Among the more intriguing inclusions are goalkeepers Alex Bono and Jon Kempin, defenders Christian Dean and Oscar Sorto, midfielders Dennis Flores and Marc Pelosi, and forward Julio Morales — none of whom receive regular minutes for their professional teams. But those players are among 12 Olympic-age prospects on the squad as preparations for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro ramp up.
Goalkeeper Nick Rimando, defender Matt Besler, midfielder Mix Diskerud and forward Chris Wondolowski join Dempsey, Bradley and Jones as 2014 World Cup veterans on the roster.
“The prize in 2015 for the senior national team is the Gold Cup, and this camp will give a lot of our players a chance to kick-start their preparations for an important year,” Klinsmann said in a news release. “We also get an opportunity to introduce the next wave of young players into the program, and in particular work with many of our Olympic-age guys as they build toward qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.”
D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid, who started the USA’s loss to Ireland in November, withdrew from the squad with a minor shoulder injury.
The camp kicks off Monday. After 12 days of training in Carson, California, the team will head to Santiago on Jan. 25 before facing Chile on Jan. 28 in Rancagua. The team will then return to Carson ahead of a friendly against Panama at the StubHub Center on Feb. 8.
GOALKEEPERS (4): Alex Bono (unattached), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)DEFENDERS (8): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy)MIDFIELDERS (10): Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (out of contract), Dennis Flores (Club Leon), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution), Marc Pelosi (Liverpool), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Brek Shea (Orlando City), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC)FORWARDS (6): Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Julio Morales (Tepic), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)
