USMNT roster vs Mexico: selected players, absences and injuries

The United States men’s national team will be without a number of injured regulars when they visit Mexico in a crunch World Cup qualifying clash on Thursday.

Follow live the action between Mexico and USA

Five major USMNT players ruled out

Goalkeeper Matt Turner, defenders Chris Richards and Sergiño Dest, midfielder Weston McKennie and forward Brenden Aaronson are all unavailable to head coach Gregg Berhalter, as the USMNT chase what would be a historic win in Mexico.

New England Revolution’s Turner is out with a foot injury picked up just before the 2022 Major League Soccer season began; Hoffenheim centre-back Richards remains unavailable after damaging his ankle in the USMNT’s qualifying defeat to Canada in January; Dest suffered a hamstring strain in Barcelona’s Europa League win over Galatasaray last week; McKennie is out for the season after breaking his foot last month in Juventus’ Champions League tie against Villarreal; and Aaronson sustained a knee injury in the warm-up for RB Salzburg’s victory over Wolfsberger AC in the Austrian league on Sunday.

While Berhalter must do without that quintet, the USMNT coach welcomes back goalkeeper Zack Steffen, defender Aaron Long, midfielder Gianluca Busio and forward Gio Reyna after they recovered from injury. Defenders Erik Palmer-Brown and George Bello, goalkeeper Ethan Horvath and forward Jordan Pefok also return to the roster.

Tyler Adams, Pefok, Steffen, Weah and DeAndre Yedlin are all a booking away from a one-match suspension.

USMNT roster to face Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica

Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest), Sean Johnson (New York City FC), Zack Steffen (Manchester City)

Defenders: George Bello (Arminia Bielefeld), Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Erik Palmer-Brown (Troyes), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), James Sands (Rangers), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)

Midfielders: Kellyn Acosta (LAFC), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Luca de la Torre (Heracles), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)

Forwards: Paul Arriola (FC Dallas), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Jordan Pefok (Young Boys), Ricardo Pepi (Augsburg), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Tim Weah (Lille)

USMNT out to defy history books in Mexico

Bidding to return to the World Cup after missing out on Russia 2018, the USMNT sit second in CONCACAF’s eight-team final qualifying group, level on points with third-placed Mexico. The Stars and Stripes will be guaranteed a ticket to Qatar if they take five points from their final three games - and if Panama lose and Costa Rica fail to win on Thursday, victory over Mexico would take the US to the World Cup with two matches to spare. There’s a big ‘but’, though: the Americans have never beaten Mexico away in World Cup qualifying.

That said, the USMNT can take encouragement from the fact that they are undefeated in their last two qualifying trips to the Estadio Azteca, earning 1-1 and 0-0 draws in June 2017 and March 2013, respectively. Furthermore, they are on a fine run of form against the Mexicans, having won the teams’ last three meetings: November’s World Cup qualifier in Cincinnati, August’s Gold Cup final, and June’s CONCACAF Nations League final.

Mexico vs USMNT: live with AS USA

You can follow live-text coverage of the USMNT’s 2022 World Cup qualifier against Mexico on Thursday with AS USA. Rodrigo Serrano will be building up to the game at the Estadio Azteca, before talking you through the action.