The U.S. men's national soccer team that will play a World Cup qualifier Feb. 2 at Allianz Field in winter's midst features Americans representing clubs in 11 different countries.
Included in a 28-man roster announced Friday afternoon are Christian Pulisic of English Premier League's Chelesa, French first-division forward Tim Weah, teenage sensation Ricardo Pepi and MLS defenders Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson.
Bloomington's Jackson Yueill is not among the 28 players called to camp in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend.
The U.S. will play three important World Cup qualifiers in a week, starting Thursday against El Salvador in Columbus and finishing six days later against Honduras in St. Paul at Allianz Field.
In between, the U.S. team will play at Canada on Jan. 30 in Hamilton, Ontario.
All three are cold-weather sites in the middle of winter. U.S. Soccer chose Columbus and Minneapolis particularly for the home-country advantage the two sites' cold weather might provide.
The U.S. men's team has twice won World Cup qualifiers in 29-degree weather at kickoffs: In 2001 against Mexico in Columbus and the 2013 "Snow Clasico" against Costa Rica played in a snowstorm in Denver.
"You know what? I want it to be freezing," Zimmerman said. "I want it to be cold. I want the snow. I want to be a part of something so iconic that I saw and I really remember growing up. And that's exciting to me. So I think the guys are ready to embrace it, and it will be a really good environment for us fan-wise as well."
With six games remaining, the U.S. is second among eight teams in CONCACAF qualifying with 15 points and a 4-1-3 record.
The top three teams in the group automatically qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November.
This will be the USMNT's second visit to Allianz Field. They played a 2019 Gold Cup game there.
