Rangers midfielders DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu were among 20 players named in the squad on Thursday for the USA’s friendly in the Netherlands next Wednesday.
The match in Amsterdam will be the Americans’ last before coach Bob Bradley selects his 2010 FIFA World Cup™ squad. Aris Thessaloniki forward Eddie Johnson was also chosen on Thursday but Freddy Adu, his team-mate at the Greek club, was omitted.
Only three Major League Soccer players were selected – defenders Jonathan Bornstein and Heath Pearce, and forward Robbie Findley. Sixteen of the players are currently based in Europe. Nine of those are with English clubs, including Los Angeles Galaxy’s Landon Donovan, currently on loan to Everton.
Beasley, a veteran of two FIFA World Cups, has 17 goals in 89 appearances but has not played for the United States since 18 June. That was when he allowed Donovan’s corner kick to roll past him, leading to Brazil’s second goal in a 3-0 victory at the FIFA Confederations Cup. Beasley had appeared in just three matches for Rangers this season through November, but scored twice in five matches in December before suffering a thigh strain in training that sidelined him until earlier this month.
The United States have played two friendlies this year using mostly MLS-based players. They fell 3-1 to Honduras in January, and beat El Salvador on Wednesday 2-1 in San Francisco.
“This is a great opportunity for us to bring many of our European-based players together as we continue to finalize our plans for the World Cup Bradley roster,” said. “This is the final match before we bring the team together for the World Cup, so to have a match against one of the top teams in the world like the Netherlands is a big benefit and a good challenge for our group.”
After the match against the Netherlands, the Americans will host friendlies in May against the Czech Republic (25 May) and Turkey (29 May). The United States open their campaign at South Africa 2010 against England on 12 June and also play Slovenia and Algeria in the first round.
USA squad
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/England), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers/England), Tim Howard (Everton/England)
Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes/France), Jay DeMerit (Watford/England), Clarence Goodson (IK Start/Norway), Heath Pearce (Dallas), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday/England), Jonathan Spector (West Ham/England)
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers/Scotland), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro/Sweden), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach/Germany), Landon Donovan (Everton/England), Maurice Edu (Rangers/Scotland), Stuart Holden (Bolton/England), Jose Torres (Pachuca/Mexico)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Hull/England), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Eddie Johnson (Aris/Greece)
source : www.fifa.com
