U.S. Men’s Para National Team Set To Face England And Scotland At CP Tri-Nations 2022
U.S. Men’s PNT Will Travel to England’s St. George’s Park for First International Matches Since 2019
CHICAGO (March 7, 2022) – The U.S. Men’s Para National Team will face England and Scotland during CP Tri-Nations at St. George’s Park in Burton-upon-Trent, England. The matches will serve as the first international action for the Men’s PNT since the 2019 ParaPan American Games, held in August of that year.
Men’s PNT head coach Stuart Sharp has called up 14 players for the games as the USA will face England on Friday, March 11 and Scotland on Sunday, March 13.
MEN’S PARA NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (HOMETOWN)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Carter Alvey (Mount Washington, Ky.), Marc Estrella (Bakersfield, Calif.), Sean Boyle (Minneapolis, Minn.)
DEFENDERS (5): Drew Bremer (East Grand Rapids, Mich.), Joshua Brunais (Stafford, Va.), Jacob Crumbley (Fortson, Ga.), David Garza (San Diego, Calif.), Jacob Kaplan (Morganville, N.J.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Adam Ballou (Virginia Beach, Va.), Chileshe Chitulangoma (Rochester, Minn.), Cameron DeLillo (Blandon, Penn.), Gavin Kohner (Phoenix, Ariz.), Kevin McCandlish (Chesapeake, Va.), Kyle Montgomery (Woodbury, N.J.), Michael Ruiz (Gilroy, Calif.)
FORWARDS (3): Shea Hammond (Montclair, N.J.), Jonah Meyer-Crothers (Sylvania, Ohio), John Sullivan (Tucson, Ariz.)
The matches will serve as important preparation for the Men’s PNT as it gears up for the upcoming 2022 IFCPF World Cup, set for April 27-May 16 in Salou, Spain. The USA finished sixth at the 2019 IFCPF World Cup, one of its best finishes at a world championship event in the modern era of the sport. The Men’s PNT also visited St. George’s Park before the 2019 World Cup, drawing England twice, 1-1 and 3-3.
Seventeen of the 18 players called to England were a part of the USPNT’s #ADAPTandTHRIVE Invitational in January. The event served as the Men’s PNT’s return to the field for the first time since Feb. 2020, as well as the first talent identification camp for the Women’s Para National Team and a showcase for disability soccer organizations CP Soccer and U.S, Youth Soccer’s TOPSoccer.
The lone player that wasn’t a part of the January training camp is midfielder Cameron DeLillo, who led the USA in scoring at the 2019 ParaPan American Games as it won its first-ever medal at the event.
Four players -- defenders Drew Bremer, Joshua Brunais, Jacob Crumbley and David Garza -- are part of the Men’s PNT’s Centralized Training Program in Atlanta. The quartet train together full-time at Atlanta United FC, accelerating their development through a high-performance environment designed to help the U.S. win at the international level. With players compensated as professionals, the CTP marks the culmination of a player development pathway for athletes with disabilities from the grassroots up.
Six players are aiming to make their international debut at Tri-Nations after previous training camp experience with the Men’s PNT - midfielders Chileshe Chitulangoma, Kevin McCandlish, Gavin Kohner and Michael Ruiz plus forward Jonah Meyer-Crothers.
The USA and England last met in the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup, a 4-2 defeat while the U.S. had a number of key players unavailable due to injury and suspension. The U.S. and Scotland haven’t faced off since the 2015 World Cup, a 2-1 win that was also played at St. George’s Park. Sharp hails from Scotland and led the Scotland Men’s PNT to new heights as head coach from 2005-2011 while also working as the National Development Manager (Disability) for the Scottish FA.