U.S. soccer team adds four newcomers
Four newcomers will be on the U.S. national soccer team's roster for Wednesday's friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo, U.S. Soccer announced Monday.
Forward Bobby Wood, defender John Anthony Brooks and goalie Cody Cropper, all 20, could make their first-team debuts. Forward Aron Johannsson, 22, is changing his national affiliation from Iceland to the United States, and he is not yet eligible to appear for the U.S. team in a game.
"He's one of the up-and-coming, promising strikers in Europe," U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. "He played really, really well in Denmark before he moved to Alkmaar (in the Netherlands) and is scoring goals there, so we're really thrilled he chose to join us.
"We just want to integrate Aron and make him feel comfortable, make him feel at home with us. Once he's comfortable and eligible and all the FIFA (paperwork) stuff is done, then we want to see him in real games and see if he can connect with something special to our game."
Klinsmann's side for the Bosnia game consists mostly of European-based players, with a few Major League Soccer players and Mexican league players included.
Notable omissions include striker Clint Dempsey, who recently switched club sides from Tottenham Hotspur to the Seattle Sounders, and Landon Donovan, who led a second-tier U.S. squad to the championship in the CONCACAF Gold Cup last month. Donovan scored a hat trick Sunday for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
"For the most part, we wanted to leave the MLS players behind because it's a long way to go for a midweek game in the heart of the season and many of them were with us a lot during the summer," Klinsmann said. "This gives us a chance to look at some different players as well."
