Bruce Arena lifts lid on part of U.S. men's national team's January camp roster
The U.S. men's national team's January camp isn't slated to kick off for another few weeks, but Bruce Arena is shedding some light on who will be involved.
In a Facebook Live Q&A on Friday, Arena said that in addition to "many of the typical faces," MLS standouts Benny Feilhaber, Juan Agudelo, Darlington Nagbe, Dax McCarty, Keegan Rosenberry, Chris Pontius, Matt Hedges and Walker Zimmerman would all be called in for the camp that is traditionally MLS-heavy, given that it falls during the league's off-season while other leagues are in season.
Arena also indicated that Vancouver Whitecaps' Gambia-born Kekuta Manneh would get a look, if he's healthy. Manneh, 21, has been living in Point Roberts, Washington, just over the border from Canada, in an effort to acquire his U.S. citizenship. He has 22 goals and 12 assists in 98 games across four seasons with Vancouver, but he didn't play after suffering a foot injury that required surgery in July.
Arena also added that DaMarcus Beasley, who came out of international retirement for the 2015 Gold Cup, is also going to be tabbed for the camp, highlighting the lack of depth at left back.
Arena made mention of Clint Dempsey, reiterating his comments made on the night of MLS Cup that Dempsey, who has been out while combating an irregular heartbeat, would be brought into camp and assessed. The goal would be bringing Dempsey along slowly with the hopes of him being ready for the start of MLS season and the March World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Panama.
The U.S. will play Serbia in San Diego on Jan. 29 in the first of two friendlies to conclude the camp, which will be Arena's only matches in charge prior to the two World Cup qualifiers
The U.S. sits in last place in the CONCACAF Hexagonal, with an 0-2-0 record following losses at home to Mexico and at Costa Rica.
