Chicago, Illinois - U.S. Men's national team manager Bruce Arena has called 22 players into camp to begin preparations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Mexico on March 27 and Guatemala three days later. Kickoff at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City is set for 12 p.m. (CST), while the match against Guatemala is set for 7 p.m. (CST) on March 30 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
Johnson, 20, will look to continue his torrid scoring pace with the men's national team, scoring six goals in four matches. He is the only player in U.S. history to score in his first four appearances, and one of only three players to score in four consecutive matches. On Oct. 13 against Panama, Johnson became the first substitute in U.S. men's soccer history to record a hat trick and the eighth total player to accomplish the feat. Despite playing in only four World Cup qualifiers, he is currently tied for third on the U.S. all-time World Cup qualifying scoring list (table below).
The 22-man training camp squad that will gather in Carson, California, is composed entirely of domestic-based players. The European-based players are expected to begin arriving into camp on March 20.
After Mexico, the USA will open its home schedule of final round qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup on Wednesday, March 30 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The U.S. will play 10 matches in the final round of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup from Feb. 9 - Oct. 13, 2005. The USA, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago are competing for three automatic berths to the World Cup finals in Germany. The fourth-place finisher will face the fifth-place team from the Asian Football Confederation in a home-and-home series to determine the last entrant into the tournament.
The U.S. defeated Trinidad & Tobago 2-1 on Feb. 9 in their first match of the final qualifying round.
ALL-TIME LEADING SCORERS IN U.S. WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
PLAYER WORLD CUP YEAR(S) MATCHES GOALS
Earnie Stewart 1998, 2002, 2006 30 10
Brian McBride 1998, 2002, 2006 20 7
Eddie Johnson 2006 4 6
Willy Roy 1966, 1970, 1974 11 6
Joe-Max Moore 1998, 2002 20 5
Eric Wynalda 1998 11 5
