FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman is among the 22 players named by U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley to the United States' roster for the prestigious 2007 Copa America, which begins next week in Venezuela.
Copa America will be played June 26-July 15 in nine cities across Venezuela. Copa America is the oldest surviving international soccer competition in the world, held for the first time in 1916 in Argentina. The U.S. is making its third appearance in South America's regional championship, having reached the semifinals in 1995 after debuting in the tournament in 1993 in Ecuador.
The U.S., an invited guest in the tournament along with Mexico, was drawn into Group C with Argentina, Columbia and Paraguay. The U.S. opens play at 8:50 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 28, against Argentina at Estadio Jose "Pachencho" Romero in Maracaibo. The U.S.' second match is against Paraguay at 6:35 p.m. ET on Monday, July 2 at Estadio Agustin Tovar "La Carolina" in Barinas. The final game of group play will be contested against Columbia at Estadio Metropolitano in Barquisimeto on Thursday, July 5 at 6:35 p.m. ET.
All of the U.S.' games at Copa America can be seen on GolTV and Telefutura.
Twellman will be one of the U.S.' most experienced players in international play. He is fourth on the team with 24 caps (appearances) as of June 22. He has scored six goals in international play, including a goal against El Salvador on June 12, which was played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass, in the U.S' final game of group play at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, .
Bradley selected 15 players from Major League Soccer for his Copa America roster, while the remaining seven hail from overseas club teams. Sixteen of the players selected have 10 or fewer international caps, including 11 players with three or fewer caps. Three players on the roster are searching for their first-ever international appearances.
Twellman is currently with the U.S. National Team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, as the team prepares to face rival Mexico in the championship game on Sunday, June 24 at 3 p.m. ET at Chicago's Soldier Field. The U.S. has advanced by virtue of it's unblemished mark in group play (3-0-0) and 2-1 victories over Panama in the quarterfinal and Canada in the semifinal. Nine players on the Copa America roster are carry-overs from Bradley's Gold Cup roster.
Twellman has scored seven goals in MLS competition this season, a total that ranks third in the league despite him missing two weeks of the MLS season while with the U.S. National Team. He is currently tied for sixth in MLS career goal scoring with 82 goals. He is also the league's youngest player to score 75 goals in MLS play.
U.S. Men's National Team 2007 Copa America Roster by Position
(A detailed roster is available at ussoccer.com)
Goalkeepers (2) - Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
Defenders (8) - Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Bobby Boswell (D.C. United), Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards, Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Heath Pearce (FC Nordsjælland), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
Midfielders (8) - Kyle Beckerman (Colorado Rapids), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Lee Nguyen (PSV Eindhoven), Ben Olsen (D.C.United)
Forwards (4) - Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Hercules Gomez (Colorado Rapids), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)
Head Coach: Bob Bradley
