CARSON, Calif. (Sunday, May 31, 2015) – LA Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes has been named to a 22-player roster by U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann for friendlies in Europe against two of the top three finishers at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The U.S. meets No. 6-ranked Netherlands on June 5 in Amsterdam (11:30 a.m. PT - ESPN, WatchESPN, UniMas, UDN) before facing the 2014 FIFA World Cup champion Germany on June 10 in Cologne (11:45 a.m. PT – Fox Sports 1, UniMas, UDN).
Zardes will depart for Europe following the team’s game on the road against New England Revolution this afternoon and be unavailable for selection when the Galaxy host Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday, June 6 at StubHub Center at 7:30 p.m. PT (Time Warner Cable SportsNet and Time Warner Cable Deportes). He will return to the Galaxy following the U.S. matchup against Germany June 10.
The call up for Zardes is the fourth time he has been named to a USMNT roster by Klinsmann this year. His first-ever international appearance for the U.S. came January 28 as second-half substitution in a friendly against Chile in South America. On Feb. 8, he earned his first start when the U.S. took on Panama at StubHub Center, putting in a man-of-the-match performance after recording an assist. After starting in the USMNT’s friendlies against Denmark and Switzerland, Zardes played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 win over rival Mexico at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
With the matches against Netherlands and Germany, the U.S. will have faced five teams in 2015 ranked in the top 20 in the world (Chile, Mexico, Switzerland are the other three), with four of those contests on away soil.
“Our time since the World Cup has been a transition period which now winds down before the Gold Cup,” said Klinsmann. “Playing against top teams like Germany and the Netherlands provides valuable experience, especially for the younger players here. More and more they must understand we come to meet these opponents eye to eye. Obviously it’s a bit tricky when we are without some of our core players, but that creates a huge opportunity for the guys here to benchmark themselves against some of the best players in the world. ”
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), William Yarbrough (Club Leon)
DEFENDERS (7): Ventura Alvarado (Club America), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Michael Orozco (Puebla), Brek Shea (Orlando City SC), DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham Hotspur)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United FC), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt), Danny Williams (Reading)
FORWARDS (4): Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy
