Injured Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley were not among the 25 names called by Jurgen Klinsmann on Sunday. But Clint Dempsey — who hasn't appeared in a competitve match since June — was.
The newest member of Tottenham Hotspur was one of the surprising inclusions to Klinsmann's US national team camp ahead of its home-and-home World Cup qualifiers against Jamaica on Sept. 7 and 11. Dempsey is among three players named to the squad who switched addresses in the past week, alongside Maurice Edu and US captain Carlos Bocanegra.
Klinsmann's roster also includes five players who ply their trade in Major League Soccer, including FC Dallas' Brek Shea, Sporting Kansas City's Graham Zusi, Chicago's Sean Johnson and Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando. LA Galaxy captain Landon Donovan, who suffered a hamstring injury in the US' win over Mexico at the Azteca last month, was left off.
Also included in the released roster was potential senior debutant Josh Gatt, who plays for Molde in Norway. The 21-year-old Michigan native, however, was later ruled out due to an injury picked up in Molde's 4-1 loss to Brann in league play. Gatt was previously called into Under-23 camp in the lead-up to this past spring's Olympic qualifying.
The players will begin reporting to camp in Miami on Sunday, and will train there for three days before departing for Kingston for Friday's qualifier at "The Office" (8 pm ET, beIN Sport USA). The US then host Jamaica on Sept. 11 in Columbus, Ohio (8 pm ET, ESPN2).
Johnson will return to the Fire after Friday's match and will be replaced in camp by Rimando, who will join up with the team for the game in Columbus.
US ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (4) : Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/England), Tim Howard (Everton/England), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander/Spain), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/England), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover/Germany), Maurice Edu (Stoke City/England), Clarence Goodson (Brondby/Denmark), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim/Germany), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis/Mexico), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland/Denmark), Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City/England)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana/Mexico), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04/Germany), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Jose Torres (Pachuca/Mexico), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim/Germany), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (4 ): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar/Netherlands), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna/Austria), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur/England), Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna/Mexico)
