The Union Pipeline is fueling the USMNT’s 2025 Gold Cup run

Philly’s got its fingerprints all over the U.S. Men’s National Team heading into this summer’s Gold Cup, and if you blinked, you might’ve missed just how deep the Union pipeline runs.

I can see how you’d miss it, too. The lads are currently atop the Eastern Conference.

When the 2025 USMNT Gold Cup roster dropped this week, one number jumped out: 7 of the 26 players have ties to the Philadelphia Union. That’s a whopping 26.9% of the squad shaped right here in Chester.

Union Roll Call:

• Current Union players: Quinn Sullivan, Nate Harriel
• Union alumni: Matt Freese, Mark McKenzie, Jack McGlynn, Brenden Aaronson, Paxten Aaronson

That’s two guys still in the XI at Subaru Park and five more who came up through the club’s youth system or first team.

In other words, this is the Union’s pipeline in full bloom.

Look, we all know this is exactly the model Philly’s been building: develop young players, compete for trophies, and when the time is right, cash in on big transfers.

Some context on these moves:

• Freese couldn’t crack the XI because, well, Andre Blake is Andre Blake. He’s now with NYCFC.
• Paxten Aaronson got stuck behind Daniel Gazdag, who’s been stuffing the stat sheet. Frankfurt called with a check, and the Union moved him.
• McGlynn didn’t totally fit this year’s more pressing-heavy system and is now in Houston.
• Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie? Massive pieces of the 2020 Shield-winning team and two of the Union’s biggest-ever export success stories.

This is how it’s supposed to work.

You can’t keep everyone forever, unless you’re an EPL giant, but you can be the MLS version of Ajax or Benfica. That’s where Philly’s headed: develop, sell, reload, and stay competitive.

And it’s not just talk, it’s showing up on the national team stage. Seven players repping Philly in this Gold Cup is proof that the model is working.

For Union fans? I get it. Talking about how good our former players are isn’t exactly equivalent to winning an MLS Cup, but with the development track record the team has, it’s hard not to be optimistic they can put it all together.

Philly should be proud of the Union Pipeline. It’s ours and if these guys ball out this summer, it only raises the club’s profile further, which leads to better prospects, bigger moves, and more wins down the line.

The machine is humming in Chester. And now it’s fueling the USMNT, too.

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