USA plays its first EVER competitive match with no MLS players included in the entire squad

USA plays its first EVER competitive match with no MLS players included in the entire 23-man matchday squad – as Premier League and Bundesliga stars dominate team to face Grenada

<!–

<!–

<!–

<!–
(function (src, d, tag){ var s = d.createElement(tag), prev = d.getElementsByTagName(tag)[0]; s.src = src; prev.parentNode.insertBefore(s, prev); }(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/1.17.0/async_bundle–.js”, document, “script”));
<!– DM.loadCSS(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/gunther-2159/video_bundle–.css”);
<!–

The United States men’s national team has fielded its first ever matchday squad without a single MLS player since the league began back in 1996.

Atlanta United‘s Miles Robinson was called up to the current USMNT roster, but was a healthy scratch for the Nations League clash against Grenada, leaving an MLS-sized hole in the 23-man group.

Instead, there are Premier League and Bundesliga players aplenty in the starting XI, with Brenden Aaronson (Leeds), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) and Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund) all in the front-line.

Up top, Ricardo Pepi – who plays his club football in the Netherlands for FC Groningen – comes in, while Celta Vigo’s Luca de la Torre and Leeds’ Weston McKennie make up the base of the midfield.

Arsenal’s Matt Turner is in goal, while the defense features Genk’s Mark McKenzie, Birmingham’s Auston Trusty, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Joe Scally, and KVC Westerlo’s Bryan Reynolds.

Christian Pulisic - arguably the USA's biggest player - has never plied his trade in MLS

Christian Pulisic – arguably the USA’s biggest player – has never plied his trade in MLS

There is an MLS presence in the squad, but Antonee Robinson (above) wasn't in matchday 23

There is an MLS presence in the squad, but Antonee Robinson (above) wasn’t in matchday 23

The entire matchday squad of 23 players had no MLS representation on Friday night

The entire matchday squad of 23 players had no MLS representation on Friday night

MLS first began back in 1996 and in every single USA match since then, there has been a representative from the American top division in the American national team squad.

On Friday night, even the 12-man bench was absent of any MLS talent, with the likes of Sergino Dest, Zack Steffen, Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Yunus Musah and Daryl Dike all playing their club football in Europe. 

Anthony Hudson is currently in interim charge of the team as chiefs look for Gregg Berhalter’s permanent successor, and the team to face Grenada on Friday night is also incredibly young.

The average age of the starting XI is just 23 years and 110 days, per Opta.

Ricardo Pepi led the line for the USA against Grenada on Friday; he plays for FC Groningen

Ricardo Pepi led the line for the USA against Grenada on Friday; he plays for FC Groningen

Anthony Hudson (left) is also relying on youth, with the starting XI's average age just 23

Anthony Hudson (left) is also relying on youth, with the starting XI’s average age just 23

Leave a Reply