Brooks Lennon and Gabriel Slonina headline USMNT vs. El Salvador call-up roster

The call-up roster for the USMNT vs. El Salvador has just been released and Brooks Lennon and Gabriel Slonina headline the Stars and Stripes' roster as they battle to secure their ticket to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. 

Also on the roster are Christian Pulisic of Chelse from UK and Ricardo Pepi, a recent acquisition from Augsburg in the Bundesliga. 

Brooks Lennon and Gabriel Slonina not the only surprises for the USMNT 

Detailed roster by position (club/country; Caps/Goals)

GOALKEEPERS (4): Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 9/0), Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 26/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 13/0)

DEFENDERS (9): Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 22/1), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona/ESP; 15/2), Brooks Lennon (Atlanta United; 1/0), Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 8/0), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim/GER; 6/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 19/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 15/3), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray/TUR; 71/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 23/2)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Kellyn Acosta (LAFC; 45/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 22/1), Luca de la Torre (Heracles/NED; 4/0), Sebastian Lletget (New England Revolution; 33/8), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 28/8), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 11/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 30/0)

FORWARDS (8): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/AUT; 15/5), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 42/8), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas; 5/2), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; 40/10), Ricardo Pepi (Augsburg/GER; 7/3), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 42/17), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 18/2), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew; 66/14)

The call-up of these players, plus Pulisic and Pepi fills all Stars and Stripes fans with hope, but they are not the only surprises the USMNT has in store for the World Cup Qualifiers.

The USMNT's hopeful returns

Also returning to the team are Weston McKennie and Miles Robinson, who missed the match against Jamaica on November 16 due to yellow card (McKennie) and red card (Robinson) suspensions. 

McKennie returns to the USMNT at the top of his game after scoring two goals in his last two games for Juventus. 

But there is another reason for McKennie to be inspired in these upcoming FIFA fixtures: at 23, he is the youngest U.S. international to reach 50 Serie A appearances during the club's 2-0 win over Udinese.

Sergiño Dest and Jordan Morris make triumphant return to USMNT

The return of Weston McKennie was not the only surprise in the call-up; Sergiño Dest and Jordan Morris, two players who have not seen action for the Stars and Stripes in a while, will also return. 

In Dest's case, an injury kept him out of the November camp, but he is ready to show his full potential.

Suffice it to say that on the team's last visit to Lower.com Field, Dest scored what ended up being the team's Goal of the Year, leading the comeback in the United States' 2-1 win over Costa Rica on October 13, 2021.

For Morris' part, he makes his triumphant return to the USMNT since his last call-up was for the 2018 World Cup, so his last call-up was in September 2017, but let's not forget he had already returned to the USMNT during last month's 1-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, but that was a friendly match.