New England Soccer Today

Klinsmann Calls 26

U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced his 26-man roster for the January camp on Friday morning. Twenty-five of the 26 players ply their trade in MLS, with 11 MLS clubs represented, but none with the New England Revolution.

The camp kicks off on Jan. 6 and runs through Feb. 1. The 26-man squad will spend six days at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. before a reduced 23-player group heads to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to train from Jan. 13-25. The team will then return to Carson to prepare for a Saturday, Feb. 1 match against Korea Republic at the Home Depot Center. That match can be seen live on ESPN2 at 5p.m. ET.

Those with New England-ties on the roster include former Revolution defender Seth Sinovic and former Revolution midfielder Benny Feilhaber. Sinovic and Feilhaber lead a contingent of five players from MLS Cup Champions Sporting Kansas City, the most players from any club. Out of contract striker Juan Agudelo was part of the preliminary roster, but did not make the final 26, presumably due to an impending transfer to a European club.

Among the notable names on the roster are the all-time leading scorer and assister for the U.S. and 2013 Gold Cup Golden Boot co-winner, Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder/forward Landon Donovan, the 2013 MLS MVP Chicago Fire midfielder/forward Mike Magee, and the 2012 MLS MVP and 2013 Gold Cup Golden Boot co-winner San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski.

Addressing a position of weakness for the U.S., Klinsmann loaded the roster with outside defenders, including left backs Chris Klute (Colorado Rapids), Michael Harrington (Portland Timbers), and Sinovic, and right backs Chance Myers (Sporting Kansas City), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders) and DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders). With good showings, any of the six could earn more looks as Klinsmann looks to shore up the fullback position before the World Cup. Promising Revolution right back Andrew Farrell was not included on the roster.

The lone non-MLSer on the roster is midfielder Mix Diskerud, who plays for Rosenborg in Norway. Diskerud has appeared in 13 of the last 14 matches for the U.S.

The full U.S. roster is below.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (4): Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS (10): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Michael Harrington (Portland Timbers), Chris Klute (Colorado Rapids), Chance Myers (Sporting Kansas City), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids), Seth Sinovic (Sporting Kansas City), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Eric Alexander (New York Red Bulls), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Dax McCarty (New York Red Bulls), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

FORWARDS (4): Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (D.C. United), Mike Magee (Chicago Fire), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

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