PREVIEW: USMNT Hosts New Zealand at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium on Tuesday

CHICAGO (Sept. 9, 2024) — The U.S. Men’s National Team will round out its September camp on Tuesday with a friendly against New Zealand from TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. Broadcast coverage of the match will be available on TNT, Universo, TruTV, Max, Peacock, and Fútbol de Primera Radio, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET.

The USMNT were defeated 2-1 by Canada on Saturday at Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Parkand will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday in their fourth-ever meeting with the five-time champions of the Oceania Football Confederation.

Fans can also follow the match via Facebook, Twitter @USMNT, Instagram @USMNT and the official U.S. Soccer App.

DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS)

GOALKEEPERS (4): Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City/WAL; 9/0), Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona II/ESP; 0/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 2/0), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG; 44/0)

DEFENDERS (8): Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 2/0), Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege/BEL; 0/0), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 4/0), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 13/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 62/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 22/1), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 12/0), Caleb Wiley (Strasbourg/FRA; 2/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 16/0), Cade Cowell (Chivas de Guadalajara; 9/1), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 23/1), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 6/0), Yunus Musah (AC Milan; ITA; 40/0), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 13/0),

FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 43/8), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 16/5), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 29/10), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 72/30), Josh Sargent (Norwich City/ENG; 25/5), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 12/4)

LAST TIME OUT

The USMNT played the first of its two September friendlies on Saturday against Canada at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan. Midfielder Luca de la Torre scored his first career international goal for the Stars and Stripes – with Aidan Morris registering his first senior team assist on the play – but goals from Canada’s Jacob Shaffelburg and Jonathan David were enough to give the visitors a 2-1 win on the day.

AGAINST NEW ZEALAND

Five-time champions of the Oceania Football Confederation, New Zealand returns to the United States for the first time since 2016. The teams have only met three times in history, dating back to the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup where the U.S. won 2-1 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Most recently, the teams played to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 10, 2016, at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Overall, the USMNT holds an unbeaten 2W-0L-1D record.

AT TQL STADIUM

The USA returns to TQL Stadium in Cincinnati for its fourth visit to the home of FC Cincinnati since the venue opened in spring 2021. TQL played host to the memorableDos a Cero victory against Mexico in November 2021 during qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup as well as a 3-0 friendly win against Morocco in June 2022, the team that finished fourth in Qatar.

Overall, the USA is 2W-1L-1D in Cincinnati. The USMNT has a proud history in the Buckeye State, recording a 13W-3L-4D record.

Accounting for the entirety of Ohio, the USMNT has won 15 of its 22 matches played in the state, with the resulting 68.2 percent win rate the highest in any of the 10 states the U.S. has played 15 or more times. The USMNT’s last match in Ohio was a penalty shoot-out win, coming after a 2-2 draw with Canadaduring the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinals, also in Cincinnati.

ROSTER UPDATE

Last Thursday, Chivas midfielder Cade Cowell was added to the USMNT September Training Camp roster. He replaced midfielder Gio Reyna, who departed camp after being diagnosed with a left groin strain.

Cowell, 20, has now earned nine caps for the senior national team after appearing as a substitute in Saturday’s match against Canada. The 2023 Gold Cup veteran has tallied three goals and three assists in six matches to start the Liga MX Apertura campaign for Chivas.

