ATLANTA — Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada and Giorgos Giakoumakis have been named to the 2023 Major League Soccer All-Star Game roster, MLS announced today.
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 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.
The only active MLS player to win a FIFA World Cup with Argentina, Almada makes his All-Star debut after a sensational first half of the season. The 22-year-old midfielder leads MLS with nine assists, is tied for second in goal contributions (16) and is tied for second with 50 chances created. Almada was named the MLS Player of the Month for February/March 2023 after scoring four goals and adding four assists in the first four matches of the season for an Atlanta United team that went 3-0-1 during that span. He became just the second player in Atlanta history to record 2 goals and 2 assists in the same match in club’s 5-1 win vs. Portland on March 18. The Argentine midfielder was named the 2022 MLS Newcomer of the Year in his debut season, leading Atlanta in assists (12) and finishing tied for third on the club in goals scored (six).
In his first season in MLS, Giakoumakis has been a force in attack for Atlanta, recording 10 goals and an assist in 15 games. The Greek forward is tied for second in the league in goals and ranks first in goals scored per 90 minutes at .97 (min. 300 minutes played). Giakoumakis reached his 10th career MLS goal in just his 766th minute of action, making him the second player in MLS history to reach 10 career goals in under 800 minutes of regular season play (Mamadou Diallo). He became the first player in club history to score in his first five starts and just the second player in league history (Taylor Twellman, six).
The Commissioner’s picks for the 2023 MLS All-Star Game are Chicago Fire FC’s Kei Kamara and CF Montréal’s Mathieu Choinière. One of the most prolific scorers in the history of Major League Soccer, Kamara sits one goal shy of second place in MLS history with 144 goals, trailing only Landon Donovan (145) and Chris Wondolowski (171). A Homegrown midfielder out of Québec, Choinière has recorded a career-best and team-high five goal contributions for CF Montréal this season and has been a key component of the club’s rebuilt attack in 2023.
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)
Highlights of the 2023 MLS All-Star roster include the following:
- 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.
