Josh Atencio and Jackson Ragen were among the 25 players named on Friday to the upcoming United States men’s national team camp. Players will start reporting to Orlando on Sunday with camp opening on Monday and will conclude after the USMNT faces Slovenia on Jan. 20 in San Antonio. Atencio and Ragen will then join the Sounders in Spain where they’ll be training until mid-February.
This is the first senior team call-up for either player. Atencio had previously been called into a U23 camp late last season, but didn’t actually play after contracting a stomach bug. That was his first national team involvement at any level since being getting called into the U17s in 2019. Ragen has never been involved with the national team at any level.
Asked about their involvement, USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter said “both had earned the opportunity” through their play with the Sounders.
Berhalter also called Ragen one of the best passing centerbacks in MLS and said he liked both his size and strength, adding "I’m really intrigued to work with him."
Berhalter said he would be looking at Atencio as both a 6 and 8, and was impressed that he had been able to establish himself as a "locked-in starter" down the stretch for the Sounders.
With Olympic coach Marko Mitrović on the staff and 13 players who are age eligible for the summer tournament, the expectation is that Atencio and Ragen are both being primarily considered for that squad. At the same time, Berhalter insisted that "Any player in this camp has a chance to show they can be part of the senior team on a regular basis."
The Sounders also announced that Nouhou had been called into Cameroon's Africa Cup of Nations squad and Tacoma Defiance midfielder Antonio Herrera was joining Mexico's U20 team for a tournament in Guadalajara.
DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Drake Callender (Inter Miami; 0/0), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 0/0)
DEFENDERS (10): Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union; 0/0), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution; 7/0), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC; 17/1), Ian Murphy (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Jackson Ragen (Seattle Sounders; 0/0), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 27/3), James Sands (New York City FC; 13/0), Nkosi Tafari (FC Dallas; 0/0), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; 3/0), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United; 1/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Joshua Atencio (Seattle Sounders; 0/0), Aziel Jackson (St. Louis City; 0/0), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union; 0/0), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew; 4/0), Timmy Tillman (LAFC; 0/0), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew; 0/0)
FORWARDS (6): Esmir Bajraktarevic (New England Revolution; 0/0), Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; 8/1), Bernard Kamungo (FC Dallas; 0/0), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; 0/0), Duncan McGuire (Orlando City; 0/0), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 0/0)
