CHICAGO (AP) - Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer and midfielders Kenny Saief of Gent, Cristian Roldan of Seattle and Kelyn Rowe of New England have been picked for the U.S. roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and could make their national team debuts next month.
Defenders Matt Miazga of Chelsea and Eric Lichaj of Nottingham Forest also were among the 23 players selected Sunday by U.S. coach Bruce Arena.
Sixteen players come from Major League Soccer and four from Mexican clubs: defenders Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca) and Jorge Villafana (Santos Laguna), and midfielders of Paul Arriola and Joe Corona of Tijuana.
Thirteen of the players have eight or fewer international appearances.
“They have an opportunity to make a statement,” Arena said. “We have a large number of domestic players because our European-based players need a break. They had long seasons plus the June World Cup qualifiers, so they needed a break and then they need to start their preseasons in July.”
Saief played for Israel’s Under-19 and Under-21 teams, and his approval to switch to the U.S. was approved by FIFA in the past week. Dwyer, born in England, became a U.S. citizen in March.
Dallas goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez, who has played for Mexico’s Under-20 and Under-23 teams, was on the 40-man preliminary roster announced June 3, but his request for change in association has not yet been approved by FIFA.
Corona has not played for the U.S. since the 2015 Gold Cup, and Lichaj and Miazga since a May 2016 exhibition against Puerto Rico. Morrow made his only appearance in a 2013 exhibition against Canada.
The U.S. opens camp Monday in Nashville, Tennessee, and has an exhibition against Ghana on Saturday at East Hartford, Connecticut. The Americans’ group stage includes matches against Panama on July 8 at Nashville; Martinique on July 12 at Tampa, Florida; and Nicaragua on July 15 at Cleveland.
Teams advancing to the knockout stage can change six players, but the pool is limited to those on the 40-man roster. The group of possibilities includes Toronto midfielder Michael Bradley and forward Jozy Altidore, Portland midfielder Darlington Nagbe and Seattle forward Clint Dempsey.
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Atlanta), Bill Hamid (D.C.), Sean Johnson (New York City)
Defenders: Matt Besler (Kansas City), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca, Mexico), Matt Hedges (Dallas), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest, England), Matt Miazga (Chelsea, England), Justin Morrow (Toronto), Jorge Villafana (Santos Laguna, Mexico), Graham Zusi (Kansas City)
Midfielders: Kellyn Acosta (Dallas), Paul Arriola (Tijuana, Mexico), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia), Joe Corona (Tijuana, Mexico), Dax McCarty (Chicago), Cristian Roldan (Seattle), Kelyn Rowe (New England), Kenny Saief (Gent, Belgium), Gyasi Zardes (LA)
Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New England), Dom Dwyer (Kansas City), Jordan Morris (Seattle)
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