New England Soccer Today

National Team Action on Tap for Jones

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

Getting called up for National Team action won’t get old anytime soon for Revolution midfielder Jermaine Jones.

Jones was tapped by U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann prior to the Saturday’s Revolution-Impact clash, and will get the chance to collect his 47th cap when the U.S. takes on Honduras for an international friendly against Honduras.

“I’m always excited when I can play for the national team,” Jones told revolutionsoccer.net. “I always was in touch with Jurgen, so we have a good relationship. I’m happy to see the boys back.”

Jones’ last match with the National Team came in a 2-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16 during the 2014 World Cup on Jul. 1. Among those he’ll get to reacquaint himself with include former Revolution midfielder Clint Dempsey, Graham Zusi, Matt Besler, and Michael Bradley, all of whom were also called up for Tuesday’s contest.

Unlike his peers, Jones won’t get much time to rest his legs before he returns to his club. Shortly after his friendly, Jones will re-join the Revolution, who’ll be playing Thursday in Houston against the Dynamo.

But the 48-hour turnaround appears to be of little concern to the veteran midfielder.

“I’m used to that,” he said. “No problem for me. I prefer to play than train.”

While Jones may have no qualms about getting right back on the pitch after Tuesday’s friendly, the decision as to whether he plays – and if so, for how long – ultimately lies with coach Jay Heaps.

With the Revolution’s postseason ticket booked, and the slumping Dynamo on tap, Heaps may be inclined to rest Jones, who went the full 90 in Saturday’s match at Montreal.

“We’ll see how he comes through the game on Tuesday,” Heaps told revolutionsoccer.net. “I’ll have that conversation with him when he lands on Wednesday.”

Jones is the first Revolution player tapped for U.S. National Team duty since Benny Feilhaber was called up in Dec. 2011 for a pair of friendlies against Venezuela and Panama in Jan. 2012.

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