Tyler Adams returns to the USMNT for the Concacaf Nations League final four

Update: On March 17, U.S. Soccer announced that striker Josh Sargent and midfielder Luca de la Torre had to withdraw because of injuries. Striker Haji Wright and Medford-born midfielder Brenden Aaronson, two of the most notable initial omissions, were called in to replace them.

Long-injured U.S. men’s soccer team captain Tyler Adams and red-hot striker Josh Sargent will return to the squad for this month’s Concacaf Nations League final four, marking their first time in the fold since the 2022 World Cup.

But Medford’s Brenden Aaronson has fallen down the depth chart due to a lack of playing time and success at his current club in Germany’s Bundesliga, Union Berlin. And with other players on the rise, Aaronson could also be on the way to missing out on this summer’s prestigious Copa América.

Adams took the field for his club, England’s Bournemouth, for the first time since September on Wednesday. He’d suffered a hamstring injury back then, unfortunately right as he’d returned from another long-term hamstring injury earlier in 2023.

We’ll see if he plays in the Nations League games, but it’s no surprise that U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter wants Adams in the camp.

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Sargent seemed to have been cast off after a string of underwhelming performances at the World Cup. He also has had an injury issue to deal with, suffering ankle ligament damage that required surgery last September.

You wouldn’t know that if you’ve watched Sargent lately, though, for English second-division club Norwich City. He’s got nine goals in 13 games for the Canaries since the start of January. It’s such good form that Berhalter unusually chose to bring three strikers to this 23-player squad, with Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi as the others.

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Now to Aaronson. He’s on loan to Union Berlin for the season from Leeds United. In a lot of ways, Berlin has been a better place for him. But he’s rarely been a starter, and even more rarely had a major impact on the field with just one goal and zero assists in 29 games.

At the same time, Malik Tillman has been in great form at the Netherlands’ PSV Eindhoven, where he’s teammates with Pepi and fellow American Sergiño Dest. Like Aaronson, Tillman is an attacking midfielder who can play multiple positions — and U.S. Soccer’s roster announcement Wednesday listed him as a forward, implying he’ll play a wide role for Berhalter instead of a central one.

“With Brenden, when we’re looking at in particular our midfield — he’s been playing midfield a lot for Union Berlin — we think there’s guys ahead of him right now,” Berhalter said in a news conference after the announcement. “This is only a slice in time. He’s been a valuable member of our team, we’ve got a lot of respect for Brenden, and what he’s done with his career and how he’s able to grow and progress over these last couple years.”

Toward the other end of midfield, Johnny Cardoso has been in perhaps the best form of any American in Europe except longtime stars Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie. Cardoso, a northern New Jersey native, can play in defensive or central roles. It will be no surprise if he not only plays a lot in the Nations League games, but starts.

“This is the group we selected to help us be successful in this window, and we expect it to change moving forward — and the guys know that,” Berhalter added. “And the guys know that they have to perform when they’re with us, and there’s an onus to perform and change your situation when you’re at your club if it’s not going well.”

» READ MORE: Last fall, Brenden and Paxten Aaronson made the senior USMNT together for the first time

Asked what he told Aaronson when he broke the news, Berhalter said: “The message for him was, ‘I know this hurts, I know it’s a setback, but use it to make you stronger, and to keep going, and to keep fighting your way through the obstacles that you have to overcome right now.’”

How exactly Aaronson changes his situation will be a story for some time. With just two months left in the European season, can he do enough in Berlin to return to Berhalter’s good graces, knowing how many other players he has to surpass?

And what happens when his loan ends? Leeds almost certainly won’t want him back, but no one knows what the club will charge any potential buyer this summer.

There’s one glimmer of good news for Philly-area fans: Centerback Mark McKenzie is back on the squad for the first time since September. But it might be because a player ahead of him on the depth chart, Cameron Carter-Vickers, has been managing a hamstring tweak and potentially given a few days off.

“This group in March is obviously not a permanent group,” Berhalter insisted. “This is not going to be the group guaranteed moving forward until 2026, and that’s an important distinction. Any player, any time, has the opportunity to play their way onto the team.”

Time will tell if that proves true.

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Goalkeepers (3): Drake Callender (Inter Miami), Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City, Wales), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest, England)

Defenders (8): Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo, Italy), Mark McKenzie (Genk, Belgium), Tim Ream (Fulham, England), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, England), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, England), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany)

Midfielders (6): 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)

Forwards (6): Folarin Balogun (Monaco, France), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan, Italy), Josh Sargent (Norwich City, England), Tim Weah (Juventus, Italy)

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Upcoming games don’t just include the Nations League final four at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. In between those games, there are two Copa América qualifying playoffs at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.

Some broadcast details are still to be confirmed. We should know soon, and this article will be updated when they’re announced.

United States vs. Jamaica, Nations League semifinal, 7 p.m. (Univision 65, Paramount+)

Panama vs. Mexico, Nations League semifinal, 10:15 p.m. (Univision 65, Paramount+)

Canada vs. Trinidad & Tobago, Copa América qualifying, 4 p.m.

Costa Rica vs. Honduras, Copa América qualifying, 7:15 p.m.

Nations League third-place game, 6 p.m. (TUDN, Paramount+)

Nations League final, 9:15 p.m. (Univision 65, TUDN, Paramount+)