New England Revolution rookie defender Rob Valentino has been named to the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team's 22-player roster which will participate in the Toulon International Tournament in Toulon, France, head coach Peter Nowak announced on Monday. The team will arrive in Toulon on Thursday, May 15, and will have five days of training before its opening match against Turkey on May 21 at 3:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. ET).
Valentino, 22, has made two appearances for the U.S. U-23 team, playing in both matches of the team's two-game tour of Japan in February 2007 as the team went 0-0-2 against a pair of Japanese clubs. The 6-3 central defender was the Revolution's top choice in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft, taken in the first round with the 13th overall selection.
All 16 games of the tournament will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel, including the U.S. Group B match-ups against the Ivory Coast on May 23 at 6:30 p.m. local time (12:30 p.m. ET) and Italy on May 25 at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET).
Group A of the tournament features France along with Chile, the Netherlands and Japan. The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals on May 27, and either the third-place match or final on May 29.
The U.S. will be participating in its 13th Olympic Games, earning their place by advancing to the final of CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying in March. The Americans finished the tournament with a 3-1-1 record, with their only loss coming to Honduras in overtime of the championship match. Both teams had already secured their ticket to Beijing, the United States defeating Canada in one semifinal while Honduras ousted Guatemala in the other.
U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team Toulon Tournament Roster
May 15-30, 2008 - Toulon, France
GOALKEEPERS:
Dominic Cervi (out of contract), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake), Quentin Westburg (Troyes)
DEFENDERS: Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Eric Brunner (out of contract), Kyle Davies (Southampton), Michael Gavin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Kamani Hill (Vfl Wolfsburg), Jonathan Leathers (Kansas City Wizards), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Julian Valentin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Rob Valentino (New England Revolution), Blake Wagner (FC Dallas)
MIDFIELDERS: Bryan Arguez (Hertha Berlin), Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo), Greg Dalby (SC Charleroi), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Lee Nguyen (Randers FC)
FORWARDS: Gabe Ferrari (Sampdoria), Bryan Jordan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Ellis McLoughlin (Hertha Berlin), Sammy Ochoa (Tecos)
HEAD COACH: Peter Nowak
