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February 5, 2010
FCD TRIO GETS MNT CALL-UP
Another look at Cunningham, McCarty, Pearce
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Heath Pearce has 29 caps with the U.S. Men's National Team but he hopes to earn at least three more this summer at the World Cup in South Africa.
Photo by Michael Stephens |
FRISCO, TX – Here we go again for the FC Dallas trio of Jeff Cunningham, Dax McCarty and Heath Pearce, who are among 23 players U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley has called into February training camp at U.S. Soccer's National Training Center at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
This is the second consecutive call-up to the U.S. National team for all three players following their participation in the January camp and friendly versus Honduras on Jan. 23. The camp convenes Feb. 10 at the National Training Center at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. It is the final domestic-based training camp before the 2010 FIFA World Cup roster is named in May.
The group, comprised entirely of domestic-based players, will prepare for the second U.S. match of 2010, a friendly against El Salvador on Feb. 24 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic and TeleFutura; beginning at 6 p.m. CT. Fans can also follow the game live via ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and at twitter.com/ussoccer.
The match against El Salvador will be one of the last games before the 2010 FIFA World Cup roster is named in May and gives the group a chance to make an impression on Bradley's coaching staff with an eye towards South Africa.
Cunningham, 33, earned a spot in the starting 11 when the U.S. faced Honduras last month in Carson. It was Cunningham’s fourth career start for the National Team. All three players are currently in FC Dallas preseason training camp, which opened this week in Frisco.
McCarty, 22, played his third career game with the U.S. Men’s National Team in the 3-1 loss to Honduras when he subbed in the 77th minute for Benny Feilhaber.
Meanwhile, Pearce, 25, also saw action in the friendly versus Honduras when he subbed in for Chad Marshall in the 61st minute. It was his 29th career game with the National Team. Pearce’s 29 caps rank second most among February call-ups with Houston’s Brian Ching leading at 43 appearances. Pearce logged nine starts during World Cup qualifying.
Following the El Salvador match, the United States will play third-ranked Netherlands on March 3 in Amsterdam, allowing the U.S. to face one of the top teams in the world prior to the start of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Kickoff at the Amsterdam ArenA is set for 8:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. ET), and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Galavision. Fans can also follow along on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and at twitter.com/ussoccer.
The U.S. Men's National Team has been drawn into Group C with England, Slovenia and Algeria for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The U.S. will open its sixth consecutive World Cup finals tournament against England on June 12 in Rustenburg, and will follow that game with matches against Slovenia on June 18 in Johannesburg and Algeria on June 23 in Tshwane/Pretoria.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Troy Perkins (D.C. United), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)
DEFENDERS (7): Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Orozco (Philadelphia Union), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (D.C. United), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew
FORWARDS (4): Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)
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