GAME NOTES | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SERBIA
Walker Zimmerman (38), Cade Cowell (2), Jonathan Gómez (2), Paxton Pomykal (2), Julian Gressel (1), Aidan Morris (1), Jalen Neal (1), Gaga Slonina (1), Alan Soora (1), Brandon Vazquez (1), Alex Zendejas (1). USMNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (counting this match): (1)
The average age of the current USMNT Starting XI is 23 years, 18 days, and they have played in four caps on average.
Alan Soora, Brandon Vazquez, Alex Zendejas, Paxton Pomykal, Aidan Morris, Cade Cowell, Jonathan Gómez, Jalen Neal, and Gaga Slonina are the only players under the age of 24 among the starting lineup’s 11 players (18).
Since nine players made their senior team debuts in a friendly match against Guatemala on January 10, 1988, seven starters receive their first caps for the USMNT.
Gaga Slonina will surpass Tony Meola, who made his USMNT debut on June 7, 1988, against Ecuador, as the team’s youngest goalie when she is 18 years, 255 days old. Tony Meola was 19 years, 106 days old at the time.
At Dignity Health Sports Park, two of the three starters who have caps made their USMNT debuts. On December 18, 2021, Cade Cowell and Jonathan Gómez both came off the bench to assist the USA defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0.
Cowell, Gómez, Vazquez, and Zendejas (all of whom are dual citizens of the United States and Mexico), Gressel (of the United States and Germany), Soora (of the United States and Argentina), and Slonina (of the United States and Russia), are the other three (USA & Poland)
Walker Zimmerman, a centre back, leads the USMNT for the seventh time tonight and is the only World Cup veteran in the starting XI.
Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG), Jonathan Gómez (Real Sociedad/ESP), and Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX) are the three starters with foreign bases. Alan Soora, a midfielder, was most recently a member of the Argentine team Independiente, however he is not currently signed to a team.
Dallas), Brandon Vazquez (FC Cincinnati), and Walker Zimmerman are the remaining seven players who play in Major League Soccer (Nashville SC).
Alex Zendejas, a Ciudad Juarez native, is the third player born in Mexico to play for the USMNT in the team’s contemporary era, joining Martin Vasquez and William Yarbrough (1990-present). Zendejas currently identifies as a native of El Paso, Texas.
Paxten Aaronson and his older brother Brenden Aaronson would be the eighth set of brothers to make an appearance for the USMNT and the first pair to do so since Pedro and John DeBrito, who made their debuts in 1983 and 1991, respectively. If Paxten Aaronson and Brenden Aaronson come off the bench tonight.
Roman Celentano, the USMNT’s goalkeeper, was not included in the 23-player roster for tonight’s match. In six different situations, there are six substitutes permitted. Halftime is not a moment for substitution.
The USMNT has never won a match against Serbia. On January 29, 2017, in San Diego, the sides’ most recent match ended in a 0-0 tie.
The match’s official referee is Jamaican Daneon Parchment. His previous matches included the 1-1 draw with Chile on March 26, 2019, the 2-0 defeat to Canada in Concacaf Nations League action on October 15, 2019, and the 2-1 triumph over Costa Rica in World Cup Qualifying on October 13, 2021, all of which took place in Houston.
