U.S. Men’s National Team Coach Bruce Arena has called up four Seattle Sounders players to participate in the National Teams January 10th training camp that is designed to help the team prepare for upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers that will begin in March.
Jordan Morris, Brad Evans, Chad Marshall and Stefan Frei will be part of the 32-man roster that will take part in International friendlies against Serbia on January 29th and Jamaica on February 3rd. Arena is expected to use the friendlies as part of his criteria for the March 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Morris, 22, has 12 caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team, including three appearances in 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying thus far. He became the first collegiate player to earn a cap since 1995 when he made his debut on November 18, 2014, then scored his first international goal in a friendly win over Mexico at the Alamodome on April 15, 2015. The Sounders FC Homegrown Player scored 14 goals in his first professional campaign (including postseason) and earned 2016 AT&T MLS Rookie of the Year honors.
Evans, 31, has 26 international caps and last appeared for the USMNT in a 3-2 friendly win over Iceland on January 31 of last year. He has one international goal – a stoppage-time winner at Jamaica on June 7, 2013, the latest match-winning goal in U.S. FIFA World Cup Qualifying history. Evans started five qualifying matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Marshall, 32, has 11 career appearances for the U.S. Men’s National Team, last featuring in a friendly against Honduras on January 23, 2010. The only three-time winner of MLS Defender of the Year, Marshall has spent the last three seasons with Seattle after a 10-year stint with Columbus Crew SC.
Fresh of a 2016 MLS Cup MVP performance against Toronto, Frei, 30, receives his first USMNT call-up. Frei, along with Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s Kekuta Manneh, is in the process of completing his eligibility requirements to represent the United States. While that process is ongoing, they both are clear to participate in the training camp.
The U.S. begins the 2017 campaign with a friendly against Serbia on January 29 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Calif. Kickoff for Bruce Arena’s first match back in charge is set for 1:00 p.m. PT, and broadcast live on ESPN2 and UniMas. Five days later, the USMNT makes its first visit to Chattanooga on February 3 when it hosts regional rival Jamaica. Kickoff in front of an expected capacity crowd of 20,000 at Finley Stadium is set for 4:00 p.m. PT, with the match broadcast live on FS1 and UniMas (simulcast on UDN).