CHICAGO - U.S. Men's National Team manager Bruce Arena has named 30 players to the training camp roster that will begin workouts Jan. 4 at U.S. Soccer's National Training Center at The Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. The group will prepare for a series of friendlies to take place in January and February. The Chicago Fire will have three representatives at the camp, as forwards Nate Jaqua and Chris Rolfe and midfielder Justin Mapp will all look to impress Arena in the hopes of eventually earning a roster spot for the squad that will represent the United States at the FIFA World Cup Finals in Germany next summer.
The U.S. will open 2006 action against Canada on Jan. 22 in San Diego (7:00 p.m. CT) before hosting Norway on Jan. 29 at The Home Depot Center (4:00 p.m. CT, ESPN2). The U.S. will play Japan for only the second time in history when they meet at SBC Park on Feb. 10 in San Francisco. The USA's first match in the city in 26 years kicks off at 10:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
"We eagerly look forward to seeing our domestic players," said Arena. "We want to do the best job we can of making the roster as competitive as possible over the next six months so we can position our team to be successful in the World Cup. We view this camp and the games in January and February as critical towards our preparation for Germany."
At just 24 years of age, Jaqua will be the senior member of the Fire's three-man contingent at the Southern California camp next month. Jaqua is coming off his most productive season as a professional, having scored a career-high seven goals to go along with three assists during a 2005 campaign that saw him miss nearly three months of action due to a lingering injury to his left ankle. Despite the injury, the Eugene, OR native managed to finish second on the Fire in goals scored (7) and shots on goal (24) in just 18 games played while also collecting the Honda MLS Player of the Month award in June, the first such honor of his career. Jaqua has amassed 13 goals and nine assists in 64 games (41 starts) during his three-year MLS career in Chicago. Jaqua will be one of five players making his first appearance at a senior U.S. National Team camp, but has represented the United States before at the Under-23 level.
Training with the U.S.'s senior squad will be nothing new for the 21-year-old Mapp, who was called into a pair of Men's National Team training camps in 2005 by Arena - the first in January and the second coming in August during the build up to the USA's 2-0 victory over Mexico on Sep. 3, a result that clinched the U.S. team's berth to Germany 2006. After representing the United States for several years through its youth sides, the native of Brandon, MS finally made it to the big stage on Oct. 12 when he put in an impressive 56-minute effort in his first appearance for the full U.S. side in its 2-0 victory over Panama in Foxboro, MA in the squads' final World Cup qualifying contest. Mapp's first career "cap" came on the heels of a breakout 2005 MLS season for the Fire, in which he led the "Men in Red" with eight assists, tied his career-high of three goals and notched new career-best totals in several categories, including games played (29), games started (28), shots (48), shots on goal (19), corner kicks (71) and fouls suffered (62). Mapp is a veteran of the U.S. National Team system, having regularly represented the "Red, White & Blue" at nearly every level since joining the Boys U-14 National Team in 1998, including playing stints for the U.S. at the 2001 FIFA World U-17 Youth Championship and the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship (U-20s).
Rolfe has used a successful rookie campaign and an impressive senior international debut to earn another look from Arena at January's training camp. The 2005 Fire/Budweiser Golden Boot winner and 2005 Gatorade Rookie of the Year finalist burst onto the American soccer scene during his first season in MLS, leading the Fire with eight goals and contributing an MLS-rookie high mark of five assists during the 2005 campaign. Rolfe was rewarded for his stellar rookie campaign by receiving an invite to his first U.S. National Team training camp in November, which the Kettering, OH native parlayed into his first career appearance for the U.S. senior team, a sparkling 32-minute substitute appearance in the U.S.'s 1-1 draw against Scotland on Nov. 12 at the famed Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland. Rolfe, who will turn 23 years old during the month-long camp, was a four-year product of Dayton University and played two seasons for the Chicago Fire Premier of the USL Premier Development League.
