Jurgen Klinsmann has selected an MLS-heavy US national team contingent to face Chile in the first test of 2015.
The USMNT boss on Saturday announced his 23-man roster for Wednesday's friendly match in Rancagua (6 pm ET on Fox Sports 1, UniMas and UDN) and it is highlighted by 20 MLS players, including eight who starred in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The squad, featuring the likes of Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders) and Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), travels to Santiago, Chile on Saturday morning. Former Seattle Sounders right back DeAndre Yedlin, who transferred to England's Tottenham Hotspur in January, will join the team in Chile.
Klinsmann dropped seven players from the 29-man group that had been training at StubHub Center in Carson, California. Olympic hopefuls Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas), Alex Bono (Toronto FC), Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy), Dennis Flores (Club Leon / Mexico) and Julio Morales (Tepic / Mexico) were released to their clubs, while Marc Pelosi (Liverpool / England) will rejoin the USMNT when the squad returns to Carson following the Chile match.
"This was a really important experience for these U-23 players," Klinsmann said in a US Soccer release. "They got a great introduction into the senior national team program, and had the opportunity to work with Andi Herzog and our staff as we build toward Olympic qualifying in the fall. They put in a tremendous amount of work and we learned a lot about them. We appreciate the effort and will continue to monitor them in their club situations."
USMNT ROSTER vs. CHILE (JAN. 28, 2015)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (7): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), Shane O'Neill (Colorado Rapids), DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham Hotspur)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United FC), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Brek Shea (Orlando City), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)
