Schalke 04 midfielder Jermaine Jones, Aston Villa defender Eric Lichaj and FC Dallas winger Brek Shea were among 20 players called by U.S. men's national team head coach Bob Bradley for upcoming friendlies against Poland (Oct. 9th in Chicago) and Colombia (Oct. 12 in Chester, Pa.).
Shea and Heath Pearce were the only MLS players to be called in, with the league playing a full schedule around the time of the friendlies. Shea and Pearce will join the national team after playing in Dallas' match against Colorado on Oct. 9th. National team star Landon Donovan appears set to miss both friendlies.
"This is a fantastic opportunity to gather many of our players based in Europe and continue to build on the foundation we established during the last four years," said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. "We believe we have a strong nucleus of talented players, many of whom we are going to challenge to assume greater leadership roles during the next four-year cycle.
"We certainly have ideas on how we want to move forward, and these games will be the start of that process."
Some old familiar faces are back in the mix, with Eddie Johnson and Michael Parkhurst earning call-ups.
Here is the full roster:
USMNT Roster for Poland/Colombia friendlies
GOALKEEPERS- Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton)
DEFENDERS-Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Étienne), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
MIDFIELDERS– Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers), Jermaine Jones (FC Schalke), Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
FORWARDS-Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)
What do you think of the group? Excited to finally see Jermaine Jones play for the USA? Hoping Jozy Altidore can find his goal-scoring touch? Who else would you like to have seen called in?
Share your thoughts below.