COLUMBUS, Ohio - United States Men's National team manager Bruce Arena has selected the Crew's Frankie Hejduk and Tony Sanneh as part of the 23-man roster to train for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador and Panama. The team begins to assemble Oct. 3, in Washington, D.C., and will train in the area prior to both matches.
Hejduk and Sanneh will miss the Crew's games on Oct. 6 in Chicago and Oct. 9 at the MetroStars, and will return for the final regular season game on Oct. 16 in Colorado.
Hejduk has 59 career caps for the U.S. and has tallied five goals, while Sanneh has 40 career appearances and three goals. Hedjuk has played six times for the U.S. this year, including three of the five qualifiers that have already been played. Sanneh has appeared in three games for the U.S. in 2004, but has not played in any qualifiers.
The U.S. first meets El Salvador on Oct. 9 at Estadio Cuscatlan in San Salvador. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. MT, and the match will be broadcast live on pay-per-view. The team then returns home to face Panama four days later at RFK Stadium on Oct. 13 in Washington, D.C. Kickoff for that match is set for 7:30 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Fans can follow both matches live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.
The U.S. leads Group 1 with five points from three matches. The top two teams in the group will advance to the final round of qualifying that begins next year. The four-team group concludes for the U.S. on Nov. 17 against Jamaica at Columbus Crew Stadium.
Tickets for the crucial match in Columbus, which could decide whether the U.S. advances to the final round of qualifying for Germany 2006, are priced from $35 (endlines) to $85 (VIP club seats). Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets (including all Kroger's stores) in Ohio and the surrounding states and by phone at 614-431-3600. Tickets are also available at the Crew Stadium box office (open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.), and on-line at ussoccer.com, ticketmaster.com, crewstadium.com and thecrew.com.
For the complete release and roster from U.S. Soccer log on to ussoccer.com.
SCOTT CALLED IN BY COSTA RICA FOR QUALIFIERS
Crew forward Erick Scott will also miss the next two Crew games after being called in by Costa Rica for their World Cup qualifying matches on Oct. 9 and Oct. 13.
The Ticos play at home in San Jose on Oct. 9 vs. Guatemala at 7:30 p.m. (ET), and then head to Vancouver, Canada, to face Canada on Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. (ET). Costa Rica currently sits in third place in Group 2 with three points. Guatemala leads its group with seven points, followed by Honduras with five points. Canada is fourth with just one point. The top two teams in each group advance to the final round of qualifying. Scott has appeared in four of the five previous qualifiers for Costa Rica, including three starts.
