One thing about this absurdly large provisional roster is that it gives us a bit of insight as to certain young players who Berhalter & his staff rate at this juncture.
RB: Julian Araujo (2001) — already has had some USMNT involvement in January camp
CB: Justin Che (2003) — his stock has quickly risen since a loan stint with Bayern II that went well. Bayern were interested in signing him permanently, but no deal with FC Dallas has been reached. It seems like FCD would prefer to start him in MLS soon and jack up his value à la Bryan Reynolds rather than sell him for cheap and hope for a big sell-on like Chris Richards.
LB: George Bello (2002), Jonathan Gomez (2003) — Bello is a starter in MLS and recently got his first cap. He's getting there, but won't be a serious A-team option until he irons out his ball-watching problems defensively. Gomez is a starter for Louisville City in USL, where he signed after leaving FC Dallas a couple of years ago. Ostensibly he did so because he felt he'd have a more direct route to Europe (FC Dallas has significantly burnished its credentials as a pathway to Europe since). I haven't seen too much of him yet, but lots of people rave about him. He was in camp with El Tri to train relatively recently, so it's good to see him on this list. IMO, a bigger priority than Efra Alvarez, who is on Mexico's provisional roster.
DM: Johnny Cardoso (2001), Leon Flach (2001) — Johnny really underwhelmed in Olympic qualifiers. Hopefully it was just a product of Jason Kreis' bumbling. Leon Flach is a German-American who Philly acquired on the cheap from St. Pauli. He's done unexpectedly well in MLS this season and is more of a traditional DM than all of the Trapp/Yueill/Johnny types we've seen in US shirts in recent years.
CM: Tanner Tessmann (2001), Cole Bassett (2001), Gianluca Busio (2002) — FC Dallas' first team is a mess right now and I think that's slowing Tessmann down. He still needs to learn how to use his body; he's not as assertive as you'd think for a big guy. But he's much more skilled than you'd think for a big guy, so the potential is there. Bassett puts up a lot of numbers in MLS and his coaches seem to really like him. I'm not really sure what his position is — #8? a #10 who is more of a finisher than a creator? maybe even a second striker? Busio is having a big breakout in MLS this year, though it's still not clear what his long-term position will be. He's even been used as a #6, which is interesting, but he still needs to prove he has the defensive chops and isn't another destitute man's Andrea Pirlo.
EDIT: whoops I missed Moses Nyeman (2003) who just got his US citizenship. Very interesting CM prospect but I don't think he's ready for this Gold Cup. The 2003 class is looking very, very strong.
AM: Caden Clark (2003), Kevin Paredes (2003) — I think Clark stands a solid chance of making the roster. He has 7 goals and an assist in 1000 MLS minutes out of the midfield and is widely believed to be heading to RB Leipzig in the winter. Smart, skilled player who isn't exactly a 10 or a winger...but modern attacking soccer is built on these types of players anyway. Paredes always jumps out to me when I watch DC. I don't think he's ready for USMNT prime time but could be a big player for the next U20s.
FW: Cade Cowell (2003), Ricardo Pepi (2003) — Cowell is an athletic freak of a man-child who had a hot start to the season, though he has since cooled off a bit. I haven't fully bought into the hype until my concerns about technical limitations are assuaged, but his stock is rising. I like Pepi as a classic CF prospect and rate him highly. He's stuck in the aforementioned dysfunctional FC Dallas team, where he's behind an underperforming but highly paid DP forward who has been given an endlessly long leash.
Players I think have a chance at making this roster: Araujo, Bello, Busio, Clark....maaaaybe Gomez or Flach. But this roster will be highly unpredictable.
