nations League rules. Next, here’s a detailed breakdown of the results:

Goalkeepers

Matt Turner remains the #1 in net despite his struggles with Forest this season; Ethan Horvath’s move to Cardiff City has regained playing time for him, so he just edges out Gaga Slonina for the backup spot. Drake Callender was the only real challenger to Gaga at #3, though there was a considerable gap. Interesting to see over 100 people pick 17-year-old FC Barcelona backup Diego Kochen.

Centerbacks

Chris Richards and CCV were the clear #1 pairing. Tim Ream has fallen down the pecking order to third place. It was a fierce competition for the fourth spot, with Miles Robinson just beating Auston Trusty, with John Brooks not far behind. I was personally surprised to see Mark McKenzie so low in the pecking order.

Fullbacks

Dest and Jedi remain atop the list, and Joe Scally is the obvious third choice, no doubt helped by his positional flexibility to play left, right, and even as a CB in a back three. Kristoffer Lund and Kevin Paredes were the only players in serious contention for that fourth backup spot. In future versions of this poll, I’ll look to open up roster flexibility – for some voters, I think it might have been ideal to only call up 3 fullbacks.

Midfield

Yunus Musah just edged out Weston McKennie for the #1 spot, no doubt due to voters who were uncertain of McKennie’s injury status. His ability to come back early from injury remains astonishing. Johnny Cardoso vaults into the top three due to his strong start at Real Betis, Gio Reyna slides down the list but maintains his place on the roster, and Malik Tillman and Luca de la Torre round out the group. This was a very uncontroversial top 6. If Tyler Adams can get back to playing regularly, things will get more interesting.

Forwards

Pulisic, Weah, and Balogun make up the top 3, with Pepi and Sargent close behind. Sargent’s ability to play wide if necessary is certainly a plus (although Balogun might also be an option at winger). The final place was extremely close between Brenden Aaronson and Kevin Paredes. I tallied their votes from both positions (Paredes received 229 votes as a fullback + 142 here = 371, while Brenden received 212 as a midfielder + 202 = 414). No doubt the polling method can be improved with time.

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.