United States men’s national team head coach Bruce Arena announced his 24-man roster for the third and fourth rounds of the Hexagonal in CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying on Wednesday.
Arena called in Seattle Sounders forwards Jordan Morris and Clint Dempsey for the U.S.’ home match against Honduras on March 24 in San Jose, Calif., and road match against Panama on March 28. Morris was a part of Arena’s January camp earlier this year and scored the game-winner in a 1-0 friendly victory over Jamaica on Feb. 3.
Arena’s Dempsey selection is somewhat surprising given that Arena said a couple months ago he would “absolutely not” call in Dempsey while he continues to regain his sharpness after missing six months with an irregular heartbeat. Arena recently said he would be “very cautious” with Dempsey, who has started in each of the Sounders’ first two 2017 regular-season matches. He scored in Seattle’s opener against the Houston Dynamo.
“Clint has a history that is almost second to none,” Arena said of the U.S.’ second all-time leading goalscorer on The Herd with Colin Cowherd prior to the announcement. “We know there are some good days still ahead for Clint. He’s made great progress in preseason and his first two games with Seattle, and we think he’s a player that can still help us in these games — perhaps at a reduced role — but a player that still has a tremendous history of scoring goals and creating opportunities. To have that kind of player available I think is invaluable.”
The United States currently sit in last place in the Hex with zero points through two matches. Below is the full roster:
GK (3): Brad Guzan, Tim Howard, Nick Rimando
D (8): John Brooks, DaMarcus Beasley, Geoff Cameron, Omar Gonzalez, Tim Ream, Michael Orozco, Jorge Villafaña, Walker Zimmerman
M (9): Kellyn Acosta, Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Fabian Johnson, Jermaine Jones, Sebastian Lletget, Darlington Nagbe, Dax McCarty, Christian Pulisic
F (4): Clint Dempsey, Jordan Morris, Jozy Altidore, Bobby Wood
