Tim Ream, Jesus Ferreira and Diego Luna headline as Mauricio Pochettino names MLS-heavy 24-man USMNT roster ahead of January friendlies vs Venezuela, Costa Rica

A total of 24 players have been called in by USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino, who leads January camp for the first time after being hired by U.S. Soccer in the fall.

The camp will begin on Jan. 7 in Ft. Lauderdale ahead of a game against Venezuela on Jan. 18 at Inter Miami's Chase Stadium. Four days later, the USMNT will tace Costa Rica at Orlando City's Inter&Co Stadium.

As is typical with January camps, which fall outside of a FIFA window, the squad is composed almost exclusively of MLS players, as 23 domestic-based hopefuls look to make their case ahead of a busy 2025. Among that group are World Cup veterans such Tim Ream, Walker Zimmerman and Jesus Ferreira as well as rising youngsters like Benjamin Cremaschi, John Tolkin and Diego Luna.

GOALKEEPERS: Drake Callender (Inter Miami), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids) 

DEFENDERS: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), George Campbell (CF Montreal, DeJuan Jones (Columbus Crew), Shaq Moore (FC Dallas), Jalen Neal (CF Montreal), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC) 

MIDFIELDERS: Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami), Emeka Eneli (Real Salt Lake), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union) 

FORWARDS: Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC), Caden Clark (CF Montreal), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas), Brian Gutiérrez (Chicago Fire), Matko Miljevic (Unattached), Indiana Vassilev (St. Louis CITY), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps) 

The squad features seven players who will be joining a senior USMNT camp for the first time. That group - Patrick Agyemang, Max Arfsten, George Campbell, Emeka Eneli, Brian Gutierrez, Matko Miljevic, and Indiana Vassilev - are among 10 players that could earn their first USMNT camps this month.

As for the veterans, both Ferreira and Zimmerman are in the USMNT squad for the first time since 2023, while the ever-present Ream is in January camp for the first time since 2011, having spent the years since in Europe before returning to MLS with Charlotte FC this summer. Ream, a finalist for the 2024 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year, has captained all four matches since Pochettino took over the USMNT.

“We are extremely excited to work with a new group of players and continue to implement our ideas,” Pochettino said. “As I have said, MLS is very important to the national team project, and these players have earned this opportunity.”  

The January camp kicks off a big year for the USMNT, who will have one eye on 2025 and one on the upcoming World Cup on home soil in 2026. In the spring, the USMNT will compete in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals as they look to lift that trophy once again. Then, in the summer, they'll play in the Gold Cup as Pochettino looks to fine-tune his team ahead of 2026.