In CONCACAF Nations League Semifinal, USA Faces Panama
on Thursday, March 20 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles
HERRIMAN, Utah / CHICAGO (Tues., March 11, 2024) – Real Salt Lake playmaker Diego Luna learned today he is included in U.S. Men’s National Team Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s 23-player roster that will compete for the 2025 Concacaf Nations League title. The U.S. will face Panama in the first semifinal on Thursday, March 20 at 5 p.m. MT at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
The match will be shown live on Paramount+ and Univision. Fans can also follow via Facebook, Twitter @USMNT, Instagram @USMNT and the official U.S. Soccer App. The other semifinal match features Mexico and Canada, with the winners set to square off Sunday, March 23 for the championship.
Following Saturday’s RSL trip to Houston (6:30p MT on Apple TV+ MLS Season Pass) and this weekend’s slate of MLS action, Luna and his fellow U.S. players will begin reporting this Sunday, March 16 to Los Angeles, with their focus on the opportunity to lift the CNL trophy for the fourth consecutive time.
At 21 years of age, Luna – the reigning MLS Young Player of the Year, coming off an eight-goal, 12-assist campaign for RSL last season – is one of six MLS-based players who were part of the 2025 January Camp receiving the call for the March matches. Luna is also one of just three players, joining Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte) and Brian White (Vancouver), who also take part in their first USMNT camp during a FIFA international window and for an official competition.
The annual January Camp has a long history of providing opportunities for MLS-based players to get an extended look from the coaching staff and make an impact. Dating back to 1999, 30 players who have debuted or earned their second cap during the USMNT’s first camp of a calendar year have gone on to make a FIFA World Cup roster. From the USA’s squad at Qatar 2022, nine players earned their first or second cap during a January camp match.
“This is a massive opportunity to win a trophy and that is our clear objective,” Pochettino said. “We must continue to show our quality, our bravery and our commitment to each other. We have an important moment to represent our country and our supporters, and we are very excited for this opportunity.”
In January, Real Salt Lake saw two of its 2024 standouts – attacker Diego Luna and the versatile Emeka Eneli – amongst the 23 MLS players selected by Pochettino in this year’s January’s USA camp, including a 3-1 win over Venezuela in Ft. Lauderdale on Jan. 18 and a 3-0 win over Costa Rica on Jan. 22 in Orlando.
Both Luna and Eneli played the final 27 minutes of the Venezuela win, with the RSL duo starting against Costa Rica, each player notching an assist. Luna set up the game-winning Brian White goal on his first touch after a broken nose early in the contest, while Eneli also added an assist of his own on the second goal, late in the match.
Despite having both nostrils filled with gauze, blood streaming down his face and looking like an extra from the famed David Fincher movie “Fight Club,” Luna dominated the first half for the States, none of his creations more incisive than his 21st-minute throughball to O’Brian White, giving the home side a 1-0 lead.
Luna played the first 45 only, setting up a game-high SIX big chances on either side of his battered and bloodied facial incident. Post-game, Luna was praised by Pochettino for his “big balls” refusal to exit the match.
DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (Club/Country; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 3/0), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids; 30/0), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG; 49/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 18/0), Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege/BEL; 1/0), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 17/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 67/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 23/1), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 50/4), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 19/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 4/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG; 42/2), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 18/0), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; 3/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 58/11), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 31/8), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon/FRA; 6/0)
FORWARDS (6): Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC; 2/2), Yunus Musah (AC Milan/ITA; 45/1), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 76/32), Josh Sargent (Norwich City/ENG; 27/5), Timothy Weah (Juventus/ITA; 42/7), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 3/1)
USA v PANAMA CNL NOTES:
CNL VETS CALLED TO DUTY
The Concacaf Nations League has provided a platform for many USMNT players to showcase their talents and build experience. On this roster alone, 16 players have participated in at least one CNL Finals tournament, with six players having taking art in all three previous editions: Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson and Tim Weah.
The 2025 version includes six players who made the CNL Finals Best XI last year, highlighted by Gio Reyna’s Best Player honors and Matt Turner’s Best Goalkeeper award. Also earning superlatives were Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, and Antonee Robinson.
EYES ON THE PRIZE
The USMNT is currently the only team to have lifted the CNL championship, having captured the title in the first three editions of the competition. In the 2021 Final against Mexico, following dramatic goals from Gio Reyna, Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic, substitute goalkeeper Ethan Horvath made the extra time penalty stop on Andres Guardado to ensure the USA’s 3-2 win in the inaugural championship match.
