CHICAGO (Nov. 19, 2018) – The U.S. Men’s National Team ends its challenging 2018 calendar with its final Kickoff Series friendly against four-time World Cup champions Italy on Tuesday, Nov. 20 in Genk, Belgium.
Coverage of USA-Italy begins at 2:45 p.m. ET on FS1 and UniMas. Fans can also follow along via U.S. Soccer’s official Facebook, Twitter (@ussoccer_MNT) and Instagram (@ussoccer_MNT) accounts.
DETAILED U.S. MNT ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 60/0), 12-Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge/BEL; 2/0),22-Jonathan Klinsmann (Hertha Berlin/GER; 0/0)
DEFENDERS (9): 6-John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 36/3), 25-Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; 1/0),
5-Cameron Carter-Vickers (Swansea City/WAL; 6/0), 26-Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 1/0), 3-Matt Miazga (Nantes/FRA; 11/1),18-Shaq Moore (Reus Deportiu/ESP; 4/0), 19-Jorge Villafaña (Portland Timbers; 20/0), 2-DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United/ENG; 57/0), 21-Walker Zimmerman (LAFC; 3/1)
MIDFIELDERS (9): 23-Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 22/2), 4-Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; 8/1), 9-Marky Delgado (Toronto FC/CAN; 5/0), 27-Romain Gall (Malmö/SWE; 0/0), 16-Julian Green (Greuther Fürth/GER; 15/4), 14-Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 4/1), 10-Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 22/9), 20-Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 10/0), 11-Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA; 8/1)
FORWARDS (2): 13-Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen/GER; 5/2), 7-Bobby Wood (Hannover 96/GER; 44/13)
USA ROSTER NOTES
2018 IN FOCUS: A YEAR OF DEBUTS
MNT head coach Dave Sarachan began 2018 by saying this would be a year of opportunity and experience for players, and as the year closes he has lived up to that promise. A total of 51 players have earned at least one cap in the 10 matches so far, including 19 first-timers – a figure that sits third all-time for debuts in a calendar year behind only 1992 (21 debuts, 21 GP) and 2007 (20 debuts, 18 GP). Including the debuts of Tyler Adams, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Weston McKennie in last November’s draw in Portugal that figure rises to 22, meaning Sarachan’s 11-game tenure has seen more debuts than any other modern-era MNT coach in the same time frame.
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MNT Debuts in First 11 Games of Tenure |
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Head Coach |
First Caps Awarded |
Time Frame |
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Dave Sarachan |
22 |
Nov 14, 2017-Nov. 15, 2018 |
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Bob Bradley |
13 |
Jan. 20, 2007-June 24, 2007 |
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Bruce Arena |
10 |
Nov. 6, 1998-Aug. 3, 1999 |
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Jurgen Klinsmann |
9 |
Aug. 10, 2011-May 26, 2012 |
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Bruce Arena |
8 |
Jan. 29, 2017-July 15, 2017 |
|
Bora Milutinovic |
8 |
May 5, 1991-Sept. 14, 1991 |
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Steve Sampson |
1 |
April 22, 1995-July 20, 1995 |
LLETGET MAKES FIRST MNT APPEARANCE SINCE MARCH 2017 INJURY
One of the positives from Thursday’s match against England was the return of midfielder Sebastian Lletget. The midfielder made his first U.S. appearance since suffering a devastating lisfrac injury after a tough tackle in the MNT’s 6-0 World Cup Qualifying win against Honduras on March 24, 2017. Lletget recorded his first international goal in that match to open the scoring early, only to be forced out of the match after suffering a tough tackle minutes later. Corrective surgery and a 10-month recovery process ensued, but the midfielder returned to the field with the LA Galaxy this season and made his first international appearance since the injury on Thursday against England.
McKENNIE, DE LA TORRE, SAIEF DEPART MNT CAMP
The MNT roster was reduced to 23 players ahead of the Italy match as Weston McKennie, Kenny Saief and Luca de la Torre departed camp. McKennie was diagnosed with a left hamstring tendon strain and returned to his club to begin rehabilitation. De la Torre remained in London following the England match to continue training with Fulham, while Saief returned to Belgian club Anderlecht.
ITALY MNT GOAL-SCORING CLUB
With their style long defined by defensive acumen, Italy has proven a difficult opponent for the USA to find goals against. The MNT has recorded just five in 11 all-time meetings -- one of which was the own goal in the 1-1 draw at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Check out the MNT’s small goal-scoring club against the Italians:
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MNT Players to Score vs. Italy |
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Player |
Date |
Result |
Competition |
Location |
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Aldo “Buff” Donelli |
May 27, 1934 |
1-7 L |
1934 FIFA World Cup |
Rome, Italy |
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John Harkes |
June 6, 1992 |
1-1 D |
Friendly |
Chicago, Ill. |
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Landon Donovan |
June 15, 2009 |
1-3 L |
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup |
Pretoria, South Africa |
|
Clint Dempsey |
Feb. 29, 2012 |
1-0 W |
Friendly |
Genoa, Italy |
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*The USA goal in the 2006 FIFA World Cup was credited as an own goal |
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The six-man referee crew for Tuesday’s match hails from Turkey:
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Referee: |
Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey) |
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Assistant Referee 1: |
Bahattin Duran (Turkey) |
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Assistant Referee 2: |
Tarik Ongun (Turkey) |
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4th Official: |
Alper Ulusoy (Turkey) |
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VAR: |
Hallis Özkahya (Turkey) |
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Assistant VAR: |
Barış Şimşek (Turkey) |
RESTART ROLLING
With the 2022 cycle officially underway, the process of elevating a rising crop of internationals is already in motion. Since November of last year, a total of 19 players have debuted for the senior MNT. Seventeen of them came in under 24 years old at the time of their first caps, while 10 will be age-eligible to represent the U-23 MNT in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament and 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. ussoccer.com has profiled 11 of these hopefuls at the start of the new video series RISING: Emerging Faces of the U.S. Men’s National Team, which chronicle the route of players on their quest to become a part of the National Team by going behind the scenes with family, youth, coaches, teammates and professional club managers from across the world.
USA-ITALY NOTES
ITALY ROSTER BY POSITION:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Alessio Cragno (Cagliari; 0/0), Gianluigi Donnaurumma (AC Milan; 11/0), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino; 18/0)
DEFENDERS (7): Francesco Acerbi (Lazio; 2/0), Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina; 4/1), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus; 84/6), Mattia De Sciglio (Juventus; 36/0), Gianluca Manchini (Atalanta; 0/0), Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea/ENG; 1/0), Daniele Rugani (Juventus; 7/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Nicolò Barella (Cagliari; 3/0), Roberto Gagliardini (Inter Milan; 5/0), Vincenzo Grifo (Hoffenheim/GER; 0/0), Stefano Sensi (Sassuolo; 0/0), Sandro Tonali (Brescia; 0/0), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA; 28/1)
FORWARDS (6): Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo; 4/0), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina; 10/0), Moise Kean (Juventus; 0/0), Kevin Lasagna (Udinese; 2/0), Leonardo Pavoletti (Cagliari; 0/0), Matteo Politano (Inter Milan; 1/0)
ITALY NOTES
