U.S. Men’s Beach Soccer National Teams To Play Two International Friendlies Against Spain In Salou, Spain
Beach MNT Will Face Spain on Feb. 22 and 24 in Salou in Preparation for ANOC World Beach Qualifying
CHICAGO, Ill. (Feb. 16, 2023) – The U.S. Men’s Beach Soccer National Team head coach Francis Farberoff has selected 16 players to travel to Salou, Tarragona, Spain for a week-long camp and two international friendlies against Spain from Feb. 19-26. The teams will play closed-door matches at Futbol Salou on Feb. 22 and 24.
Led by three-time FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup veteran Alessandro Canale (2013, 2019, 2021), and two-time U.S. Beach Soccer Male Player of the Year Nico Perea, the roster is mix of players with recent international experience combined with six players yet to make their international debuts on sand.
The U.S. Beach MNT is using the week to prepare for marquee tournaments this spring, beginning with April’s ANOC World Beach Games qualifiers and followed by the Concacaf Beach Soccer Championship, which serves as qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. Dates and locations for these two qualifying tournaments have not yet been announced.
The U.S. and Spain beach teams met twice in 2022, with Europeans claiming a 6-2 group stage win at Mundialito 2022 on the Spanish island of Gran Canary in July and the U.S. defeating the Spain 4-3 in November at the Intercontinental Cup in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The teams also split their previous two meetings in 2018 tournaments with identical 4-3 results.
Futbol Salou is a common site for Spain Beach Soccer National Team camps, and previously hosted the 2019 World Beach Games European Qualifiers.
USA SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, Feb. 22: USA vs Spain (11:00 am local)
Friday, Feb. 24: USA vs Spain (11:00 am local)
U.S. MEN’S BEACH SOCCER NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER (HOMETOWN)
^ = Uncapped
GOALKEEPERS (2): ^Austin Collier (Virginia Beach, VA), Brian Shushkovsky (Morganville, NJ)
DEFENDERS (7): Chris Albiston (Virginia Beach, VA.), Antonio Chavez(Oceanside, Calif.), Fredo Dilbert (Miami, Fla.), ^Alvaro Franco (Miami, Fla.), ^Lukas Holocher (San Francisco, Calif.), Andres Navas (Miami, Fla.), Nicolas Perea (Hollywood, Fla.)
FORWARDS (7): Tanner Akol (Santa Cruz, Calif.), Alessandro Canale (Venice Beach, Calif.), ^Ricardo Carvalho (Orlando, Fla.), ^Matthew Citron (San Diego, Calif.), ^Calvin Rezende (Davie, Fla.), Conner Rezende (Davie, Fla.), Cody Valcarcel (Santa Cruz, Calif.)