U.S. Men's National Team head coach Dave Sarachan has called up LA Galaxy midfielder Sebastian Lletget for two upcoming friendlies, U.S. Soccer announced today. Sarachan will take 28 players to London to prepare for the final Kickoff Series matches against 2018 World Cup Semifinalist England and four-time champion Italy.
Lletget was last called in by the USMNT in September 2018 for friendlies against Brazil and Mexico, but was forced to leave the camp early due to injury. Lletget will look to make his return in a U.S. kit for the first time since March 24, when he suffered a Lisfranc fracture after scoring his first national team goal earlier in the match.
“These last two matches provide a fantastic set of challenges and experiences, so we’re excited to bring in this group of players for another huge opportunity,” said Sarachan. “We continue to build with a core group that has developed throughout the last year, while including some players who we haven’t seen in some time. Overall, this is a great way to end the Kickoff Series and what has been a very productive 2018.”
The U.S. first faces the fifth-ranked Three Lions at historic Wembley Stadium on Nov. 15 in London, with ESPN2 and UniMas broadcasting live at 3 p.m. ET. Five days later, the MNT takes on Italy at a rare neutral-site venue, with Luminus Arena in Genk, Belgium hosting the teams’ final match of 2018. Kickoff is set for 2:45 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on FS1 and UniMas.
All six of the MNT opponents in the Kickoff Series have been in the Top 25 of the FIFA World Rankings. Having fallen to Brazil (3) before shutting out Mexico (15), the U.S. will close out the series away to England (5) and Italy (19). The six-match slate is providing the aspiring young U.S. side with top-level competition at the start of their four-year journey toward the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In nine matches following the World Cup, USMNT has gone 3-3-3.
DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 59/0), Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge/BEL; 2/0), Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew; 6/0)
DEFENDERS (10): John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 35/3), Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; 1/0), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Swansea City/WAL; 6/0), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 1/0), Matt Miazga (Nantes/FRA; 10/1), Shaq Moore (Reus Deportiu/ESP; 3/0), Antonee Robinson (Wigan Athletic/ENG; 6/0), Jorge Villafaña (Portland Timbers; 19/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United/ENG; 56/0), Walker Zimmerman (LAFC; 3/0)
MIDFIELDERS (13): Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 21/2), Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; 7/1), Jonathan Amon (Nordsjælland/DEN; 1/0), Luca de la Torre (Fulham/ENG; 1/0), Marky Delgado (Toronto FC/CAN; 5/0), Julian Green (Greuther Fürth/GER; 14/4), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 3/1), Weston McKennie (Schalke/GER; 6/1), Darlington Nagbe (Atlanta United FC; 25/1), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 21/9), Kenny Saief (Anderlecht/BEL; 3/0), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 9/0), Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA; 7/1)
FORWARDS (2): Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen/GER; 5/2), Bobby Wood (Hannover 96/GER; 43/13)
