Dempsey, Altidore, Bradley headline USA's CONCACAF Gold Cup roster
Captain Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley headline the USA's 23-man CONCACAF Gold Cup roster, which was released Tuesday afternoon by U.S. Soccer.
Dempsey, suspended by MLS for three games for his antics in a U.S. Open Cup match earlier this month, will be eligible to return to action in time for the USA's final pre-Gold Cup friendly against Guatemala on July 3. He hasn't played for the U.S. since a Feb. 8 friendly vs. Panama, one of the Americans' Group A opponents.
Manager Jurgen Klinsmann's 12 cuts from the 35-man provisional roster are: goalkeeper Bill Hamid; defenders DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Orozco, Brek Shea, Matt Besler and Greg Garza; midfielders Lee Nguyen, Perry Kitchen and Joe Corona; and forwards Juan Agudelo, Jordan Morris and Alan Gordon.
Beasley had offered to come out of international retirement for the Gold Cup, and he could still ultimately be called in, as teams can make up to six roster changes between the group and knockout stage of the tournament. The same goes for Shea, who scored the match-winning goal in the 2013 final against Panama in Chicago.
The USA is aiming to win its second straight Gold Cup, and if it does, it will automatically qualify for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. Should another nation win, the USA would go to a playoff for the Confederations Cup berth. In addition to Panama, the USA plays Haiti and Honduras in group play.
Here is the U.S. roster in full:
GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), William Yarbrough (Club Leon)
DEFENDERS: Ventura Alvarado (Club America), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Tim Ream (Bolton Wanderers)
MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt), DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham Hotspur), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
