USA squad named

US coach Gregg Berhalter named a 26-player roster on Wednesday ahead of the opening matches in the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League against Cuba on October 11 at Washington and four days later against the Canadians in Toronto.

Dest, who turns 19 next month, has a Dutch mother and a Surinamese-American father. He has played youth internationals for the US and made his senior debut in a 3-0 friendly loss to Mexico last month.

But Dest has kept open his option to play for the Netherlands, since his US appearance was not in a competitive game.

"I understand there is going to be a lot of attention surrounding the availability of Sergino in this next camp," Berhalter told the US Soccer website.

"I've had conversations with Sergino. The conversations were positive and the content of these conversations is going to remain private."

The US squad will include Chelsea's Christian Pulisic, Schalke midfielder Weston McKennie and Newcastle full-back Yedlin.

Yedlin, a 2014 World Cup veteran, has not played for the US since March after a groin injury that required surgery in May.

"It's nice to get them back into the fold," said Berhalter. "DeAndre's last camp with us was in March, so it'll be nice to see him again."

The inaugural Nations League, based on UEFA's tournament of the same name in Europe, offers teams the chance to move up the rankings, with the top six CONCACAF sides to automatically reach the final round of 2022 World Cup qualifying.

The US team is ranked 21st in the world, while Cuba is 25th just in CONCACAF.

"This is competitive soccer," Berhalter said. "Anytime there is a trophy on the line is exciting."

Striker Jozy Altidore, with 115 caps, and midfielder Michael Bradley, with 150 appearances, are the most experienced US players and they could take the field on the home pitch of their Major League Soccer club, Toronto FC.

The Americans also include Fortuna Duesseldorf goalkeeper Zack Steffen and 19-year-old Werder Bremen striker Josh Sargent.