Jurgen Klinsmann announced his 20-man roster for the upcoming friendly at Russia, and Jozy Altidore is back in the group. News and full roster below...
CHICAGO (Nov. 12, 2012) - U.S. Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called 20 players into training camp to prepare for the final match of 2012, a friendly against No. 9-ranked Russia in Krasnodar. Kickoff at Kuban Stadium is set for 10 a.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2, ESPN3 and Univision. Fans can follow the match live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and via Twitter @ussoccer.
Players began reporting Sunday night into Frankfurt, Germany. The team will train twice Monday before departing Tuesday morning for Krasnodar.
"We ask for these games because they are big learning curves for us," said U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. "We need to measure ourselves against the best teams out there and build even more confidence. We want to close the year in a very positive way and then go into a busy 2013 that includes World Cup qualifying, the Gold Cup and some exciting friendlies."
The United States concludes a successful year holding its best winning percentage in the modern era, having posted a 9-2-2 record and a (.769) winning percentage. The next best performance came in 2008 when the team earned a 9-3-2 record (.750). The U.S. is looking for its first victory against Russia, which holds a 2-0-2 advantage in the series that dates back to a 1-0 Russia win on Feb. 13, 1993, in Orlando, Fla. (USA-Russia history) The team has already collected historic wins on the road this year against Italy in Genoa and Mexico at Estadio Azteca. After winning Group A in the Semifinal Round of FIFA World Cup qualifying, the U.S. learned its schedule for the Final Round following the Official Draw on Nov. 7 in Miami. The team kicks off the Hexagonal on Feb. 6 in Honduras, and will play three of its first four matches on the road.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION -
GOALKEEPERS (3): Tim Howard (Everton), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (6): Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg), Maurice Edu (Stoke City), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Michael Bradley (Roma), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Joshua Gatt (Molde), Joe Gyau (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim)
FORWARDS (4): Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna)
