Photo by Denise McCooey
SEATTLE, WASH. – Seattle Sounders FC forward Clint Dempsey and midfielder Brad Evans have been called in to U.S. National Team camp in Carson, Calif. for the USA’s first training camp of 2015.
The camp, which runs from January 12-February 8, is being conducted across two continents. After 12 days in California, the team heads to Santiago in Chile for training from January 25-29 as it prepares for its first friendly of the year against fellow 2014 FIFA World Cup side Chile on Wednesday, January 28 at Estadio El Teniente in Rancagua. Kickoff time will be announced at a later date. The team then returns to the U.S. Soccer National Training Center.
“The prize in 2015 for the senior National Team is the Gold Cup, and this camp will give a lot of our players a chance to kick start their preparations for an important year,” Klinsmann said. “We also get an opportunity to introduce the next wave of young players into the program, and in particular work with many of our Olympic-age guys as they build toward qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.”
The camp culminates with a friendly against Panama on February 8 in Carson. Kickoff at the StubHub Center is set for 1:00 p.m. PST, and the match is being broadcast live on ESPN, UniMas and Univision Deportes Network. Fans can also follow the match live on Twitter @ussoccer and @ussoccer_esp.
Dempsey, 31, is tied for seventh all-time with 110 appearances and 99 starts for the USMNT, including appearances in each of the last three FIFA World Cups. His 39 career goals rank second and his 13 assists are tied for eighth.
Evans, 29, has 17 career USMNT caps and was a member of Klinsmann’s 30-man camp ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He has one international goal – a stoppage-time winner at Jamaica on June 7, 2013, the latest match-winning goal in U.S. FIFA World Cup qualifying history.
The roster includes seven veterans from last summer’s FIFA World Cup roster, including team captain Dempsey, Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley. At the other end of the spectrum, it features many fresh faces with 14 players looking to earn their first cap for the Senior Team. Furthermore, the camp roster has 12 Olympic-age players who are eligible to represent the USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (4): Alex Bono (unattached), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (8): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy)
MIDFIELDERS (10): Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (out of contract), Dennis Flores (Club Leon), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United FC), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution), Marc Pelosi (Liverpool FC), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Brek Shea (Orlando City SC), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC)
FORWARDS (6): Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Julio Morales (Tepic), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)
