Nine MLS standouts have been named to the 19-player squad US U-23 national team coach Andi Herzog will take to Brazil later this month for two friendlies vs. their counterparts from the five-time world champions.
MLS Rookie of the Year finalists Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes) and Matt Polster (Chicago Fire) headline Herzog's domestic-based contingent, which also includes Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jon Kempin as well as Eric Miller (Montreal Impact), Boyd Okwuonu (Real Salt Lake), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Khiry Shelton (New York City FC) and Dave Romney and Oscar Sorto (both LA Galaxy). It is Romney's first US call-up on any level.
The rest of the roster includes three players based in England, three from Germany and a player each from Mexico, Belgium, Scotland and Switzerland.
The US U-23s will face Brazil on Nov. 11 in Recife, site of the US senior squad's 2014 World Cup battle vs. Germany, before traveling north to Belém for the second match of the trip on Nov. 15.
Herzog & Co. are coming off a third-place finish in the 2015 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship, a disappointing finish to the tournament that forced them into a home-and-away playoff with Colombia in March for one of the final spots at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
"These matches against Brazil are a huge opportunity for us," Herzog said in a statement. "On one hand you have a strong challenging South American opponent in Brazil, with a playing style that's similar to that of Colombia, and on the other we'll get to experience playing in Brazil, which is where we hope to be next summer for the Olympics."
Full Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Cody Cropper (MK Dons; Maple Grove, Minn.), Charlie Horton (Leeds United; Cleveland, Ohio), Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City; Leawood, Kan.)
DEFENDERS (7): John Brooks (Hertha BSC; Berlin, Germany), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; Westcliff on Sea, England), Eric Miller (Montreal Impact; Woodbury, Minn.), Shane O'Neill (Royal Mouscron; Boulder, Colo.), Boyd Okwuonu (Real Salt Lake; Edmund, Okla.), Dave Romney (LA Galaxy; Irvine, Calif.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Julian Green (Bayern Munich; Tampa, Fla.), Alejandro Guido (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire; Milwaukee, Wisc.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Gedion Zelalem (Rangers; Bethesda, Md.)
FORWARDS (3): Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart; Berlin, Germany), Khiry Shelton (New York City FC; Leander, Tex.), Maki Tall (FC Sion; Washington, D.C.)
