U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called 23 players to Carson, California, for the first training camp of 2016, with the possibility of additions as the week progresses.
The camp, which runs from Jan. 11-Feb. 6 and contains a mix of Senior Team members and a host of players age-eligible for the U-23 MNT, will culminate with friendlies against Iceland on Jan. 31 and Canada on Feb. 5. Both matches will be played at StubHub Center in Carson [TICKETS].
“We start out our year with a January camp where we give the opportunity to the next wave of players to come in and make an impression and see if they are ready to step it up into international level, if they are ready to understand what it takes to become a National Team player,” said Klinsmann. “This camp will be a little bit different because we’re going to mix it almost half-and-half with senior players that are already National Team players or some that are older and maybe get the chance to play their first cap, and a lot of the Under-23 players that hopefully qualify us for Rio de Janeiro. This will be more of an identification camp and a development camp. We want to give those players a head start into their very busy year 2016, but we also want to make it clear to them that it’s a huge opportunity that you have to understand what it takes to step it up and to become an international-level player.”
The youthful roster – with an average age of around 24 years old – is anchored by five veterans from the 2014 FIFA World Cup roster, led by U.S. captain and 2015 U.S .Soccer Male Player of the Year Michael Bradley. He is joined by Jozy Altidore, Matt Besler, Mix Diskerud and Jermaine Jones. At the other end of the spectrum, it features many fresh faces with 11 players who are age-eligible for the U-23 Men’s team that will compete in an Olympic-qualifying play-in against Colombia this March. Among the Olympic hopefuls is Matt Miazga, the 2015 U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year.
As usual, the January camp roster is loaded with MLS players, with a total of 20 players plying their trade in the domestic league. Among the players looking to gain international experience are several players recognized with end-of-season awards, including two members of the MLS Best XI in midfielder Ethan Finlay and goalkeeper Luis Robles, who also collected Goalkeeper of the Year honors. D.C. United netminder Bill Hamid was a finalist for that award, while San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Fatai Alashe and Chicago Fire midfielder Matt Polster were in the running for Rookie of the Year. Will Trapp, who captained the U-23 MNT in CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying, was a finalist for the Comeback Player of the Year award.
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