Sporting Kansas City’s Matt Besler, Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi were named to the U.S. Men’s National Team on Sunday for the country’s final two World Cup qualifying matches in CONCACAF’s Hexagonal.
Besler, Feilhaber and Zusi will join head coach Bruce Arena’s 26-man squad ahead of Friday’s all-important showdown with Panama at Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, broadcast live at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2, Univision and UDN. The Americans will then travel to face Trinidad & Tobago next Tuesday, Oct. 10, in their Hexagonal finale at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, set for 7 p.m. CT on beIN SPORTS and Universo.
The U.S. MNT currently occupies fourth place in the Hexagonal standings, one point behind Friday’s opponent Panama. The top three finishers will advance automatically to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia next summer, while the fourth-place team will face either Australia or Syria in a two-legged playoff in November with a World Cup berth on the line.
Wins over Panama and Trinidad & Tobago would ensure the U.S. a top-three finish and an eighth consecutive World Cup appearance.
Team |
PTS |
W |
L |
D |
GF |
GA |
GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mexico (Q) |
18 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
11 |
3 |
+8 |
Costa Rica |
15 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
12 |
5 |
+7 |
Panama |
10 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
5 |
+2 |
United States |
9 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
12 |
11 |
+1 |
Honduras |
9 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
9 |
16 |
-7 |
Trinidad and Tobago |
3 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
4 |
15 |
-11 |
As integral members of Sporting KC’s defense, Besler and Zusi have featured regularly for the U.S. MNT throughout 2017. The duo helped the Americans win the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup in July and joined the squad again last month for World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras.
Feilhaber, meanwhile, has the opportunity to make his first World Cup qualifying appearance since October 2009. Arena previously selected Feilhaber to the U.S. squad for January Camp at the start of 2017 — the first time the Sporting KC midfielder was summoned for international duty since 2014 — where he competed in friendlies against Serbia and Jamaica.
The 32-year-old Feilhaber logged 38 of his 43 career caps between 2007 and 2010. He scored the game-winning goal on a spectacular volley in the 2007 Gold Cup final and competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He then helped lead the U.S. to the final of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup before playing three matches at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Now in his seventh MLS campaign and his fifth with Sporting KC, Feilhaber has amassed 33 goals and 56 assists in 177 games for Sporting KC across all competitions. He has five goals and six assists this season — including three assists in the club’s run to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title — and was Sporting KC’s 2016 Offensive Player of the Year after being named an MLS MVP finalist in 2015.
Besler, 30, has earned 45 caps for the U.S. MNT since debuting in 2013. He won his first of two Gold Cup titles in 2013 and started all four games at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He has made six starts throughout the 2018 World Cup qualifying cycle and scored his first international goal in a win at St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Sept. 2, 2016 — the same day his daughter Parker was born in Kansas City. The center back also featured twice at the 2016 Copa America last summer.
A native of Overland Park, Kansas, Besler has spent his entire professional career with Sporting KC. The 2009 MLS SuperDraft selection ranks fourth in team history with 266 appearances in all competitions, including 27 games this season as team captain. In addition to helping his hometown club win the 2013 MLS Cup and three U.S. Open Cup titles, the Notre Dame product has landed MLS Best XI (2012-13), MLS All-Star (2011, 2013-16) and 2012 MLS Defender of the Year accolades.
Zusi, 31, has made 55 international appearances as a versatile contributor for the U.S. MNT since 2012, tallying five goals and seven assists. He assisted two goals in four games at the 2014 FIFA World Cup before competing in his first Gold Cup a year later. Zusi played in all five matches at the 2016 Copa America — scoring in a group stage win over Costa Rica — and has appeared in eight games during 2018 World Cup qualifying.
Like Besler, Zusi joined Sporting KC in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft and has represented no other club during his nine-year professional career. The University of Maryland product has garnered MLS All-Star (2012-15, 2017), MLS Best XI (2012-13) and 2011 MLS Breakout Player of the Year honors as a three-time Open Cup champion and 2013 MLS Cup winner. He has totaled 29 goals and 69 assists in 252 appearances for Sporting KC in all competitions, ranking second on the club’s all-time assist chart. Zusi has a team-best nine assists in 2017 and leads all MLS defenders in chances created.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; WCQ Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 15/0), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids; 37/0), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake; 0/0)
DEFENDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo; 35/6), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 12/1), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/ENG; 24/2), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX; 16/0), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana/MEX; 6/1), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 6/0), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna/MEX; 4/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United/ENG; (8/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City; 20/3)
MIDFIELDERS (10): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; 5/0), Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution; 0/0), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 5/1), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 9/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/CAN; 38/7), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City; 6/0), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers; 9/0), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 11/5), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy; 4/1)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC/CAN; 39/16), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC; 41/18), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Bobby Wood (Hamburg/GER; 12/4)
