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SUNDAY (Feb. 26) - Bobby Convey juggles the ball during training in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
© InternationalSportsImages.com / U.S. Soccer
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CHICAGO (March 15, 2006) — U.S. Men’s National Team Manager Bruce Arena has selected 19 players to face 2006 FIFA World Cup host Germany on March 22 in Dortmund, one of 12 cities hosting matches in the tournament this summer. Kickoff at the Westfalenstadion is set for 8:25 p.m. local time (2:25 p.m. ET), and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Fans can also follow live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.
The U.S., which moved to their best-ever fifth place position in the latest FIFA World Rankings, will be looking to stay unbeaten during their 2006 World Cup preparations vs. Germany. The U.S. announced on Monday their final plans before the FIFA World Cup, which will include the three-game Send-Off Series vs. Morocco, Venezuela and Latvia. Tickets for the series go on sale just hours before kickoff on March 22 at ussoccer.com.
The match does not fall on an international fixture date as set by FIFA prior to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, limiting the players available for selection by Arena. The governing body for soccer in Germany, the Deutscher Fussball Bund (DFB), has an agreement with all the clubs in Germany to release their players for the match in Dortmund, which will allow Germany to call on a nearly full-strength squad. At the same time, the U.S. will also be able to call on their players based in Germany.
“We look forward to the game versus Germany. The German team will be prepared to play their best against us and this will be an incredible challenge for our players,” said U.S. Manager Bruce Arena, who has a 2-2-0 lifetime record against Germany, including his first-ever victory as coach of the MNT, a 3-0 win on Feb. 6, 1999 in Jacksonville, Fla. “Although we will be playing with a less than full roster, this game will provide an outstanding opportunity for some of our players to show they deserve strong consideration for the World Cup roster. As a coach, you can't ask for more.”
For the U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller headlines the German-based contingent, having collected an amazing 45 shutouts in 90 career matches, an average of one shutout for every two games played. Also coming from Germany are 2002 World Cup veterans Gregg Berhalter (Energie Cottbus) and Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), who serve as captain and vice-captain of their squads, respectively. Bobby Convey and Marcus Hahnemann from English League Championship leaders Reading FC have been cleared to play, with Reading FC currently 15 points ahead at the top of the table and closing in on promotion to the English Premier League.
Landon Donovan heads the domestic-based contingent, who along with Real Salt Lake defender Eddie Pope holds the second most caps on the U.S. roster with 77 appearances. The two-time U.S. Soccer Player of the Year is now tied with Cobi Jones for the all-time U.S. assist lead (22) after getting a point in the 3-2 win against Japan on Feb. 10 in San Francisco. The 2005 MLS MVP, Taylor Twellman, has scored four goals and tallied three assists in his last three matches for the U.S., recording the USA’s ninth-ever hat trick in the Norway victory and assisting on the USA’s lone goal in the 1-0 win against Poland on March 1 in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The Kansas City Wizards duo of Josh Wolff and Kerry Zavagnin and Real Salt Lake midfielder Chris Klein are the only players on the roster to appear in all five of the USA’s matches in 2006 as either a starter or a reserve.
Making his first appearance in 2006 is ADO Den Haag-based defender Cory Gibbs, who was sidelined with a knee injury for the second half of the 2005 campaign. Gibbs has previous experience playing in Germany having spent three seasons at FC St. Pauli. Donovan (Bayer Leverkusen), Frankie Hejduk (Bayer Leverkusen) and Twellman (1860 Munich) have all spent time in Germany’s top divisions.
The U.S. has played Germany seven times dating back to 1993, with the Germans holding a 5-2-0 lifetime advantage. Most recently, Germany ended the USA’s historic run through the 2002 FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 quarterfinal victory on June 21, 2002, in Jeonju, Korea. The teams met once before on German soil, a 4-2 loss for the U.S. on March 27, 2002, in Rostock in the USA’s penultimate match prior to selecting their World Cup roster.
Three-time FIFA World Cup champions, the Germans have qualified successfully for every World Cup finals they have entered. With 16 overall appearances, they are second only to Brazil (18). The first team to advance to the championship game in three consecutive World Cups, Germany is now led by manager Jurgen Klinsmann. The former international striker scored the insurance goal in their 2-0 victory against the U.S. on June 15, 1998, in the second group game of France ’98.
The U.S. has kicked off the year in solid form, going 4-0-1 and netting 13 goals while only surrendering two. After drawing with Canada on Jan. 22 in San Diego in their opening game of 2006, the U.S. has produced four straight victories against Norway, FIFA World Cup finalists Japan and Poland, and Guatemala, three by shutout.
