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- Emeka Eneli earned his first U.S. men's national team call-up under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
- Eneli, a versatile player for Real Salt Lake, was drafted in 2023 and never played for youth national teams.
- The January camp includes friendlies against Venezuela and Costa Rica, with Eneli and Luna forming part of the four-man midfield.
SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. men's national team has a new head coach, Argentine Mauricio Pochettino, and he's bringing some new faces into the fold with him.
While it is not his first time picking a USMNT roster, the January camp typically allows the manager to start the new year with some fresh faces. Poch — as he became known during his days in Europe — is taking full advantage, with seven players earning their first selection.
Among those first-timers is Real Salt Lake do-it-all man Emeka Eneli, who played forward in college and started at RSL at right-back before seemingly finding his true calling in the midfield, where he was placed in Monday's roster announcement.
Eneli is even more unique among the first-timers as this marks his first inclusion by a U.S. national team at any level. He did not have the opportunity to play with a youth national team like his RSL teammate and fellow camp call-up Diego Luna did as a teenager.
A graduate of Cornell, Eneli was born in Michigan and moved to Ohio as a child, where he began pursuing soccer seriously with the Columbus Crew Academy. He was drafted by RSL with the 25th pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft and made an immediate impact.
"It's an honor to be able to represent my country and RSL on the national stage," Eneli said. "This is something I've dreamed of since I first started playing and watching soccer as a little kid, and I am now just super grateful to have the opportunity to do so."
Eneli and Luna make up 50% of the four-man midfield on the January roster, along with Inter Miami's Benjamin Cremaschi and Philadelphia's Jack McGlynn. The four midfielders have just three senior national team appearances between them.
Luna's lone appearance came on Jan. 20, 2024, as a starter in a 1-0 USMNT loss to Slovenia in San Antonio, Texas.
"I'm very grateful to be able to start the season off again with the U.S. national team and hopefully kick off a great 2025 season," Luna said. "I'm honored to represent the USA and have the RSL community supporting me."
Luna and Eneli will travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the start of camp on Tuesday, before moving around the state for friendlies against Venezuela on Jan. 18 in Miami and Costa Rica on Jan. 22 in Orlando.
