New England Soccer Today

Agudelo, Nguyen Left Off Gold Cup Roster

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

Photo credit: Kari Heistad/capturedimages.biz

Revolution midfielders Juan Agudelo and Lee Nguyen, both of whom made the U.S.’s preliminary roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, were not included in the final 23-man roster, which was announced on Tuesday.

Agudelo was recently called up for a pair of international friendlies, but only saw 45 minutes of action in a Jun. 10 friendly against Germany. Nguyen’s last call-up came prior to an Apr. 15 friendly against Mexico, but he did not see the field.

“Our approach for putting together the roster for this summer’s Gold Cup, which is very, very important to us, is obviously to do everything possible to win this competition,” said U.S. coach Jurgan Klinsmann in a press release. “Winning it would qualify us for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia, so putting the pieces together is very crucial.

“That’s why we came out with a roster full of quality, but also a lot of experience; players that are used to playing in the CONCACAF region and also younger players that came through the ranks over the last year that made a stamp on the senior National Team program.”

Should the U.S. advance to the quarterfinals, Klinsmann will be able to make up to six changes to the 23-man roster.

Through 16 games, Agudelo has collected four goals and two assists. Nguyen has one goal and three assists in 15 games this year.

Meanwhile, Boston College alumnus Alejandro Bedoya, who currently plays for Ligue 1 side Nantes, was among those who made the 23-man roster.

The U.S. will kick off its Gold Cup campaign on Jul. 7 against Honduras at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Tx. Their second group stage game will take place at Gillette Stadium on Jul. 10 when they host Haiti.

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