16 MLS players called up to the USMNT’s Gold Cup roster
The US men’s national team have named their 23-man roster for the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup, with interim head coach B.J. Callaghan calling up 16 players from Major League Soccer.
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We’re halfway through the season. Or something like it. Most teams have played 17 games and we have a solid idea of who each team is. At least for the next few weeks until the secondary transfer window opens and we’re back to knowing pretty much nothing.
We are at the point where we can look at individual performances throughout the league and recognize who’s having themselves a breakout kind of year. A few folks have either come into the league or come into their own this season and turned into new names and faces you need to know. Starting with…
I know, I know. “Oh crazy, Sam’s hyping up something about Atlanta, wow, is it a day ending in Y?” But look, GG inspired today’s newsletter this weekend when he snuck around D.C. 'keeper Tyler Miller well outside the 18 and rolled the ball into the net from a ridiculous angle with the kind of weight that allowed a D.C. defender to think for just a moment he could have a chance to keep it out. All I could think in that moment was, “Buddy is a dang star.”
Of course, we’ve known down here for a second that GG just has it, but that goal and his post-game interview with MLS 360 where he declared every year can be an MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi year for him probably cemented it for a few other folks as well. He’s a joy to watch. His physical skill set, the intensity with which he uses that skill set and his off-ball movement all combine to produce a final product that’s eerily reminiscent of the healthiest version of Josef.
Now, no one in Atlanta will ever be Josef. But we should note GG is currently outpacing him. He became the fastest player in Atlanta United history to reach 10 goals on Saturday. He did it in 766 minutes. It took Josef 821. That’s not all that surprising when you consider Giakoumakis is averaging 1.08 goals per 90 minutes. That’s without taking penalties, too. The next closest player, our next rising star, is averaging 0.82 goals per 90.
If you don’t know GG at this point, you really should get acquainted. If he’s healthy the rest of the year, he’ll be your 2023 Golden Boot winner.
Bouanga came into the year without much hype after arriving late in 2022. He contributed some, not much, to LAFC’s MLS Cup run. But he did have plenty of nerds pointing at his expected goals numbers and saying “Whoa, wait, if he can just regress to the mean a bit…”
He’s done that. And more. Bouanga has 10 goals and two assists on the season in just 12 starts. Even if that’s not quite a Giakoumakis rate of production, it’s still totally absurd. Like we said, he’s second in the league in goals per 90. And that doesn’t even count the incredible run he went on in CCL. He scored seven times in LAFC’s run to the final and nearly brought them back from the dead once they got there.
He’s outright terrifying in space and LAFC’s setup allows him to get into space over and over. Once he’s there, he has a tendency to pull off the spectacular. It feels like every other goal is an AT&T 5G Goal of the Matchday candidate. In his hat-trick against Austin earlier this year, he had three of them in one game. He’s remarkable and it still feels like we’re learning just how good he can be. The good news for LAFC, and the bad news for everyone else, is that it doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere anytime soon.
Buck falls into the “That kid good” tier of new stars in the league. He’s worth mentioning though. It’s so clear he’s got big things ahead of him. It will be fascinating to see where he falls in the 22 Under 22 presented by BODYARMOR later this year even though we’ve only got a few months of tape on him. He’s stepped into a significant role in New England’s midfield and plays whatever role is asked of him successfully. He’s still got some on-ball deficiencies to work through (he probably needs to take care of the ball a little more), but to be fair, he is only 18. He’s not the best new midfielder in the league or anything, but he is one who immediately jumped off the page as a young player with a bright future. A whole lot of folks are suddenly paying close attention to his progression.
They wanted a “Designated Team,” right? That seems to be working pretty well. They’re at the top of the West and it’s hard to pick just one guy from a group that’s a blast to watch. So we’ll give props to the whole team… and then point out Roman Bürki and Eduard Löwen have been outstanding.
Bürki was a decent-sized name before coming in. Even still, folks (me included) bristled at handing a goalkeeper a DP contract. It kind of feels like they’ve gotten a great return on that investment though. He’s been the best 'keeper in the league by a number of metrics and by a significant margin.
Meanwhile, Löwen has been a do-it-all superhero in midfield. He’s excelled in multiple facets of the game and is the driving force behind so many of St. Louis’ best moments.
(We might add Nicholas Gioacchini to this in like a month by the way. Maybe quicker if he keeps scoring goals like the one he did this weekend. He has six goals and an assist on the year and is St. Louis’ leading scorer.)
Espinoza has been around a few years, but his red-hot start and San Jose’s much-improved record finally launched him to star status. He has eight goals and five assists on the season and, even if he’s cooled off a bit, that’s one of the best goal-contribution totals in the league. The Quakes are having their best season in over a decade and his play on the wing is a critical reason why.
I’ll end on a bit of a forward-thinking note. There’s about to be a whole lot of attention on Inter Miami and, besides one person in particular, people are going to realize relatively quickly who the Herons’ best player is. Callender has been fantastic and, per FBref, is currently right near the top of the league in post-shot xG differential. Basically, based on where shots on target against him have been placed, he’s been one of the single-best shot-stoppers in the league. The big difference between him and the other 'keepers at the top of that list is he’s just 25 years old. If he can continue to put up solid numbers and keep Miami in games long enough for one of their DPs to make a difference, he’ll quickly become one of the most notable supporting cast members of the biggest story of the year.
New England Revolution sign 15-year-old Miller: The New England Revolution have made defender/midfielder Peyton Miller their youngest-ever signing, announcing Monday the 15-year-old will join the club in 2024 as a homegrown player. Miller will join New England’s MLS NEXT Pro roster for the remainder of the 2023 season before ascending to the first team next year. He has a four-year contract with an additional one-year club option.
Sporting Kansas City's Pulido named Player of the Matchday: Alan Pulido has garnered Player of the Matchday presented by Continental Tire honors for Matchday 18 of the 2023 season. Pulido put in a dominant performance in Sporting KC's 4-1 rout over Austin FC at Children's Mercy Park on Saturday, scoring a brace and adding an assist to power the lopsided result. Pulido, who notched goals in the 19th and 57th minutes, also provided the flicked assist that resulted in Robert Castellanos' 47th-minute tally.
- MLS clubs are celebrating Pride Month. Here’s how.
- Charles Boehm picked out the best young-player performers of Matchday 18.
- Check out the Team of the Matchday presented by Audi.
- Jonathan Sigal focused on some MLS players
- Take a look at who Lionel Messi’s rivals would be at Inter Miami.
- Here are the MLS players called up during the June international window.
Good luck out there. Be helpful, even when people don’t know they need help.
