FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas teammates Kenny Cooper and Carlos Ruiz will square off against each other at Pizza Hut Park on Wed., March 28 when the United States Men's National Team takes on Guatemala in a friendly exhibition game (8 p.m. CT). U.S. National Team head coach Bob Bradley today named Cooper among the 24 players called into the training camp that will also prepare for the team's upcoming game against 2006 World Cup finalists Ecuador on March 24 in Tampa, Fla. (1 p.m. CT). Guatemala National Team head coach Hernan Dario Gomez has named Ruiz to the 18-man roster for Guatemala's game against the United States.
Cooper will join the U.S. team on Sun., March 18 at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Ruiz will remain with FC Dallas through the Puerto Rico leg of preseason next week, and join his Guatemala teammates on Sun., March 25 in Texas.
The 22-year old Cooper made his debut with the full U.S. National team in style earlier this year, scoring a breakaway goal in the 3-1 win against Denmark on Jan. 20 at The Home Depot Center. Ruiz, 27, has represented Guatemala on 68 occasions and scored 34 goals since making his debut in 1999.
Ruiz and Cooper will enter their second season as teammates this summer. In 2006, Cooper's first year in MLS, Ruiz led FCD with 13 goals scored while Cooper finished second with 11. The two were one of three pairs of MLS teammates to each score more than 10 goals during the season. Prior to 2006, the last time Dallas had teammates each score at least 10 goals was in 2000, when Ariel Graziani (15) and Jason Kreis (11) each did.
Ruiz will also be matched up against another prolific goal-scorer in U.S. and New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman. Since 2002, when both Ruiz and Twellman entered MLS, the two have been the top two goal-scorers in the League. In the last five seasons, Twellman has scored 75 regular season goals in 130 games while Ruiz has scored 74 goals in 118 games. Over the same span, Ruiz has the edge in the playoffs, tallying 15 goals in 15 games to Twellman's seven goals in 17 games.
The U.S. roster features 11 players from the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, including five players - DaMarcus Beasley, Steve Cherundolo, Landon Donovan, Kasey Keller, and Oguchi Onyewu - who appeared in all three matches. Texas-native Clint Dempsey is also on the roster. With a total of 13 players plying their trade in Europe, seven are coming to Florida by way of the English Premier League. Cooper is one of 11 players on the roster that currently play in Major League Soccer.
Tickets for the Guatemala match starting at $18 are available for purchase online at ussoccer.com, at all Dallas-Ft. Worth area Ticketmaster outlets and by phone at 214-373-8000. Groups of 20 or more can purchase tickets by calling FC Dallas at 888.FCD.GOAL. For $31, fans can also purchase the Stars and Stripes-pack which includes an endline ticket to both the U.S. versus Guatemala game and FCD's 2007 home-opener against Colorado on April 22.
After the March friendlies, the U.S. will see no action until preparation begins for the two major championships this upcoming summer. The U.S. will play a tune-up match against China on June 2 at Spartan Stadium in San Jose (tickets). Five days later, the three-time champions will first try to defend their title against 11 other teams at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, scheduled from June 6-24 in several cities across the United States. Just a few days later, the U.S. will participate in the 2007 Copa America, the regional championship of South America. The 12-team tournament will run from June 26 to July 15 in nine cities across Venezuela. For the United States, the appearance will mark their third entrance into CONMEBOL's signature event.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
Goalkeepers (3) - Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC - ENG), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach - GER)
Defenders (8) -Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC - ENG), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96 - GER), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Jay Demerit (Watford FC - ENG), Oguchi Onyewu (Newcastle United - ENG), Heath Pearce (FC Nordsjælland - DEN), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday - ENG), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United - ENG)
Midfielders (7) - DaMarcus Beasley (Manchester City), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Brian Carroll (D.C. United), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC - ENG), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV - GER), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire)
Forwards (6) - Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)
Head Coach: Bob Bradley
