photo by Thomas Eisenhuth/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
Jurgen Klinsmann has released the roster for the U.S. men's national team's upcoming friendlies against Honduras and Ecuador, and there are plenty of familiar faces and one brand new face.
German-born midfielder/defender Danny Williams has been called in for his first U.S. national team camp. The son of an American serviceman, Williams currently plies his trade with TSG Hoffenheim.
The rest of the roster for matches against Honduras and Ecuador is comprised of mostly the same guys Klinsmann has called in for his previous two camps, including Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Kyle Beckerman and Michael Orozco Fiscal.
Oguchi Onyewu and Nick Rimando were summoned for the first time by Klinsmann, who is still looking for his first win as U.S. head coach.
Here's the rest of the 22-man roster:
Goalkeepers: Tim Howard, Bill Hamid, Nick Rimando
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Timmy Chandler, Steve Cherundolo, Oguchi Onyewu, Michael Orozco Fiscal, Tim Ream, Jonathan Spector
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Maurice Edu, Jeff Larentowicz, Brek Shea, Danny Williams
Forwards: Juan Agudelo, Jozy Altidore, DaMarcus Beasley, Teal Bunbury, Landon Donovan
Klinsmann is hoping that the continuity of the core group of players will pay off, and he's also looking for better finishing after the U.S. team scored just one goal through his first three games.
"We would like to continue seeing our players develop through these initial couple of months,” Klinsmann told USSoccer.com. “One important thing is to see continuity in the build-up of our national team and also in the way we work as coaches. We'd like to see new faces as well, but we also don't want to shake up the core structure of the team too much.
"The two results with Costa Rica and Belgium didn't work in our favor but we saw clearly that the team started to understand what we demand from them in terms of pace, playing style and how to play. We are definitely on the right path, and what we now need to focus on in this get together is the eagerness to finish things off up front."
The United States will take on Honduras at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida on Oct. 8. Three days later the Americans will host their first ever game at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey against Ecuador.
Just like his last camp, Klinsmann is opening a training session for public viewing before each game. The open session in Miami will take place at Sun Life Stadium on Friday, Oct. 7 from 5-6pm, and the one in New Jersey will be at Red Bull Arena on Oct. 10 from 5-6pm.
The United States has won eight of its last nine games against Honduras dating back to 2002, though the Catrachos won the last meeting back on January 23, 2010.
The Americans have not faced Ecuador since Donovan scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 victory at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on March 25, 2007.
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What do you think of the roster? Who do you think should/shouldn't have been called in? Who is missing that you were hoping to see called up?
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