Real Salt Lake DF Eddie Pope was named to the U.S. Men's National Team's 23-man roster announced today by Head Coach Bruce Arena on ESPN's SportsCenter. The selection marks Pope's third trip to the FIFA World Cup Finals after being named to the USMNT roster in 1998 (France) and 2002 (Korea/Japan). In his USMNT career, the 32-year old Pope has earned 78 caps with 8 goals as the anchor of the defense. The Rocky Point, N.C. native notched his eighth career U.S. goal in the 5-0 rout of Norway on January 29.
Pope and his RSL teammate, Costa Rican MF Douglas Sequeira, play their final home match for Real Salt Lake prior to reporting to their respective national team camps this Saturday, May 6 at 7:00 p.m. MT at Rice-Eccles Stadium against the Columbus Crew. While Pope will report to the USMNT camp on May 10, Sequeira will be available for the RSL's road clash with the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. on Saturday, May 13 at 8:30 p.m. MT, live on Fox Sports Net Utah.
The U.S. men begin preparations for Germany on May 10 in Cary, NC. The team will play three games leading up to their first match versus the Czech Republic on June 12. The U.S. will face Morocco in Nashville, Tenn. on May 23, Venezuela in Cleveland, Ohio on May 26 and Latvia on May 28 in East Hartford, Conn. All three games will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and tape-delayed on Telemundo.
RSL MF Chris Klein narrowly missed selection by Arena today, instead being named as one of 13 alternates for the 2006 squad which will travel to Germany. Klein notched two goals and two assists for the U.S. through six games in 303 minutes of play for the MNT in 2006. The 30-year old tallied a goal and two assists to lead the U.S. to a 4-0 rout over Guatemala on February 19 while earning man of the match honors, and also scored in the in the 5-0 win over Norway on February 29.
The U.S. departs on June 1 for Germany, playing their opening match of Group E against the Czechs in Gelsenkirchen on June 12 before meeting Italy in Kaiserslautern on June 17 and then finishing off the initial group stage against Ghana on June 22 in Nuremberg. The U.S. has chosen the northern port city of Hamburg as their national team base throughout the quadrennial tournament. The U.S. will submit its 23-man roster to FIFA on May 15.
The full team includes the following:
Goalkeepers (3) - Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC), Tim Howard (Manchester United), Kasey Keller (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Defenders (8) - Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Cory Gibbs (ADO den Haag), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Eddie Lewis (Leeds United), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake)
Midfielders (8) - DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), John O'Brien (Chivas USA), Ben Olsen (D.C. United), Claudio Reyna (Manchester City)
Forwards (4) - Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Brian McBride (Fulham FC), Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards)
U.S. Men's National Team Alternates List - 2006 FIFA World Cup
Goalkeepers (2): Tony Meola (New York Red Bulls), Matt Reis (New England Revolution)
Defenders (3): Chris Albright (Los Angeles Galaxy), Gregg Berhalter (Energie Cottbus), Todd Dunivant (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Midfielders (5): Chris Armas (Chicago Fire), Chris Klein (Real Salt Lake), Pat Noonan (New England Revolution), Steve Ralston (New England Revolution), Kerry Zavagnin (Kansas City Wizards)
Forwards (3): Conor Casey (FSV Mainz), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)
