BRIDGEVIEW - U.S. Soccer announced Monday that U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named 26 players to the training camp roster that will begin workouts this Thursday, Jan. 3 at U.S. Soccer's National Training Center at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Included on the roster are Chicago Fire midfielder Justin Mapp (8 caps), goalkeeper Matt Pickens (0 caps), and forward Chris Rolfe (6 caps) for the team's first training of 2008. The group will prepare for the USA's first match of the year, a friendly against Sweden on Jan. 19 at The Home Depot Center (7:30 p.m. CT, Fox Soccer Channel).
The largely domestic-based group includes 23 players who ply their trade in the United States. MLS teams are well represented, with 13 of 14 clubs contributing players to the Carson camp. The Chicago Fire is one of four clubs to send a trio of players, along with the Houston Dynamo, New England Revolution, and Toronto FC.
U.S. MEN'S ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS(4) - Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Will Hesmer (Columbus Crew), Matt Pickens (Chicago Fire), Zach Wells (D.C. United)
DEFENDERS (9) -Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Ramiro Corrales (SK Brann), Todd Dunivant (Toronto FC), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Eddie Robinson (Houston Dynamo), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7) -Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Brian Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Pat Noonan (New England Revolution)
FORWARDS (6) -Josmer Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution), Jeremiah White (AGF Aarhus)
U.S. Soccer also announced Monday that U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team head coach Peter Nowak has called 24 players into a two-week training camp from Jan. 6-20 at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla. The Chicago Fire has one representative on the squad in forward Chad Barrett.
The camp is part of the team's preparation for the final round of the 2008 CONCACAF Men's Under-23 Championship to be held from March 11-23 in Los Angeles, Calif., Tampa, Fla., and Nashville, Tenn. The U.S. will play their three games of the group stage in Tampa against Cuba on March 11 (7:00 p.m. CT), Panama on March 13 (7:00 p.m. CT) and Honduras on March 15 (6:00 p.m. CT). The eight-team tournament will send the two finalists to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
UNDER-23 MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake), Chris Brown (Boston College), Billy Chiles (Towson University)
DEFENDERS (8): Sean Franklin (Cal State Northridge), Steve Purdy (1860 Munich), Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Greg Dalby (SC Charleroi), Julian Valentin (Wake Forest), Pat Phelan (Wake Forest), Mike Randolph (Galaxy), Chance Myers (UCLA)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Stuart Holden (Houston), Johann Smith (Darlington), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Stephen King (Maryland), Alejandro Bedoya (Boston College), Eric Avila (UC Santa Barbara), Arturo Alvarez (FC Dallas), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS (5): Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Charlie Davies (Hammarby), Preston Zimmerman (Hamburg), Chad Barrett (Chicago Fire), Kamani Hill (Vfl Wolfsburg)
