Houston Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis has been named to the United States national team 30-man preliminary roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, it was announced today.
Davis will join the national team in Palo Alto, Calif. for a training camp beginning Wednesday 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.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Davis. “This is just another step closer to making the final 23 (man roster) to go to Brazil. A lot of hard work is coming, but I know I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m going to do absolutely everything that I possibly can to be on the final 23.”
Davis and his U.S. teammates will compete for a place on the final 23-man roster, which must be submitted by June 2. The U.S. opens the 2014 FIFA World Cup on June 16 against Ghana.
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.’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 enters camp in good form, recording a goal or an assist in each of his last six appearances (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.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (11): DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Nürnberg), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Parkhurst (Columbus Crew), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
MIDFIELDERS (10): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Maurice Edu (Philadelphia Union), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jones (Besiktas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
