Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie make the USMNT’s pre-Copa América camp roster

It hasn’t gotten much attention lately that the U.S. men’s soccer team is about to do the most important thing it will do before cohosting the World Cup in two years. But perhaps that will start to change soon, now that manager Gregg Berhalter has named a 27-player squad for a training camp before the Copa América starts in just under a month.

Union alumni Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie both made the cut for the camp in Bethesda, Md., after up-and-down seasons in Europe, with Aaronson’s addition the more notable.

The player from Medford spent the campaign at Germany’s Union Berlin, on loan from England’s Leeds United. Union was in the Champions League for the first time, and it proved more than the team could handle. After winning the first two games of the season in August, Union didn’t win again for 16 games until December.

That left Union battling relegation in the Bundesliga for much of the season. It fired two managers along the way, and escaped only on the last day of the season.

In fact, in each of Union’s last two games, Aaronson was subbed off with the team ahead, and it blew the lead both times. But fate smiled on Union in its finale, when a 92nd-minute winner delivered salvation.

» READ MORE: Gregg Berhalter hopes more of the U.S. will get to see the USMNT before the World Cup

“I think the mindset that he showed throughout the course of this year has been outstanding,” Berhalter said of Aaronson. “Union Berlin was able to survive, and he played a big part in that, and that goes a long way. We’re hoping that he takes this experience and continues to grow, and continues to progress.”

Union announced Monday morning that Aaronson is going back to England, though the sense is that Leeds doesn’t want him back. So we’ll have to wait to see where he goes next.

McKenzie, of Bear, Del., has two games left in his third season at Belgium’s Genk. The team finished the regular season in an underwhelming sixth place, and is now in a round-robin playoff of the top six for next season’s European places.

Genk has a one-point lead for a berth in next season’s Europa League, and snapped a four-game losing streak with a shutout win on Monday. McKenzie captained Genk in the game, his 42nd of the season.

The U.S. camp roster is 27 players. The Copa roster can be up to 26, with 23 players on each game-day squad.

There are two crucial things Berhalter must figure out. First is who will start at right back, since usual starter Sergiño Dest is out with a torn ACL. Joe Scally of Germany’s Borussia Mönchengladbach seems likely to step in, with Shaq Moore of Nashville SC the other true right back on this squad.

Tim Weah can also play right back, as he has for Italy’s Juventus this season. That’s an intriguing option for Berhalter, since moving Weah deeper would open up an attacking spot.

“We just wanted the ability in this training camp to have options, to have flexibility,” Berhalter said. “Some of it may revolve around a back three, but the first objective is to see how we’re going to fill that right back position.”

Then there’s striker, where Berhalter notably called in all four of his top Europe-based candidates.

Folarin Balogun is usually the starter, but he had an underwhelming season at France’s Monaco with just eight goals and seven assists in 32 games. Ricardo Pepi, who’s also been a U.S. regular recently, had just nine goals and three assists in 41 games — with just 764 minutes on the field — for the Netherlands’ PSV Eindhoven.

Haji Wright of England’s Coventry City had the best season: 19 goals and eight assists in 50 games. He shone not just in the second-tier Championship, but in the FA Cup where Coventry almost upset mighty Manchester United in the semifinals. He can also play as a winger, and Berhalter said that’s where Wright projects on this squad.

Josh Sargent of England’s Norwich City also had a strong campaign in the second division, with 16 goals and two assists in 30 games.

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Three names initially stand out among players who weren’t called in: right back Bryan Reynolds of Belgium’s Westerlo, Media-born centerback Auston Trusty (another Union alum) of England’s Sheffield United, and striker Brandon Vazquez of Mexico’s Monterrey.

But they might be heading to the Olympics instead. In early June, the U.S. under-23 team will gather in Kansas City for its last training camp before the tournament roster is set. As the 18-man squads can have three over-age players, Trusty and Vazquez could be among the picks. Reynolds is 22, so he’s age-eligible.

Berhalter said all three of those players are possibilities for the Olympic team, and also named longtime U.S. and Nashville SC centerback Walker Zimmerman.

The Copa América is South America’s national team championship. It’s unusual to host it outside of the continent, but when scheduled host Ecuador announced it couldn’t do it, the U.S. quickly jumped in.

As the U.S. hosted a special centennial edition of the tournament in 2016, South America’s confederation knew how much money it would make by coming back. Everyone involved also knew it would be a great warmup for the World Cup. So here they are again, with an expanded field of 16 teams like there was in 2016: 10 from South America and six from North and Central America.

The U.S. team’s group stage opponents will be Bolivia on June 23 in Arlington, Texas; Panama on June 27 in Atlanta; and Uruguay on July 1 in Kansas City, Mo., in what will be a huge game.

» READ MORE: The full Copa América draw and schedule

The Americans should get out of the group and reach the knockout rounds, where either Brazil or Colombia will likely await in the quarterfinals. Win that game and they’ll probably face the other of those teams.

The quarterfinal game would be in Glendale, Ariz., or Las Vegas on July 6, and the semifinal would be in Charlotte, N.C., on July 10. Charlotte also hosts the third-place game on July 13, and Miami hosts the final on July 14.

It so happens that the U.S. will face Colombia and Brazil in its pre-tournament warmup games: Colombia on June 8 in Landover, Md., and Brazil on June 12 in Orlando.

Goalkeepers (3): Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City, Wales), Sean Johnson (Toronto FC), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest, England)

Defenders (9): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic, Scotland), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo, Italy), Mark McKenzie (Genk, Belgium), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC), Tim Ream (Fulham, England), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, England), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, England), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany)

Midfielders (8): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth, England), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis, Spain), Luca de la Torre (Celta de Vigo, Spain), Weston McKennie (Juventus, Italy), Yunus Musah (AC Milan, Italy), Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest, England), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Timothy Tillman (Los Angeles FC)

Forwards (7): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin, Germany), Folarin Balogun (Monaco, France), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan, Italy), Josh Sargent (Norwich City, England), Tim Weah (Juventus, Italy), Haji Wright (Coventry City, England)

Saturday, June 8: Warmup friendly vs. Colombia at Landover, Md. (5:30 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62, Universo, Max, Peacock)

Wednesday, June 12: Warmup friendly vs. Brazil at Orlando. (7 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62, Universo, Max, Peacock)

Sunday, June 23: Group stage vs. Bolivia at Arlington, Texas (6 p.m., Fox29, Univision 65, TUDN, ViX)

Thursday, June 27: Group stage vs. Panama at Atlanta (6 p.m., Fox29, Univision 65, TUDN, ViX)

Monday, July 1: Group stage vs. Uruguay at Kansas City, Mo. (9 p.m., FS1, Univision 65, TUDN, ViX)

Saturday, July 6: Potential quarterfinal at Las Vegas if group winner or Glendale, Ariz. if runner-up (6 or 9 p.m., FS1, Univision 65, TUDN, ViX)

Wednesday, July 10: Potential semifinal at Charlotte (8 p.m., FS1, Univision 65, TUDN, ViX)

Saturday, July 13: Third-place game at Charlotte (8 p.m., FS1, Univision 65, TUDN, ViX)

Sunday, July 14: Final at Miami Gardens, Fla. (Fox29, Univision 65, TUDN, ViX)