ROSTER NOTES

• The roster will have an average age of 24 years, 183 days as of match day on September 7.
• The 24 players represent clubs in 11 different countries: England (6), Italy (3), Spain (3), France (3), Germany (1), Netherlands (2), USA (2), Belgium (1), Mexico (1), Scotland (1), Wales (1).
• Christian Pulisic (72) is the leading cap-winner, followed by Tim Ream (62), Matt Turner (44), Brenden Aaronson (43), and Yunus Musah (40).
• Fourteen players are age 23 and younger: Brenden Aaronson, Folarin Balogun and Patrick Schulte (23); Johnny Cardoso, Kristoffer Lund, Aidan Morris, Malik Tillman (22); Yunus Musah, Ricardo Pepi, Gio Reyna, Joe Scally (21); Cade Cowell (20); Caleb Wiley (19), Diego Kochen (18).
• Seventeen players were part of this summer’s Copa América roster.
• Two players are uncapped in defender Marlon Fossey, who plays for Standard Liege in Belgium and goalkeeper Diego Kochen, who is part of the FC Barcelona setup.
• This is Kochen’s first summons to the USMNT, while Fossey returns to camp for the first time since taking part in the team’s 2019 Gold Cup pre-camp in Annapolis, Md.
• Two players were part of the USA’s run to the quarterfinals of the 2024 Summer Olympics, with goalkeeper Patrick Schulte appearing in all four matches and defender Caleb Wiley playing in three.
• Center back Auston Trusty earns his first call-up since helping the USA claim its second Concacaf Nations League title in June 2023.
• Eight players on the roster changed clubs over the summer. Veteran defender Tim Ream transferred from Fulham to Charlotte FC, while Mark McKenzie (Genk to Toulouse), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew to Middlesbrough), Auston Trusty (Sheffield United to Celtic) and Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United to Chelsea, loaned to Strasbourg) also made moves to new clubs. Brenden Aaronson re-joined Leeds United after a year on loan to Union Berlin, and Gio Reyna returned to Borussia Dortmund after a half-season loan to Nottingham Forest. Meantime, Matt Turner has joined Crystal Palace on a season-long loan from Nottingham Forest.
• Six players have also contributed goals to their clubs since the start of the 2024-25 seasons in Europe. The EFL Championship trio of Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Josh Sargent (Norwich City) and Haji Wright (Haji Wright) have each bagged two goals, while Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman (both PSV Eindhoven) got off the mark this past weekend.
• Fourteen players are products of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, with 10 coming from MLS Academies: Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union), Luca de la Torre (San Diego Surf, Nomads SC), Ethan Horvath (Real Colorado), Diego Kochen (Weston FC), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas), Christian Pulisic (PA Classics), Gio Reyna (New York City FC), Chris Richards (FC Dallas, Texas SC Houston), Josh Sargent (St. Louis Scott Gallagher), Joe Scally (New York City FC), Patrick Schulte (St. Louis Scott Gallagher, Saint Louis FC), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United FC) and Haji Wright (LA Galaxy).

USA-NEW ZEALAND NOTES

• The USMNT is unbeaten in three all-time meetings with New Zealand (2W-0L-1D) with both teams scoring in all three matches. The U.S. has never trailed against New Zealand, leading for 138 of 270 minutes over the three matches (51.1%).
• None of the 24 U.S. players have featured against New Zealand.
• Three players scored goals for the USA at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium. Christian Pulisic tallied the first in the team’s 2-0 win against Mexico in World Cup Qualifying on Nov. 12, 2021, while Brenden Aaronson bagged the opener and Haji Wright recorded his first international goal from the penalty spot in the USMNT’s 3-0 win against Morocco on June 1, 2022.

NEW ZEALAND OF LATE

The Kiwis had a five-game unbeaten streak in 2024 before losing to Mexico on Saturday. In a friendly at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif, Mexico’s Orbelín Pineda, César Huerta, and Luis Romo provided the goals in a 3-0 victory for El Tri.

In June, New Zealand participated in the 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup , where they rode four straight victories toward the country’s second-consecutive and sixth all-time tournament title. A 3-0 win over the Solomon Islands and a 4-0 win against Vanuatu in the group stage pushed New Zealand into the knockout round. They then dispatched Tahiti 5-0 in the semifinals, before cruising to victory in the final with a 3-0 blanking of Vanuatu.

Three members of New Zealand’s September roster were award winners following the tournament, as defender Liberato Cacace was given the Golden Ball, goalkeeper Max Crocombe was awarded the Golden Glove, and defender Finn Surman was named the Best Young Player.

AT THE HELM

Englishman Darren Bazeley was named New Zealand manager on July 4, 2023, after a stint as interim head coach.

His managerial career has included coaching the New Zealand Under-17, Under-20, and Olympic teams, as well as having served as an assistant coach to the senior team.

Bazeley additionally spent time as an assistant coach with the Colorado Rapids from 2018-19, where he worked under former U.S. Men’s National Team coach, Anthony Hudson.

NEW ZEALAND ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Max Crocombe (Burton Albion/ENG; 10/0), Oliver Sail (Perth Glory; 9/0), Alex Paulsen (Auckland FC; 1/0)

DEFENDERS (8): Tommy Smith (Auckland FC; 3/0), Bill Tuiloma (Charlotte FC/USA; 40/4), Michael Boxall (Minnesota United/USA; 49/0), Tim Payne (Wellington Phoenix; 39/2), Liberato Cacace (Empoli/ITA; 25/1), Nando Pijnaker (Auckland FC; 19/0), Finn Surman (Portland Timbers/USA; 5/1), Dalton Wilkins (Sønderjyske/DEN; 2/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Elijah Just (St. Pölten/AUT; 27/2), Matthew Garbett (NAC Breda/NED; 22/3), Marko Stamenić (Olympiacos/GRE; 21/1), Joe Bell (Viking/NOR; 18/1); Alex Rufer (Wellington Phoenix; 14/0), Ben Old (Saint-Etienne/FRA; 8/1)

FORWARDS (4): Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 75/34), Kosta Barbarouses (Wellington Phoenix; 61/7), Ben Waine (Mansfield Town/ENG; 17/5), Logan Rogerson (Auckland FC; 9/1)