Sporting Kansas City captain Matt Besler and homegrown goalkeeper Jon Kempin are among 23 players on the United States Men's National Team travel roster, announced today by U.S. Soccer, for an international friendly against Chile on Wednesday, Jan. 28 (5 p.m. CT on FOX Sports 1, UniMas and UDN). Both players have been a part of the U.S. MNT January Camp since it's start on Jan. 12 and the Sporting KC duo is expected to remain with the national team through the camp's completion on Sunday, Feb. 8 when the United States plays Panama at StubHub Center in Carson, California (3 p.m. CT on ESPN, UniMas, UDN).
Besler has made 23 international appearances for the United States since his debut during the January Camp in 2013. The 27-year-old central defender led the national team with 11 starts in 2014, including starting roles in all four games at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
An Overland Park, Kansas native, Besler has made 161 appearances in MLS competition (including postseason) over six seasons since being selected in the first round of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft out of Notre Dame. He is a three-time MLS All-Star (2011, 2013, 2014) and has twice been named to the MLS Best XI (2012, 2013) to go along with an MLS Defender of the Year honor in 2012.
Kempin, 21, is part of the full U.S. Men's National Team for the first time in his career after previously representing the United States at the Under-14 through Under-23 levels and attending the U.S. Soccer Residency Program from 2008-2009. The Leawood, Kansas native was most recently a member of the U.S. Under-21 Men's National Team during a breakthrough 2014 campaign in which he made his MLS debut. In doing so, he became the youngest at his position to play in Major League Soccer since 2012 and also entered the record books as the youngest goalkeeper to start an MLS match in club history. Kempin earned back-to-back MLS Save of the Week honors in his first two appearances and was named MVP of the 2014 MLS Chipotle Homegrown Game.
He also appeared in the Champions Shield friendly against the English Premier League's Manchester City, one of six total appearances for the club last season (4 MLS, 1 CCL, 1 friendly) while also spending time on loan at USL PRO affiliate OKC Energy FC. Kempin, a product of the Sporting KC Academy and the team's first homegrown player signing at age 17, now enters his sixth professional season in 2015. He made his competitive debut during the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and helped Orlando City SC claim the USL PRO Championship in 2013, making 34 saves in nine games while on loan with the Lions.
The United States - No. 27 in the latest FIFA rankings - will open their 2015 schedule against No. 14 ranked Chile on Wednesday at Estadio El Teniente in Rancagua. Both teams participated in the 2014 FIFA World Cup last summer and will also take part in the Copa America Centenario USA 2016. The U.S. is unbeaten in their last four games against Chile dating back to 1995 (3-4-2 all-time).
Jurgen Klinsmann's squad will then return to Carson, California to host CONCACAF rivals Panama -- ranked No. 55 in the world -- in a rematch of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup final. The U.S. is 11-1-2 all-time against Panama, most recently earning a dramatic 3-2 come-from-behind victory during World Cup qualifying in October 2013 as Sporting KC midfielder Graham Zusi scored one of the United States' two goals in stoppage time.
