Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis has been named to the United States national team 23-man roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, it was announced today.
Davis is currently with the national team in Palo Alto, Calif. for a pre-World Cup training camp at Stanford University. The Unites States will play three friendlies ahead of the World Cup: May 27 vs. Azerbaijan at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, June 1 vs. Turkey at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. and June 7 vs. Nigeria at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
The U.S. opens the 2014 FIFA World Cup on June 16 against Ghana, then faces Portugal on June 22 and Germany on June 26.
Davis, 32, has earned 14 caps with the U.S. men’s national team, including five appearances last year in qualifying matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Dynamo captain provided two assists in the U.S.’ final qualifying match against Panama last October to secure a first place finish in the region.
This year, Davis has started both national team matches held in the U.S., beginning with a 2-0 friendly win over Korea Republic on Feb. 1 in which he earned an assist. Davis started and played 59 minutes in the national team’s most recent game, a 2-2 draw with Mexico on April 2.
The 13-year MLS veteran entered camp in good form, recording a goal or an assist in each of his last six appearances for the Dynamo (five assists, one goal). The St. Charles, Mo. native is tied for second in MLS win five assists this season. Davis, a six-time MLS All-Star, is fifth on the MLS all-time assist list with 106 and 14th on the all-time games list with 321 appearances. The midfielder has 66 assists since the start of the 2009 season, the most in MLS during that span.
2014 FIFA WORLD CUP – U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3):Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (8):DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Nürnberg), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
MIDFIELDERS (8):Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jones (Besiktas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (4):Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
