The U.S. men’s national team brought in a dozen new faces for its first camp after the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and among the newcomers is Houston-born forward Cole Campbell.
Campbell, 20, spent the early years of his life in Houston before moving away, first to Georgia and then Iceland. Campbell then spent years in the youth system of Borussia Dortmund, where talents such as Jude Bellingham, Christian Pulisic and Erling Haaland spent some of the early years of their careers.
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Now he’s a starter for a German Bundesliga squad off to a hot start to the season and in the mix for the U.S. men’s national team going forward.
He was on the bench Tuesday night for the USMNT‘s matchup versus Chile in St. Louis. If Campbell appears off the bench, it would mark his debut with the national team.
Cole Campbell is a 20-year-old American soccer player who currently plays in Germany.
Campbell was born in Houston on Feb. 20, 2006.
Cole Campbell lived in Houston at the start of his life before his family moved to Georgia in 2015, per The Athletic.
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Rakel Karvelsson, Cole Campbell’s mother, is a former soccer player.
She played college soccer at UNC, winning two national titles with the Tar Heels. Karvelsson scored 40 goals and had 33 assists over her four years.
She later played for Iceland’s women’s national team and in the Women’s United Soccer Association.
“My mom knows so much about football,” Campbell recently told the media, according to the Associated Press. “Having a mom also that played football, it’s great. I can also train with her, which is fun.
Campbell’s family moved to Iceland in 2020 to be closer to his maternal grandfather, according to a 2024 story in American Soccer Now.
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He made his professional debut at 15 for FH in 2021. He moved to Breiðablik in Iceland before making his way to Borussia Dortmund.
Campbell currently plays for SV Elversberg in the Bundesliga. The club is based in a small town near the French border.
Elversberg acquired Campbell during the summer transfer window from Borussia Dortmund for a reported $7 million.
He spent the second half of last season on loan at TSG Hoffenheim.
Campbell and SV Elversberg have had a great start to the 2026-27 campaign.
Elversberg, which is back in the Bundesliga after earning a promotion from Germany’s second division, is 2-1-1 through four games. Its lone loss was a 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich.
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Campbell has started all four games for the club with one goal scored.
Cole Campbell is a winger and has been starting on the left wing for Elversberg. He can also play on the right wing.
While Campbell played a few games for Iceland’s U-17 team, U.S. youth national teams have been his focus for the last few years.
Before he got the call up to the USMNT for this window, he emphasized his desire to play for the Stars and Stripes.
“I’ve already made my decision to switch to the U.S. It was for a lot of different reasons, but my future is with the U.S., so that’s set,” Campbell told the media earlier this month, per ESPN. “I have no second thoughts or anything, so that’s the thing for me that’s set in stone.”
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This article originally published at Cole Campbell in position for USMNT debut. What to know about Houston-born forward.
