CHICAGO (AP) - Captain Clint Dempsey and all-time U.S. scoring leader Landon Donovan were among 22 players selected Wednesday to the national team for its April 2 game against Mexico in Glendale, Arizona.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann chose 19 players from Major League Soccer, including forward Dempsey of Seattle and midfielder Donovan of Los Angeles.
Absent for the game will be top goalkeeper Tim Howard, who plays for Everton in the Premier League. The match does not fall on an international scheduling day.
Bayern Munich forward Julian Green has been released by his club to participate in what could be his first match representing the United States.
Klinsmann chose two players from the Mexican league, the Puebla duo of defenders DaMarcus Beasley and Michael Orozco.
Standing in for Howard at keeper are Salt Lake’s Nick Rimando, D.C. United’s Bill Hamid, and Chicago’s Sean Johnson.
“Everyone knows the clock is ticking,” Klinsmann said. “This is a huge opportunity for our players to show where they are at and to make their case. We expect them to give a really strong performance against a Mexican team that is now basically coming back on track. They need to prove now that they badly want to go to Brazil.”
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Squad:
Goalkeepers: Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake);
Defenders: DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla, Mexico), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Michael Orozco (Puebla, Mexico), Michael Parkhurst (Columbus Crew), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders);
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Philadelphia Union), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City);
Forwards: Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Eddie Johnson (D.C. United), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes).
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