In the first U.S. Men’s National Team camp of the 2026 World Cup cycle, “the objective was to look for new players,” said Anthony Hudson. This newly appointed Interim Head Coach accomplished this by giving a record 12 players their USMNT debuts during this January camp against Serbia and Colombia. In fact, there was only one player, FC Cincinnati’s goalkeeper Roman Celentano, who didn’t touch the pitch. With 23 players getting a chance and half of those being debuts, the obvious question is; who stood out?

1. Gaga Slonina

The first player who had a noteworthy debut was 18-year-old Chelsea goalkeeper Gaga Slonina who moved to the London club for about $15m from Chicago Fire this past summer. For that reason, USMNT fans have been anxiously awaiting his national team debut, which he received in the first match of this January window against Serbia. Despite losing the game 2-1 Slonina produced a strong performance, recording four saves while confidently commanding his penalty area. Young goalkeepers often struggle in this department due to a lack of experience but not Gaga, who already has nearly 50 professional games under his belt despite his age. Slonina’s pure, reaction saves were also on display at BMO Stadium with three of his four saves requiring diving saves from shots within the box. The save of the day came half an hour in when Serbia broke down their left side through Petrovic who crossed it to the feet of Simic eight yards out. Slonina made a diving reaction save to keep it out, but the backspin continued to push the ball toward goal as it popped up from the original save. Slonina reacted immediately, reaching back to paw the ball away from goal, just before it crossed the line, while simultaneously getting kicked in the head by Serbian winger Luka Ilic. With the talent he possesses, his confidence at a young age, and the growing experience he is accumulating, it’s all but certain that Gaga Slonina will be the future of the USMNT between the sticks. 

2. Cade Cowell

The only player on this list who didn’t make his debut in this camp, San Jose Earthquakes left-winger Cade Cowell was an absolute menace all night long against Serbia. Having received his debut at the end of 2021, playing 12 minutes in a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cowell was on full debut in his second USMNT appearance on Wednesday night. The 19-year-old took full advantage of the opportunity, producing the best individual performance of the January camp. Cowell was doing everything from beating players 1v1 to getting down the line and putting in cutback crosses to cutting in and shooting himself. The only thing missing was the finish as Cowell was unlucky to hit the post twice, saying postgame, “it just wasn’t my night.” But it was his night. He completed two successful dribbles, created two chances, and was only dispossessed once in his 72 minutes of action. Everyone took notice, including Interim Head Coach Anthony Hudson who said he didn’t want to bring Cowell off but was forced to by fitness constraints. The coach described the big step forward Cowell took in the match, so with that in mind I asked the Earthquakes youngster about his European ambitions. “Obviously every kid’s dream is to go to Europe,” he told me, “but it’s hard to focus on that because it takes you away from what you’re doing right now. When I focus on that I find myself not doing my best, so I’ve learned to just keep it out of the picture. If it comes, it’ll come one day.” This is an answer you would expect from a player in their mid-20s, with experience and maturity, but Cowell is showing that impressive maturity while still a teenager. As a result, that European move will come sooner rather than later. 

3. Jalen Neal

Jalen Neal made the biggest mistake of the match on Wednesday as he let Simic burst past him to give Serbia a 2-1 lead early into the second half. Yet, despite that, he was still a standout performer and undoubtedly one of the five most impressive players this January camp. The 19-year-old LA Galaxy central defender had the privilege of debuting alongside Captain Walker Zimmerman, before playing the second half with veteran Aaron Long. Partnering two veteran leaders at center-back on debut was no coincidence. As Long told me this camp was about, “getting these guys who haven’t been in these camps up to speed,” and there is no better way of doing so than putting them on the pitch together. This makes it all the more impressive how good Jalen Neal was. His objective was to learn from Zimmerman and Long, but instead, he outshone them. Neal completed the most passes (86) with the highest passing percentage (93%), played 12 passes into the final third, and had perfect accuracy (9/9) on long balls while recording 8 defensive actions. Whether you use the eye test, the stats test, or any other test, Jalen Neal had a debut to remember. 

4. Alejandro Zendejas

Alejandro Zendejas is the textbook dual-national battle. The Mexican-American right-winger played for the U.S. Youth National Teams before playing for Mexico at the U-20 level. In 2021 and 2022 Mexico called him up for two friendlies which they have since been forced to forfeit as he was not eligible to play after failing to submit a one-time switch to Mexico. Now, the dual-national has accepted his first USMNT call-up despite only being available for the one friendly match against Serbia as he needed to return to Club America for their Liga MX match on Saturday. Luckily for him and the USMNT, Club America had no issue allowing Zendejas to leave, without so much as a minute restriction. After his eye-catching performance on debut against Serbia however, Anthony Hudson joked that he was “begging to stay.” That’s no surprise considering Zendejas won the most duels in the match (9) and was the most fouled player in the match (4) while playing six passes into the final third, creating two chances. The 24-year-old is extremely direct, exciting, and pacy. He is constantly looking to cause defenders problems, which will always catch the eye of fans. His friendly appearance does not cap-tie Zendejas, so his recruitment is still open, but after smashing a full 90 on debut, the USMNT will not want to let him go. 

5. Brandon Vazquez

The USMNT has been searching for their future #9 for years now. There are lots of candidates but none have stuck their heads above the pack. Anthony Hudson brought two strikers into January camp Brandon Vazquez and fellow MLS star Jesús Ferreira. Ferreira was the one who went to the World Cup, but Vazquez was the one who stood out at January camp, becoming the 59th USMNT player to score on debut. In fact, he was the only goalscorer of the window for the USMNT, but what a goal it was! He met Julian Gressel’s inch-perfect cross with an equally sensational flick-on header to the back post as his family celebrated wildly in the stands. It was a typical #9 goal for a typical #9, which is something that the dual-national has joked he could provide to the USMNT or Mexico, as both are lacking in that position. Jesús Ferreira is a different type of striker, more of a false 9, who likes to drop deeper and get involved in the buildup. This means, even if he isn’t scoring, he’s likely contributing to the team. Brandon Vazquez on the other hand, as the typical #9, is focused on goals. If he can continue to hit the back of the net like he showed the ability to do on debut, there’s no reason he can’t become the USMNT starting #9. Of course, this is ] something that has been said about a multitude of strikers in the player pool, but Vazquez is the latest, and hopefully, for USMNT fans, he can finally be the answer.

Cover Photo: Francisco Seco / Associated Press