Lichaj, Jones could make US debuts against Poles
Aston Villa defender Eric Lichaj and Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones were selected Thursday for the 20-man roster for the United States' exhibitions against Poland and Colombia next month and could make their national team debuts.
Lichaj, a 21-year-old from Downers Grove, Ill., left the University of North Carolina to sign with Aston Villa in 2007. He made his first two competitive appearances for the club this season: at Rapid Vienna in the Europa League on Aug. 19 and against Blackburn in the English League Cup on Sept. 22. In June 2009, he was at the team's training camp ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras.
Jones, a 28-year-old midfielder with an American father who grew up in Germany, made three appearances for Germany's national team and was approved by FIFA last year to switch allegiance to the United States. He then missed the entire season because of a shin injury. He was selected for an August exhibition against Brazil but withdrew to remain with his club.
Thirteen of the players were on the American World Cup roster, including goalkeeper Tim Howard, captain Carlos Bocanegra and forward Clint Dempsey.
AC Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu was included, even though he has not even been selected to dress for his club this season. Onyewu hasn't played a competitive match since the 2-2 tie against Slovenia at the World Cup on June 18.
''This is a fantastic opportunity to gather many of our players based in Europe and continue to build on the foundation we established during the last four years,'' said Bob Bradley, rehired as U.S. coach last month after talks broke off with Juergen Klinsmann. ''We believe we have a strong nucleus of talented players, many of whom we are going to challenge to assume greater leadership roles during the next four-year cycle. We certainly have ideas on how we want to move forward, and these games will be the start of that process.''
Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle and Omar Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Galaxy were omitted because of their team's push for position in the Major League Soccer playoffs, as were Jonathan Bornstein of Chivas USA and Robbie Findley of Real Salt Lake.
Dallas midfielder Brek Shea and defender Heath Pearce were the only MLS players selected. They will miss the Poland game at Chicago on Oct. 9 but will be available for the match against Colombia on Oct. 12 at Chester, Pa. Shea could make his national team debut.
''We understand this is a critical point in the season for teams in MLS,'' Bradley said. ''Given the circumstances, we felt it was important that the MLS players be given as much opportunity as possible to remain with their clubs.''
Nordsjaelland defender Michael Parkhurst could make his first appearance since July 2009 against Haiti in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Three players were selected who were on the U.S. 30-man preliminary World Cup roster but then cut when it was trimmed to 23: Pearce, Orebro midfielder Alejandro Bedoya , forward Eddie Johnson, Dempsey's Fulham teammate.
Dempsey was listed at forward rather than midfield - the Cottagers have moved him up front following injuries to Bobby Zamora and Moussa Dembele.
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne, France), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa, England), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan, Italy), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland, Denmark), Heath Pearce (Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England)
Midfielders: Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro, Sweden), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus, Denmark), Stuart Holden (Bolton, England), Jermaine Jones (Schalke, Germany), Brek Shea (Dallas)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal, Spain), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Eddie Johnson (Fulham, England).