No Landon Donovan, no Timmy Chandler, no Steve Cherundolo, no Jose Torres, Most everyone else are there!
U.S. MNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann called in 26 players for a training camp before playing a pair of friendlies against Belgium and Germany prior to resumiong CONCACAF World Cup qualifying on June 7 in Jamaica.
The U.S. will host Belgium on May 26 in Cleveland, and then take on Germany on May 29 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
After the trip to Jamaica, the U.S. comes home for a Hexagonal match against Panama on June 11 in Seattle and a June 11 meeting against Honduras at sold-out Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah to start the second half of the final qualifying round.
“We are very excited about the group we have put together,” said Klinsmann, who also has to look ahead to who he will put into the U.S. roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which begins on July 9 in the USA against Belize. The U.S. also has Gold Cup group against against Cuba and Costa Rica.
The players understand more how we’re working, what we’re looking for, the way we want to play and the way we want to challenge big nations eye-to-eye. As we go into this stretch of two friendly games against Belgium and Germany, and three big World Cup Qualifiers, we want to see more consistent performances.
“This is a huge opportunity to pick up a lot of points and put ourselves in a good position to qualify for Brazil.”
Donovan is back playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy after taking an extended offseason break. Chandler and Cherundolo are both still recovering from injuries, although Cherundolo had returned to the field with his German Bundesliga team Hanover.
On the positive side, both Tim Howard and Brad Guzan return, and will train with four MLS goalkeepers who will rotate in and out of the camp.
This camp also marks the return of Stuart Holden, who has been out of the national tem picture with injuries since October of 2010.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (6) : Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Everton), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (8) : DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Parkhurst (Augsburg)
MIDFIELDERS (10) : Michael Bradley (Roma), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Brek Shea (Stoke City), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (5) : Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC)
Additional Roster Notes
- As in March, both Steve Cherundolo (knee) and Timmy Chandler (knee) will be unavailable. Cherundolo has not fully recovered from the injury that kept him out for four months, while Chandler suffered ligament damage May 6 in training.
- The U.S. strikeforce is loaded with players scoring goals for both club and country: Clint Dempsey has seven goals in World Cup qualifying in this cycle and 12 overall, and is now tied for first place on the USA’s all-time list.
- Jozy Altidore tallied 31 goals in all competitions for AZ Alkmaar, breaking the single-season record for an American in Europe that was set by Dempsey (23) last year. Altidore became the first U.S. player to be named to the Dutch Eredivisie Team of the Year.
- Eddie Johnson has 10 career goals in qualifying to his credit, tied for second all-time with Brian McBride.
- Herculez Gomez has 11 goals in all competitions and is playing for Santos in the Liga MX semifinals after having reached the CONCACAF Champions League final earlier this year. Gomez potted a pair of goals during the Semifinal Round, including the game-winner against Jamaica on Sept. 11, 2012, in Columbus.
- Terrence Boyd finished his first season at Rapid Vienna with 15 goals in all competitions.
- After two outstanding performances at left back, DaMarcus Beasley is one appearance shy of becoming the 13th player in MNT history to earn 100 caps. He has 28 career caps in World Cup qualifying, good for fifth-most on the USA’s all-time list.
- Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler return after the pair impressed in the 0-0 draw against Mexico. In that game, Besler became only the second U.S. player in history to start a World Cup qualifier with fewer than two caps.
- Besler replaced Clarence Goodson, who stood firm in the 1-0 win against Costa Rica and was subsequently sidelined with a hamstring injury.
- With two straight clean sheets in March, Brad Guzan now has five shutouts in seven matches played in qualifying in his career, posting a 4-1-2 record.
- Guzan was voted the Aston Villa Player of the Year by both players and supporters.
- Between UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Copa Libertadores and CONCACAF Champions League, a total of 11 U.S. players competed in regional cup competitions this season.
- Stuart Holden returns to the U.S. fold for the first time since October of 2010. Klinsmann has already indicated that Holden will be a part of this roster as well as the Gold Cup.
- Michael Bradley will compete in the Coppa Italia Final on May 26 in Rome against Lazio.
- Edgar Castillo and Joe Corona have continued the historic run with Club Tijuana in the 2013 Copa Libertadores, advancing to the quarterfinals to face Atletico Mineiro on May 22 and May 29.
- Sean Johnson (May 26-30), Bill Hamid (May 30-June 2), Tally Hall (June 2-June 8) and Nick Rimando (June 9-19) will all rotate through camp at different stages and serve as the third goalkeeper.
- Eight players are carrying yellow cards into the next World Cup qualifiers: DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Matt Besler, Brad Davis, Clint Dempsey, Maurice Edu, Fabian Johnson and Graham Zusi. Their next caution will result in a one-match suspension.