United States manager Jurgen Klinsmann has called in a mix of veterans and emerging talents to his squad ahead of upcoming friendlies against Cuba and New Zealand on Oct. 7 and 11, respectively.
All told, 15 of the players who contested World Cup qualifiers last month against St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago are on the roster, including captain Michael Bradley.
The group also includes five of the six goal scorers from those matches, a list comprised of New York Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Christian Pulisic, Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore, Hamburg SV forward Bobby Wood, and Club Tijuana attacker Paul Arriola.
NEWS: @J_Klinsmann has called up 23 players ahead of friendlies at Cuba & vs. New Zealand: https://t.co/SzoXKYrB7L #USMNT #USAvCUB #USAvNZL pic.twitter.com/68A65Y7wSJ
- U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) October 2, 2016
The biggest area of competition comes at goalkeeper, where neither Tim Howard nor Brad Guzan were included. Klinsmann has opted to give David Bingham of the San Jose Earthquakes, Ethan Horvath of Molde FK, and William Yarbrough of Club Leon a chance to impress ahead of World Cup qualifiers next month against Mexico and Costa Rica.
Klinsmann did find room for some players who missed out on the most recent round of qualifying matches. Defender John Brooks makes his return to the squad after missing the two recent U.S. matches due to a back injury.
Sunderland midfielder Lynden Gooch, Bayern Munich's Julian Green, Hearts midfielder Perry Kitchen, Eintracht Frankfurt defender Timothy Chandler, and Reading midfielder Danny Williams are also in the squad.
Full U.S. squad:
Goalkeeper: David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes), Ethan Horvath (Molde FK), William Yarbrough (Club Leon)
Defenders: Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moenchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle)
Midfielders: Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland), Perry Kitchen (Hearts), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Danny Williams (Reading)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (Hamburg SV), Julian Green (Bayern Munich)