BRIDGEVIEW, IL - Chicago Fire Soccer announced today that three members of the "Men in Red" have been called to represent their country of origin for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup from June 6-24. United States Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named Fire midfielder Justin Mapp to join the 23-man roster that will seek to defend their 2005 Gold Cup title. Fire midfielder Ivan Guerrero has been tabbed to represent Honduras in the upcoming tourney, while the "Soca Warriors" of Trinidad & Tobago have requested the services of Fire rookie defender Osei Telesford.
Mapp begin 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 four 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. He will join the rest of the U.S. players as they begin reporting to Los Angeles on Sunday, May 27 for training camp.
"It is always a great honor when the national team comes calling," said Sarachan. "Justin's play thus far in MLS has put him in a position to display his high level of play on a national and global stage."
Guerrero has been a constant fixture in the Honduras National Team starting line-up over the past eight years and was last called up for friendlies in late March of 2007. Guerrero has competed in the tournament before, starting in all five of Honduras' games in the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, leading the country on a surprising run to the tournament's Semifinal round, scoring lone goal for the Blue and White on 7/21/05 versus the U.S. in a 2-1 loss.
"It came as no surprise when we learned of Ivan's call-up for the Gold Cup," said Sarachan. "He continues to be an important player for the Honduran National Team as well as the Fire."
Telesford played the full 90 minutes in his first four caps for the Trinidad & Tobago Senior National Team in the Caribbean Digicel Cup in January of 2007. He was also capped for Soca Warriors' friendly against Costa Rica on 2/04/07 and has represented Trinidad & Tobago regularly at the U-20 and U-23 levels. His availability for T&T will hinge on his health status, as the native of San Juan, Trinidad recently picked up a left adductor strain with the Fire.
"Coming off his involvement with the Digicel Cup, we knew that there was the likelihood of Osei being involved with the Gold Cup," said Sarachan. "He is a good, young prospect for their national team and for our club."
Tickets for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals and final at Soldier Field, scheduled for Thursday, June 21 and Sunday, June 24 respectively, are available by calling 888.MLS.FIRE, the Season Ticket Holder Hotline at 708.496.6800, or through any participating Ticketmaster outlet.
