KANSAS CITY, MO - Kansas City Wizards midfielder Khari Stephenson was named today to the Jamaican National Team for their World Cup Qualifying match against the U.S. on Wednesday, November 17th. Jamaica and the U.S. will square off at Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH in the final match of the first round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The match kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
Stephenson, 23, joins the "Reggae Boyz" for just the second time in his career after being called in for a friendly match against Guatemala on October 2nd of this year. He earned his first cap with the senior Jamaican squad in that match. He has been a member of the U-23 team, appearing in qualifying matches for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece, the U-20 and U-17 Jamaican Youth National teams. </p>
A Transitional International for the Wizards, Stephenson appeared in all four postseason matches, starting three of them, including MLS Cup 2004 against D.C. United on Sunday, November 14th. He appeared in three regular season matches, logging 44 minutes. He became just the fourth player in MLS history to log more career postseason minutes played (211) than regular season minutes (44).
