SALT LAKE CITY - U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named 21 players to the initial roster that will train in Europe in advance of the team's international match against Switzerland. A pair of Real Salt Lake rookies, GK Chris Seitz and FW Robbie Findley, departed Salt Lake City this morning for the camp, which will take place in preparation for a friendly against the co-hosts of the 2008 European Championship set for next Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 8:30 p.m. local time (12:30 p.m. MT) at St. Jakob's Park in Basel. The U.S.-Switzerland match will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision, and fans can also follow the match live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker. The U.S. team will begin gathering for training on Wednesday (Oct. 10) in Yverdon-les-Bains, and will move on Oct. 15 to Basel. The final roster for the Switzerland match will be named following next weekend's league competitions.
"This is a great opportunity to gather many of our European-based players to have some quality time together, with the reward at the end of it being a match against a very good Switzerland team," said Bradley. "We are continuing to develop our team as World Cup qualifying approaches, and this week gives us another good chance to integrate more players into our system."
This week's Swiss-based training camp marks the second invite to a U.S. Senior team camp for Seitz, who took part in his first full U.S. camp in early September during the run-up to the USA's friendly against Brazil in Chicago. The 20-year-old Seitz has plenty of experience in the U.S. National Team system, his most recent representation coming during a sparkling four-game run in this summer's FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, in which he posted a 2-1-1 record and 1.15 GAA as the starting 'keeper and helped the USA reach the quarterfinal round for a fourth time. Seitz will be competing for time between the posts with veteran Reading FC (England) netminder Marcus Hahnemann and Tally Hall of Danish side Esbjerg.
"It's always an honor to represent your country in any sort of game, whether it's at home or in Europe. It's a great honor and I'm just thrilled to be able to be invited and go on a trip like this and get the chance to show my abilities," said Seitz. "Any time you get the call up you look forward to training and playing at the highest level, and this trip will provide another opportunity to learn from guys that have been there and that it's worked for in the past."
Meanwhile, the invite for Findley marks his first-ever call-up to a U.S. National Team on any level. However, that doesn't mean the services of the 22-year-old Oregon State product were not in high demand, as he had trained during the offseason with the Trinidad & Tobago Under-23 National Team and was still on the Soca Warriors' radar. Since Findley did not earn a senior "cap" with Trinidad & Tobago, where his parents were born and raised, he remained eligible to participate with the U.S. program, for which he will attempt to make his first appearance next week against Switzerland. Findley joins the U.S. camp as the leading scorer among MLS rookies with seven, five of which have come in an RSL uniform, making him the Utah side's co-leading scorer.
"It's definitely an honor to represent the United States in this training camp. It's a dream come true, really," Findley said. "Growing up I was always wanted to represent the U.S. on the field and now I'm going into this camp and looking to make a statement and earn more opportunities.
"It was a tough decision because my family grew up and was raised in Trinidad & Tobago, but I was raised here in the U.S. and that played a big part in it, and that's why I went with this decision," continued Findley. "There will be some guys there that have been through this and I'll be looking to learn from them. I'm looking forward to some good, challenging training sessions; meeting the other guys in the camp; and gaining as much experience as possible."
Seitz and Findley are among seven players looking to earn their first senior "cap" for the Red, White & Blue, joining Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Hall, Steve Purdy (1860 Munich/GER), Danny Szetela (Racing Santander/SPA), and Preston Zimmerman (Hamburger SV/GER). Seitz and Findley join Edu as the only three current MLS representatives on the roster, which also includes nine MLS alumni, including former RSL MF Freddy Adu.
Switzerland finished in first place in Group G of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, ahead of eventual runners up France. Falling to Ukraine in the Round of 16 in penalties after a 0-0 draw in regulation time, the Swiss became the first team in World Cup history to be eliminated from the tournament without surrendering a single goal.
The U.S. will be searching for their first-ever victory against Switzerland, with a lifetime record of 0-3-3. This is the USA's third visit to the country, the most recent trip a 2-1 loss on June 2, 1990 in St. Gallen. The most memorable meeting took place in the teams' opening match of the 1994 World Cup on June 18 in Detroit, when Eric Wynalda's free kick goal just before halftime secured a crucial point that would eventually allow the U.S. to advance to the knockout phase before being eliminated by Brazil.
The U.S. will complete its 2007 schedule when they make their first-ever trip to South Africa when they take on the 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts on Nov. 17 in Johannesburg as part of the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup. Kickoff at Ellis Park Stadium, which will host one World Cup semifinal match in 2010, is set for 4 p.m. local time (7 a.m. MT), with the television schedule yet to be determined. Fans can follow the match live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker.
U.S. Men's National Team Roster vs. Switzerland
Basel, Switzerland
October 17, 2007
A detailed roster is available at ussoccer.com
GOALKEEPERS (3): Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC), Tally Hall (Esbjerg), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Jay Demerit (Watford FC), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Steve Purdy (1860 Munich)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Eddie Lewis (Derby County), Danny Szetela (Racing Santander)
FORWARDS (4): Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Preston Zimmerman (Hamburger SV), Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96)
