USMNT call up 27 players for March friendlies

On Tuesday, US Men's National Team head coach Mauricio Pochettino called up 27 players to the roster for a pair of pre-World Cup friendlies.

The USMNT will take on Belgium (March 28) and Portugal (March 31) in Atlanta, the final camp before this summer's FIFA World Cup, hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

USMNT March roster (club; caps/goals)

Goalkeepers

Chris Brady (Chicago Fire; 0/0)
Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati; 0/0)
Matt Freese (New York City FC; 13/0)
Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 52/0)

Defenders

Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 16/1)
Alex Freeman (Villarreal/ESP; 13/2)
Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 25/0)
Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 79/1)
Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 35/3)
Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 50/4)
Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 38/3)
Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 22/0)
Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 5/0)

Midfielders

Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 9/1)
Johnny Cardoso (Atletico Madrid/ESP; 22/0)
Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 62/11)
Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 13/0)
Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 34/9)
Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 43/0)
Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon/FRA; 12/1)
Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER; 26/3)

Forwards

Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 56/9)
Patrick Agyemang (Derby County/ENG; 12/5)
Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 23/8)
Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 34/13)
Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 82/32)
Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille/FRA; 47/7)

Breaking down the squad

There are no huge surprises in this roster. The biggest note is the inclusion of Gio Reyna. The Borussia Mönchengladbach attacker is clearly one of the most talented players in the pool, but he's hardly played this season — 403 minutes all season, and zero appearances since mid-January with an injury issue.

Pochettino has set a high standard for the rest of the squad to receive callups, but Reyna seems to be the exception to that rool. Is he really a big enough talent to warrant special treatment? My gut says yes.

There are three key absences in the squad. Tyler Adams, Haji Wright and Sergiño Dest all miss out with injuries. Dest could miss the rest of the season with PSV, putting him in a race for fitness to get back to health in time for the tournament. Adams and Wright are also working through injuries, although neither seem too serious.

Diego Luna is also not on the roster, as the young attacker continues to work through an injury that kept him out of Real Salt Lake's early matches. He made his return to the pitch off the bench this past weekend, playing 19 minutes in their 2-1 win over Austin FC.

Álex Zendejas is another notable absence, although perhaps not a surprising one. The Club América winger is one of the more in-form attackers in the pool, with six goals and three assists in 16 matches this year. Despite scoring against Japan in the September window, he's never seemed to be a lock under Pochettino.

The USMNT's matches against Belgium and Portugal are the final auditions for most of these players. Pochettino has confirmed that no players will be called into the pre-World Cup training camp who won't be on the final roster, making the March window even more important for players on the fringes of the final squad.