Fourteen Players Bring World Cup Qualifying Experience to Start of 2014 Campaign;
‘Five-Game Tournament’ Begins May 26 vs. Scotland in Jacksonville, Fla.
CHICAGO (May 25, 2012) – U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has named a final 23-man travel roster that will compete in the upcoming five matches that include three friendlies and the start of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Initially calling 27 players into a camp at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., the team now heads to Jacksonville in advance of the match against Scotland on May 26 at 8 p.m. at EverBank Field (8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Galavision).
More than 36,000 tickets have been sold in Jacksonville, which sets a record for a U.S. Men’s National Team friendly in the state of Florida. Tickets starting at $22 are still on sale at ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster centers throughout the Jacksonville area. Following Scotland, the U.S. hosts five-time World Cup champions Brazil on Wednesday, May 30, in Landover, Md.
The U.S. MNT has announced public training sessions for May 25 at EverBank Field and May 28 at Ludwig Field in College Park, Md .
“We have said from the beginning that these games are all about results, and we have chosen the 23 players who are in the best form right now and ready to get the job done,” said Klinsmann. “These guys have put in a tremendous amount of hard work in the last 10 days, and they are hungry to get started with the matches. We want to thank the players who have gone back to their clubs for all of their effort here. They are knocking on the door and will be ready to go if needed.”
The nearly month-long series of training and games has been designed to mimic the circumstances the team will face in a tournament format, with meticulous planning dedicated to technical aspects, travel, nutrition, logistics and the rhythm of team movement to create a performance driven environment.
U.S. TRAVEL ROSTER BY POSITION – DETAILED ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Jose Torres (Pachuca)
FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
ADDITIONAL ROSTER NOTES
•A total of 14 players bring World Cup qualifying experience to the roster.
•Steve Cherundolo and Landon Donovan are beginning their fourth qualifying cycle; Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Oguchi Onyewu commence their third.
•Bocanegra begins his second century of caps after collecting his 100th in the 3-2 win against Slovenia on Nov. 15, 2011, in Ljubljana. Bocanegra will receive recognition for that achievement prior to the match May 30 against Brazil.
•He is one of five players on the roster to captain their club teams. Also wearing the captain’s armband: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Cherundolo (Hannover), Donovan (LA Galaxy) and Clarence Goodson (Brondby).
•Howard sits in second place all-time for victories among U.S. goalkeepers, and tied for third in shutouts. He has eight clean sheets in 16 World Cup qualifying appearances.
•Brad Guzan brings an additional three shutouts in five matches played.
•Donovan returns to the National Team for the first time since September of 2011. The USA’s all-time leading scorer also has the most appearances for any U.S. player in World Cup qualifying (35) and goals (12).
•Jozy Altidore has six goals in 13 career qualifiers; Michael Bradley and Dempsey have five each.
•Five of the six forwards on the current U.S. roster enter having tallied double digits in goals for their clubs.
•Dempsey is coming off a record-setting season for a U.S. international in England, recording his 50th career English Premier League goal while setting a single-season mark for league goals scored (17) and goals in all competitions (23). He also tallied the USA’s lone goal in the 1-0 win against Italy on Feb. 29 in Genoa.
•Altidore finished his first season at AZ Alkmaar with 19 goals in all competitions, including 15 in league play and four in the Europa League. Jermaine Jones helped Schalke 04 to a third-place finish in the Bundesliga and a spot in next year’s UEFA Champions League.
•With 19 goals in all competitions in the last year, Herculez Gomez became the first U.S. player to win both an MLS Cup title and Mexican League title as Santos defeated Monterrey in the two-leg final.
•Chris Wondolowski is atop the MLS goalscoring chart, having tallied 11 goals in 12 matches for San Jose.
•Terrence Boyd finished with 20 goals for Borussia Dortmund’s second team, scoring a goal in the final that helped the team gain promotion to the Third Division. Michael Bradley played in a career-high 34 league games in his first season at Chievo Verona in Italy’s Serie A, the Flying Donkeys finishing in 10th in the league table.
•Jose Torres returns to the U.S. fold for the first time since last September, missing all of the subsequent camps due to injury. He made his debut for the U.S. in a World Cup qualifier, the 6-1 victory against Cuba in the Semifinal Round on Oct. 11, 2008, in Washington, D.C.
•Joe Corona is the only player making his first appearance on the MNT roster. The midfielder and Development Academy product scored four goals for the U-23 MNT in the 2012 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying tournament.
•Michael Parkhurst comes to camp as a newly crowned champion, as FC Nordsjaelland captured the Danish Superligaen title after finishing two points ahead of FC Copenhagen.
•Geoff Cameron started the USA’s first two matches of 2012, consecutive 1-0 victories against Venezuela and Panama.
•Bocanegra and Maurice Edu play for Scottish Premier League side Rangers alongside Scotland defenders Lee Wallace and Steven Whittaker and goalkeeper Allan McGregor.
The U.S. has collected four consecutive victories, including three straight shutout wins highlighted by the 1-0 triumph against four-time World Cup champion Italy. A total of 42 players have earned at least one cap since Klinsmann took the helm last July, and he and the coaching staff have now refined the player pool in advance of this summer’s crucial activities.
The team has lined up a series of friendlies for this summer in preparation for the start of World Cup qualifying. Following the match against Scotland, the U.S. continues its competition against the world’s top teams when it hosts five-time World Cup champions Brazil on Wednesday, May 30, in Landover, Md. Kickoff for the USA’s first-ever match at FedExField is set for 8 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2, ESPN3 and TeleFutura. Fans can also follow the match live online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and Twitter @ussoccer.
For the last game before the start of World Cup qualifying, the United States will make a rare visit to Canada when it renews the rivalry June 3 at BMO Field in Toronto. Kickoff for the USA’s first match on Canadian soil since 1997 is set for 7 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network and Univision Deportes Network.
The United States will kick off the effort to qualify for its seventh-consecutive FIFA World Cup when it hosts Antigua & Barbuda on June 8 at Raymond James Stadium. The semifinal round opener begins at 7 p.m. ET live on ESPN, ESPN3 and Galavision. Four days later, the U.S. plays its first road match in group play this cycle when it visits Guatemala.
Source US Soccer.com