In 2023, Christian Pulisic’s brace and Ricardo Pepi’s goal off the bench helped the USA to a 3-0 win against Mexico in the semifinal, before Chris Richards and Folarin Balogun each scored their first international goals off Gio Reyna assists to give the USA a 2-0 win against Canada in the final. Goalkeeper Matt Turner kept back-to-back clean sheets in the two matches.
The following year, the USMNT hoisted the Concacaf Nations League trophy for the third time following a 2-0 victory against Mexico at AT&T Stadium. Midfielders Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna provided the goals on either side of halftime and Matt Turner recorded his second-consecutive clean sheet in a CNL Final as the U.S. added another Dos A Cero scoreline to the history of the rivalry.
- PANAMA
This will be the 29th all-time meeting between the USMNT and Panama and the 28th since 2004. Only Mexico (30 games) has been a more frequent opponent during that span. The USA holds an 18W-3L-7D advantage in the series, although the Marea Roja have proved formidable of late, winning two of the last three meetings including group play during Copa America.
The USMNT has previously met Panama in a tournament setting 13 times, all but one during Concacaf Gold Cup play. In those matches, the U.S. holds a 6W-2L-5D advantage.
Panama is back in the CNL Finals for the second year in a row while having reached the 2023 Gold Cup Final.
ABOUT THE CONCACAF NATIONS LEAGUE
Created to maximize the quality, quantity and frequency of competitive matches for all of Concacaf’s 41 Member Associations, the 2024-25 Concacaf Nations League, which commenced last September, has a revamped format to include more direct elimination matches that will qualify teams to continental summer competitions.
The 2024-25 CNL continues to be played in a three-League format (A, B, and C), with the region’s 41 men’s senior national teams distributed into the Leagues according to the results of the 2023-24CNL.
The USA competed in League A, which was expanded to include 16 teams (up from 12) and a new quarterfinal round has been created to deliver more direct elimination matches.
ROSTER NOTES
- The roster will have an average age of 26 years, 20 days as of the first day of training on March 17.
- The squad has an average of 28 caps and 14 in official competition.
- The 24 players represent clubs in nine different countries: England (5), USA (5), Italy (4), France (2), Germany (2), Scotland (2), Belgium (1), Canada (1), Spain (1).
- Sixteen players have participated in at least one CNL Finals tournament, with six players having taken part in all three previous editions: Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson and Tim Weah.
- Seven players earn their first call for a CNL Finals roster: Patrick Agyemang, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Marlon Fossey, Diego Luna, Patrick Schulte, Tanner Tessmann and Brian White.
- Six MLS-based players return from the USMNT’s January Camp: Patrick Agyemang, Diego Luna, Tim Ream, Patrick Schulte, Zack Steffen and Brian White.
- Agyemang, Luna and White also take part in their first USMNT camp during a FIFA international window.
- Midfielder Tyler Adams returns to the USMNT for the first time since Copa América 2024. He is joined by Cameron Carter-Vickers and Gio Reyna in their first camp under Mauricio Pochettino.
- With his next appearance, Matt Turner will become the sixth USMNT goalkeeper to reach 50 caps.
- Weston McKennie leads all USMNT players with 16 Nations League appearances and with six goals each is joint-leading scorer in the competition along with Christian Pulisic.
- With four goals in six appearances, Pulisic is the USA’s joint-leading scorer against Panama, alongside Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Eddie Johnson.
- Josh Sargent has been on an absolute tear for Norwich, tallying eight goals in his last eight matches.
- McKennie, Robinson and Sargent have all had spells wearing the captain’s armband for their respective clubs.
- Adams and Sargent were both named February Player of the Month for their clubs, while Pulisic earned that honor in January. Pulisic is also a candidate for the Serie A Player of the Month for February.
- Fifteen players are products of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, with 12 produced by MLS Academies: Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls), Diego Luna (San Jose Earthquakes, Barca Academy), Weston McKennie (FC Dallas), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union), Christian Pulisic (PA Classics), Gio Reyna (New York City FC), Chris Richards (FC Dallas), Josh Sargent (St. Louis-Scott Gallagher), Joe Scally (New York City FC), Patrick Schulte (Saint Louis FC), Zach Steffen (FC DELCO, Philadelphia Union), Tanner Tessmann (FC Dallas), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union), Tim Weah (New York Red Bulls), Brian White (Players Development Academy).
- *ussoccer.com* -
