BRIDGEVIEW, IL - Chicago Fire Soccer is proud to announce that U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley has selected Fire midfielder Justin Mapp to the 22-man roster that will compete in the 2007 Copa America in Venezuela. The team, which includes nine players that are on the current Gold Cup roster, will depart on June 25 for Maracaibo, Venezuela, their base of operations for the beginning part of the tournament.
"Copa America is going to be a great opportunity for our younger players to gain invaluable experience at the highest international level," said Bradley. "Playing two major tournaments back-to-back is both a privilege and a difficult challenge in terms of putting together rosters, and this is something we've known all along. This group has many of the faces that could play a role in 2008 and 2009 when our focus turns to our ultimate goal of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa."
Mapp, a veteran of two World Youth Championships, started and played in all five matches with the U.S. U-20's at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates, scoring the game-winning goal against the Ivory Coast to help the squad advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Mapp began the 2007 campaign training with the U.S. squad and registered the game-winning assist in a 2-0 win against the national team of Denmark on 1/20/07. The 22-year-old Brandon, Miss. native has made five overall appearances with the senior national team, dating back to his first ever appearance for the Red, White, and Blue against Panama on October 12, 2005.
The U.S. will open the tournament against Argentina on Thursday, June 28, at Estadio Jose "Pachencho" Romero in Maracaibo, which is in the northeast corner of the country on the western side of Lake Maracaibo and will also be the venue for the final. The U.S. will then face Colombia on July 2 at Estadio Agustin Tovar "La Carolina" in Barinas, before finishing group play against Paraguay on July 5 at Estadio Metropolitano de Futbol de Lara in Barquisimeto. All of the USA's matches will be broadcast live on GolTV and Telefutura. Fans can also follow all the action live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and the games will be aired delayed on Fox Sports Espanol.
MLS players dominate the roster, with 15 of the 22 players plying their trade in the United States. Overall, 10 of the 13 teams in MLS will be represented in Venezuela. Chivas USA contributes a trio of players, including 2006 MLS Rookie of the Year Jonathan Bornstein, who has started four of five matches in the run to the Gold Cup final, Kljestan, who captained the U-23 MNT on their last trip to Japan, and goalkeeper Brad Guzan also head south from Los Angeles. Along with Gomez, the Colorado Rapids provide Kyle Beckerman who was in with the MNT earlier this year. New England Revolution's Taylor Twellman will continue with the U.S. after scoring against El Salvador in the first round of the Gold Cup, while Bobby Boswell, the 2006 MLS Defender of the Year, returns to the U.S. fold.
The last time the U.S. competed in the tournament in 1995, the United States upset defending champion Argentina, 3-0, to advance to the quarterfinals where they defeated Mexico and eventually finished in fourth place. Overall, the U.S. has played Argentina seven times in their history, holding a lifetime record of 2-5-0 against the South American juggernaut. The only other victory came in 1999 when a Joe-Max Moore goal was the difference in Washington, D.C.
