NEW YORK (Tuesday, June 27, 2023) – D.C. United forward Christian Benteke and goalkeeper Tyler Miller were among the 26 players honored today as Major League Soccer unveiled the complete roster for the 2023 MLS All-Star Game. Benteke and Miller were two of the 12 players that 2023 All-Star head coach Wayne Rooney selected for his roster.
The 2023 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target will be played on Wednesday, July 19, and feature the MLS All-Stars taking on Arsenal FC, the renowned 13-time English league champions, at Audi Field, home of D.C. United. The roster was selected through a combination of fan, player, and media voting (12 players), designations by All-Star head coach Wayne Rooney of host club D.C. United (12 players), and a pair of selections by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.
Benteke joined D.C. United in August 2022 after spending the previous 10 seasons in the English Premier League. He made his Black-and-Red debut on Aug. 31, 2022 coming on as a 73rd minute substitute in a 2-1 win over New York City FC. The Belgian forward scored his first MLS goal less than a month later on Sept. 18, 2022 against Inter Miami CF at Audi Field. In 2023, Benteke leads D.C United with eight goals and is ranked second in assists with three. He has also shown his aerial dominance this season by leading MLS with 146 aerial duels in 19 matches played.
Miller joined the Black-and-Red in November as a free agent after spending the previous three seasons with Minnesota United. He made his D.C. United debut on Feb. 25 in a 3-2 win over Toronto FC in week one of the 2023 MLS season. Miller recorded his first clean sheet for the team on April 1 against Chicago Fire FC. This season, Miller has started all 20 matches for D.C. United, recording 51 saves and six clean sheets. Miller also leads MLS in accurate long balls with 236 and is tied for 5th in clean sheets.
The 2023 MLS All-Star roster by position and selection mechanism:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Roman Bürki (St. Louis CITY SC / Voted In), Tyler Miller (D.C. United / Coach’s Selection), Djordje Petrović (New England Revolution / Coach’s Selection)
DEFENDERS (7): Álvaro Barreal (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Jon Gallagher (Austin FC / Voted In), Ryan Hollingshead (LAFC / Coach’s Selection), Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Tim Parker (St. Louis CITY SC / Coach’s Selection), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls / Coach’s Selection), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC / Voted In)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati / Voted In), Thiago Almada (Atlanta United / Voted In), Mathieu Choinière (CF Montréal / Commissioner’s Selection), Héctor Herrera (Houston Dynamo FC / Coach’s Selection), José Martínez (Philadelphia Union / Coach’s Selection), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew / Voted In), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC / Voted In), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy / Coach’s Selection), Lucas Zelarayán (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection)
FORWARDS / WINGERS (7): Christian Benteke (D.C. United / Coach’s Selection), Dénis Bouanga (LAFC / Voted In), Cristian Espinoza (San Jose Earthquakes / Coach’s Selection), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas / Voted In), Giorgos Giakoumakis (Atlanta United / Coach’s Selection), Kei Kamara (Chicago Fire FC / Commissioner’s Selection), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC / Voted In)
For bios of each of the 26 MLS All-Stars | Click Here
Highlights of the 2023 MLS All-Star roster include the following:
- Sitting atop the Supporters’ Shield standings with 43 points, FC Cincinnati led all MLS clubs with three players selected to the All-Star roster: midfielder Luciano Acosta and defenders Álvaro Barreal and Matt Miazga.
- Overall, 18 clubs are represented on this year’s All-Star Game roster: Atlanta United, Austin FC, Chicago Fire FC, FC Cincinnati, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo FC, LA Galaxy, LAFC, CF Montréal, Nashville SC, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC, and St. Louis CITY SC.
- The players have ties to 15 different countries: Argentina (four players), Armenia (one), Belgium (one), Canada (one), Gabon (one), Germany (one), Greece (one), Ireland (one), Mexico (one), Serbia (one), Sierra Leone (one), Spain (one), Switzerland (one), Venezuela (one), and the United States (nine).
- Nineteen of the 26 players will be making their MLS All-Star Game debut, while Nashville SC’s Walker Zimmerman is the most-capped All-Star on this year’s team, making his fourth appearance.
- Eight of the 26 players on the All-Star roster arrived in MLS in 2022 or later: Thiago Almada (Atlanta United), Christian Benteke (D.C. United), Dénis Bouanga (LAFC), Roman Bürki (St. Louis CITY SC), Giorgos Giakoumakis (Atlanta United FC), Héctor Herrera (Houston Dynamo FC), Djordje Petrović (New England Revolution), and Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy)
The MLS All-Star Game and MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T 5G at Audi Field will be available to watch in more than 100 countries and regions in English, Spanish, and French on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. Fans can subscribe to MLS Season Pass now through the Apple TV app on Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices, set-top boxes, game consoles, and the web at tv.apple.com.
Tickets for the MLS All-Star Game are on sale at MLSSoccer.com/All-Star or by clicking here.
