Bradley names roster for Barbados match

CHICAGO (June 20, 2008) - U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley named 18 players to the squad that will travel to face Barbados in the second leg of CONCACAF's second round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Kickoff at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, is slated for 3 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic and Galavision. Fans can also follow the match live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker.


Following the U.S. MNT's 8-0 victory against Barbados on June 15, Bradley opted to release 10 players, and the current squad has been in southern Florida preparing for this Sunday's game. The team travels to Barbados on Friday following training. Tim Howard continues to rehabilitate a lower back sprain suffered prior to the Barbados match, while Eddie Johnson has been ruled out due to illness.


"We understand that we need to have a maturity about us to go and finish the job," said Bradley. "We also have the chance to give some different players an opportunity in World Cup qualifying, which we believe will keep us fresh and sharp."


The roster still retains a core of experienced players, with two-time World Cup veteran Eddie Lewis leading the way with 79 caps. Lewis had an assist in last Sunday's victory, and is the only player on the roster to have played in Barbados - he was part of the team in 2000 that traveled to the island needing a win to advance to the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.


Not far behind Lewis is midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, who has appeared in 76 games for the U.S. The Glasgow Rangers winger is slowly working himself back into game shape following a lengthy layoff from injury, and has appeared in the last four games for his country. U.S. team captain Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu have also been retained. Onyewu, who scored in back-to-back games against Mexico and Poland earlier this year, leads the U.S. in 2008 in minutes played (482).


In all, there are eight players on the roster who saw time in last weekend's game. Goalkeeper Brad Guzan went 90 minutes en route to keeping a clean sheet in his first World Cup qualifying experience, while defender Heath Pearce had an assist and midfielder Michael Bradley chipped in with his second career goal for the United States. The 20-year-old is coming off one of the most prolific seasons ever for a U.S. player in Europe, recording 20 goals in all competitions and helping earn Heerenveen a place in the UEFA Cup.


Six players on the roster - Freddy Adu, Chad Barrett, Dominic Cervi, Maurice Edu, Sacha Kljestan and Chris Seitz - were part of the Under-23 team that helped the U.S book a ticket to Beijing by reaching the finals of the CONCACAF Qualifying tournament in March. Bradley and Danny Szetela are also age eligible for the U-23 tournament in the Olympics. Szetela is coming off a successful loan spell at Serie B outfit Brescia, and has one cap to his name, having appeared in last year's 1-0 victory against Switzerland on Oct. 17, 2007 in Basel, in which he helped set up the goal.


The U.S. is pursuing qualification for its sixth-consecutive FIFA World Cup, and is coming off the most successful qualifying campaign in team history. During the last cycle, the U.S. compiled a 12-2-4 record over 18 matches with 10 shutouts, scoring 35 goals, while allowing just 11. The U.S. finished undefeated at home during the qualifying campaign, going 8-0-1, with all eight victories coming by shutout. In the seventh match of the final round hexagonal, goals by Steve Ralston and DaMarcus Beasley gave the U.S. a 2-0 victory against Mexico on Sept. 3, 2005, marking the first time since 1934 that the U.S. was the first team from the CONCACAF region to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.


U.S. Men's National Team vs. Barbados
FIFA World Cup Qualifier
June 22, 2008
(A detailed roster is available at ussoccer.com)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Dominic Cervi (out of contract: 0/0), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA: 1/1 SO), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake: 0/0)
DEFENDERS (6): Carlos Bocanegra (out of contract: 12/1), Dan Califf (FC Midtjylland: 1/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC: 0/0), Drew Moor (FC Dallas: 0/0) Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege: 8/0), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 1/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers: 15/4), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen: 1/1), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 0/0), Eddie Lewis (Derby County: 18/2), Danny Szetela (Brescia: 0/0), John Thorrington (Chicago Fire: 0/0)
FORWARDS (3): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica: 1/0), Chad Barrett (Chicago Fire: 0/0), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire: 0/0)