The United States will begin their World Cup training camp on Jan. 4, the AP reported today, three weeks before the yanks open the year against fellow World Cup qualifiers Honduras. In an effort to consider all player options for the cup, the camp will begin with few starters, opting instead for 25 MLS players and nine players who have never appeared in a selection game before.
“This is the start of six months of preparations for the World Cup, and it is important that we get started off heading in the right direction,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. “We are continuing to evaluate the player pool as we move forwards finalizing our roster for this summer.” Full training camp roster is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Kevin Hartman (Kansas City), Troy Perkins (Valerenga, Norway), Nick Rimando (Salt Lake), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)
Defenders: Kevin Alston (New England), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Chad Marshall (Columbus), Brandon McDonald (San Jose), Heath Pearce (Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto)
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro, Sweden), Geoff Cameron (Houston), Brad Davis (Houston), Brad Evans (Seattle), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus, Denmark), Eddie Gaven (Columbus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas), Jeff Larentowicz (New England), Dax McCarty (Dallas), Chris Pontius (D.C.), Robbie Rogers (Columbus)
Forwards: Justin Braun (Chivas USA), Conor Casey (Colorado), Jeff Cunningham (Dallas), Robbie Findley (Salt Lake), Marcus Tracy (Aalborg, Denmark)