The USA was drawn into Group E for the 2006 FIFA World Cup along with the Czech Republic, Italy and Ghana. The U.S. plays their opening match against the Czechs on June 12 in Gelsenkirchen before meeting Italy in Kaiserslautern on June 17 and then finishing off group play against Ghana on June 22 in Nuremberg. The U.S. has chosen the northern port city of Hamburg as their base of operations throughout the tournament.
U.S. Men's National Team Roster vs. Germany
March 22, 2006 - Dortmund, Germany | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | DOB | Caps/
Goals | Hometown | Club | | Berhalter, Gregg | D | 6'1" | 175 | 08/01/73 | 43/0 | Tenafly, N.J. | Energie Cottbus (Germany) | | Cherundolo, Steve | D | 5'6" | 145 | 02/19/79 | 32/0 | San Diego, Calif. | Hannover 96 (Germany) | | Ching, Brian | F | 6’1” | 195 | 05/24/78 | 15/3 | Haleiwa, Hawaii | Houston Dynamo (MLS) | | Conrad, Jimmy | D | 6'2" | 185 | 02/12/77 | 12/0 | Temple City, Calif. | Kansas City Wizards (MLS) | | Convey, Bobby | M/D | 5'8" | 150 | 05/27/83 | 35/1 | Philadelphia, Pa. | Reading FC (England) | | Feilhaber, Benny | M | 5'9" | 150 | 01/19/85 | 0/0 | Irvine, Calif. | Hamburg SV (Germany) | | Gibbs, Cory | D | 6'3" | 178 | 01/14/80 | 17/0 | Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. | ADO Den Haag (Holland) | | Hahnemann, Marcus | GK | 6’3" | 220 | 06/15/72 | 6/0 | Seattle, Wash. | Reading FC (England) | | Johnson, Eddie | F | 6’0” | 180 | 03/31/84 | 13/9 | Palm Coast, Fla. | Kansas City Wizards (MLS) | | Keller, Kasey | GK | 6'2" | 190 | 11/29/69 | 90/0 | Lacey, Wash. | Bor. M'gladbach (Germany) | | Klein, Chris | M | 6'1" | 180 | 01/04/76 | 21/5 | St. Louis, Mo. | Real Salt Lake (MLS) | | Mastroeni, Pablo | M | 5'10" | 170 | 08/26/76 | 44/0 | Phoenix, Ariz. | Colorado Rapids (MLS) | | Olsen, Ben | M | 5'8" | 140 | 05/03/77 | 31/5 | Middletown, Pa. | D.C. United (MLS) | | Pearce, Heath | D | 5’10” | 175 | 08/13/84 | 4/0 | Modesta, Calif. | FC Nordsjælland (Denmark) | | Pope, Eddie | D | 6'1" | 180 | 12/24/73 | 77/8 | High Point, N.C. | Real Salt Lake (MLS) | | Twellman, Taylor | F | 5’11” | 170 | 02/29/80 | 17/5 | St. Louis, Mo. | New England Revolution (MLS) | | Wolff, Josh | F | 5'8" | 160 | 02/25/77 | 43/9 | Stone Mountain, Ga. | Kansas City Wizards (MLS) | | Zavagnin, Kerry | M | 5’10” | 170 | 07/02/74 | 20/0 | Plymouth, Mich. | Kansas City Wizards (MLS) | | | | | | | | | |
ROSTER BY POSITION
Goalkeepers (2) – Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
Defenders (7) – Gregg Berhalter (Energie Cottbus), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Cory Gibbs (ADO Den Haag), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Nordsjælland), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake)
Midfielders (6) – Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Chris Klein (Real Salt Lake), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Ben Olsen (D.C. United), Kerry Zavagnin (Kansas City Wizards)
Forwards (4) – Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution), Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards)
U.S. Men’s National Team Staff
Head Coach: Bruce Arena (Fairfax, Va.)
Assistant Coach: Glenn Myernick (Denver)
Assistant Coach: Curt Onalfo (Fairfax, Va.)
Goalkeeper Coaches: Milutin Soskic (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), Phil Wheddon (Monroe, Conn.)
Fitness Coach: Pierre Barrieu (Charlottesville, Va.)
General Manager: Pam Perkins (Los Angeles)
Trainers: Dave Andrews (Seattle), Bruce Snell (Seattle)
Doctor: Mike Gehrhardt (Los Angeles)
Chiropractor: George Billauer (Los Angeles)
Equipment Manager: Ryan Maxfield (Los Angeles)
Press Officer: Michael Kammarman (Chicago)
ussoccer.com is the official site of U.S. Soccer, the governing body of soccer in the United States.
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