U.S. team to be at full strength when Brazil visits Soldier Field
Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Clint Dempsey lead a full-strength roster picked by U.S. coach Bob Bradley for Sunday's exhibition game against Brazil at Soldier Field.
Ten of the 11 players who started in the Americans' 1-0 loss at Sweden on Aug. 22 were selected, with Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein the lone player dropped from the 19-man roster announced Monday. Thirteen of the players were on this year's roster that won the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and 14 of the 19 are based in Europe.
Kansas City forwards Eddie Johnson and Davy Arnaud were among five players added, along with Salt Lake goalkeeper Chris Seitz, Hansa Rostock defender Heath Pearce and Sheffield Wednesday defender Frank Simek. Johnson leads Major League Soccer with 14 goals this season; Arnaud and Seitz have never played for the national team.
Dropped, along with Bornstein, were Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann and forwards Charlie Davies (Hammarby), Kamani Hill (Wolfsburg) and Sal Zizzo (Hannover). Also picked was 1860 Munich forward Josh Wolff, who was on the initial roster to face Sweden but was dropped for personal reasons.
Wolff, Beasley and defender Carlos Bocanegra are former members of the Chicago Fire.
Brazil, a five-time World Cup champion and the world's top-ranked team, has announced a roster that includes Ronaldinho, FIFA player of the year in 2004 and 2005, and Kaka, a strong contender for this year's award.
Brazil, the South American champion, is getting ready for the start of World Cup qualifying on Oct. 16 at Colombia. It hosts Ecuador four days later, ending a streak of 28 consecutive road games since October 2005, when it completed qualifying for the 2006 World Cup.
The United States is 1-11 against Brazil, its only victory a 1-0 win in February 1998 during the Gold Cup in Los Angeles. Brazil won the last meeting, 2-1 in overtime during the 2003 Gold Cup on goals by Diego and Kaka.
The United States, ranked 17th, enters on its first four-game losing streak since 1997.
Also Monday, Spain's football federation refused to recognize the United States' Oct. 14 exhibition game against Catalonia in Barcelona.
"There's an agreement between clubs and the league that all games played by autonomous selections have to be played during Christmas holidays since it doesn't leave the clubs in a tough spot and the players don't risk injury," federation spokesman Jorge Carretero said.
The U.S. Soccer Federation declined comment.