20 Americans in line for World Cup qualifying debuts
NEW YORK – Tyler Adams, Weston Mckennie, Gio Reyna and Zack Steffen are among 20 players who could make World Cup qualifying debuts when the United States opens at El Salvador on Sept. 2.
Christian Pulisic was on the 26-man roster announced Thursday after missing Chelsea’s match at Arsenal last weekend following a positive COVID test. He is among six veterans of the 2017 team that failed to qualify for the World Cup, ending a streak of seven straight appearances for the U.S. Holdovers include Kellyn Acosta, John Brooks, Sebastian Lletget, Tim Ream and Deandre Yedlin.
The U.S. roster will average 24 years, 43 days, and 18 international appearances when training starts Monday in Nashville, Tennessee. Under the compacted schedule caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. travels to El Salvador on Wednesday for the opener the following day, hosts Canada in Nashville on Sept. 5 and plays Honduras in San Pedro Sula on Sept. 8.
There will be three more qualifiers from Oct. 7-13, two from Nov. 12-16 and three each in January and March.
The top three teams in North and Central America and the Caribbean qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and the No. 4 team advances to a playoff for a berth. The final round was expanded from six nations to eight because of the pandemic.