USMNT vs. Trinidad & Tobago: Lineup Notes & Starting XI | Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinal Leg 1

LINEUP NOTES
USMNT vs. Trinidad and Tobago
2023-24 Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinal, Leg 1
Nov. 16, 2023
Q2 Stadium; Austin, Texas
Pre-Game Coverage: 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT, Telemundo, Universo, MAX, Peacock
Kickoff: 9:07 p.m. ET on TNT, Telemundo, Universo, MAX, Peacock, Futbol de Primera Radio
Social Media: @USMNT on X and Instagram; U.S. Soccer on Facebook , The U.S. Soccer App

Tonight’s USMNT Starting XI vs. Trinidad and Tobago: 1-Matt Turner, 2-Sergiño Dest, 3-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 5-Antonee Robinson, 6-Yunus Musah, 7-Gio Reyna, 8-Weston McKennie, 13-Tim Ream (capt.), 16-Kevin Paredes, 17-Malik Tillman, 20-Folarin Balogun

Substitutes: 18-Ethan Horvath, 21-Gaga Slonina, 4-Chris Richards, 9-Ricardo Pepi, 10-Alex Zendejas, 11-Brenden Aaronson, 12-Miles Robinson, 14-Luca de la Torre, 15-Paxten Aaronson, 19-Joe Scally, 22-Lennard Maloney, 23-Kristoffer Lund

GAME NOTES | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

• USMNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (including this match): Tim Ream (54), Weston McKennie (49), Antonee Robinson (38), Matt Turner (36), Yunus Musah (32), Sergiño Dest (31), Gio Reyna (23), Cameron Carter-Vickers (15), Folarin Balogun (7), Malik Tillman (7), Kevin Paredes (3).

• USMNT Starting XI Cap Numbers in Official Competition (including this match): Weston McKennie (28), Matt Turner (28), Tim Ream (27), Antonee Robinson (24), Yunus Musah (20), Sergiño Dest (16), Gio Reyna (13), Cameron Carter-Vickers (4), Folarin Balogun (3), Malik Tillman (2), Kevin Paredes (1).

• Tonight’s Starting XI has an average age of 24 years, 275 days. The lineup also averages 26 caps and 14 in official competition.

• With six players in his Starting XI aged 23 or younger, Gregg Berhalter moves into second all-time among USMNT head coaches in terms of caps awarded to players 23 and younger. Seven of the 12 substitutes are also 23 and younger, which means the number could grow by the end of the night.

U-23 Caps by USMNT Head Coach
Coach	U-23 Caps	Games Coached
Bora Milutinovic	502	96
Gregg Berhalter*	480	64
Bruce Arena	477	148
Bob Bradley	367	80
Jürgen Klinsmann	344	98
* Numbers include tonight's match

• Twenty-year-old midfielder Yunus Musah earns his 32^nd cap, tying Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan and Christian Pulisic for the most appearances by a USMNT player before their 21^st birthday. Musah also makes his 30^th start, extending his record of starts by a USMNT player before turning 21 – Donovan is second with 27 starts before his 21^st birthday.

• Full back Sergiño Dest joins Musah in making his 30^th start for the USMNT.

• Weston McKennie will make his USMNT-leading 12^th Concacaf Nations League appearance. The midfielder has missed only one CNL match since the competition began in 2019, serving a one-game suspension in the 2022-23 CNL Final earlier this year against Canada.

• Making his third USMNT appearance, 20-year-old forward Kevin Paredes gets his first start, earns his first cap in official competition and will play his first match against Concacaf opposition tonight against Trinidad and Tobago.

• No. 13 Tim Ream captains the side one day short of the 13-year anniversary of his first cap, a 1-0 win at South Africa on Nov. 17, 2010. This is the ninth Ream has worn the armband, with the team going 6-1-1 in the eight previous matches.

• Ream anchors the same backline that worked together in the 1-0 win against IR Iran at last year’s FIFA World Cup. The veteran partners with Cameron Carter-Vickers in central defense for the second time, while his Fulham teammate Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest are deployed in the full back positions.

• This is also Carter-Vickers’ first start since last year’s win against Iran.

• Folarin Balogun starts his seventh consecutive match for the USMNT. The striker has three goals and one assist in his six previous appearances.

• Making his team-leading 12^th appearance of 2023, Matt Turner moves past Arnie Mausser for sole possession of sixth all-time in caps among USMNT goalkeepers with 36 appearances. Tonight’s match is also Turner’s 17^th cap in 19 USMNT matches during FIFA international windows dating back to last September against Japan.

• Turner is the fourth USMNT goalkeeper to earn double-digit caps in at least three calendar years and the third to do it in three consecutive years: Tim Howard (6; 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017), Tony Meola (5; 2021, 2022, 2023), Kasey Keller (3; 1998, 2002, 2005).

• Malik Tillman earns his second career start, as well as his second appearance in official competition.

• Three starters have previously played against Trinidad and Tobago. Tim Ream started the 0-0 draw in World Cup qualifying on Nov. 17, 2015 and the 6-0 win in the Concacaf Gold Cup on June 22, 2019. Matt Turner made his USMNT debut and saved a penalty kick in the 7-0 win on Jan. 31, 2021, and kept another shutout in the 6-0 win in the Concacaf Gold Cup on July 2, 2023. Weston McKennie made his lone appearance against the Soca Warriors in the 2019 Gold Cup match.

• Should substitutes Brenden and Paxten Aaronson get on the field at the same time, they would become the eighth set of brothers to play together for the U.S. Men’s National Team. The Aaronsons became the ninth pair of brothers to earn a USMNT cap upon Paxten’s debut on Jan. 28 against Colombia.

• The USMNT is 21-3-4 in 28 previous matches against Trinidad and Tobago. The team has won the last three meetings, outscoring the Soca Warriors 19-0.

• Five substitutions are allowed in three different moments. Halftime does not count as a substitution moment.

• Oshane Nation of Jamaica is the referee for tonight’s match. The USMNT is 4-0-1 in five matches previously officiated by Nation:
  • 3-0 win vs. Bolivia (Friendly); May 28, 2018
  • 1-0 win vs. Costa Rica (Friendly); Feb. 1, 2020
  • 1-0 win vs. Honduras (CNL Semifinal); June 2, 2021
  • 1-1 draw vs. Canada (WCQ); Sept. 5, 2021
  • 3-0 win vs. Honduras (WCQ); Feb. 2, 2022