CHICAGO – The U.S. Men’s National Team will kick off its busy summer schedule with a World Cup Qualifying warm-up against Venezuela on Saturday, June 3 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Coverage of USA-Venezuela begins at 8 p.m. MT on FS1, Univision and Univision Deportes Network. Fans can also follow the game live on Facebook and Twitter at @ussoccer and @ussoccer_esp.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (4): Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 53/0), Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge/BEL; 1/0), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids; 113/0), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake; 22/0)
DEFENDERS (10): DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo; 124/17), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 39/1), John Brooks (VfL Wolfsburg/GER; 30/3), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/ENG; 50/4), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX; 37/1), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas; 1/0), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 23/1), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna/MEX; 4/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United/ENG; 43/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City; 46/5)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; 5/0), Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana/MEX; 4/2), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 59/2), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/CAN; 130/16), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 54/2), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire; 6/0), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers; 14/1), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 13/4)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC/CAN; 102/37), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC; 132/56), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 14/2), Bobby Wood (Hamburg/GER; 29/8)
WORLD CUP QUALIFYING WARMUP
Saturday’s match serves as the MNT’s warmup for two important World Cup Qualifying matches against Trinidad & Tobago, Presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance on June 8 in Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., and away to Mexico on June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
USA-VENEZUELA X2
While Saturday’s game is only a friendly, a much higher-stakes match will take place between the nations just two hours after the final whistle. Halfway around the world, the USA and Venezuela will meet each other in the Quarterfinals of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Jeonju, Korea Republic. With a win, the USA can make its first Semifinal appearance at the tournament since 1989, while Venezuela has already achieved its best finish in the competition, thanks to their 1-0 win against Japan in the Round of 16. Eighteen of 21 players on the U-20 roster are products of Development Academy clubs, while eleven players on the current MNT roster have represented the USA at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, including Kellyn Acosta and Paul Arriola, who were part of the most recent group that ran to the 2015 Quarterfinals in New Zealand.
“LET’S KEEP BUILDING OURSELVES INTO A TEAM”
In the midst of his third camp back in charge of the U.S. Men’s National Team, Bruce Arena had a nearly full complement of players to choose for the MNT’s three-match stretch in June. The U.S. manager set the tone for the group on the first night, praising the team’s performance to begin turning things around during World Cup Qualifying in March, while putting on emphasis on the overall group continuing to build itself into a team.*Courtesy US Soccer
