CHICAGO (AP)—German-born defender Alfredo Morales and midfielder Fabian Johnson were among 22 players selected Thursday for the U.S. roster for upcoming games at France and Slovenia and could make their national team debuts.
Morales, a 21-year-old with Hertha Berlin, also is eligible to play for Peru, where his father was born. His father became a U.S. citizen, and Morales holds an American passport. He made his debut for Hertha Berlin last December and can play right back or defensive midfield.
“We are excited to introduce Alfredo Morales to the U.S. team,” coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. “I have spoken with his coach at Hertha Berlin and he is full of compliments. He is on the way to being a starter there.”
Johnson, a 23-year-old with Hoffenheim, started for Germany in the final of the Under-21 European Championship two years ago and switched allegiance to the United States in August. He didn’t play in September while awaiting FIFA clearance and missed October exhibitions because of a neck and back injury.
“He’s been getting back into a flow of playing games,” Klinsmann said.
They join fellow German-Americans Timmy Chandler, Jermaine Jones and Danny Williams on the roster, the fourth announced by Klinsmann since he replaced Bob Bradley as coach in July.
The Americans play France at Saint-Denis outside Paris on Nov. 11, then face Slovenia at Ljubljana four days later in a rematch of their meeting in the first round of last year’s World Cup.
Players involved in the MLS Cup final will be allowed to return to their clubs after the game against France.
Forwards Juan Agudelo and Teal Bunbury were bypassed and will train with the Under-23 team as it prepares for Olympic qualifying.
“Both right now are in a challenging position with the full team because of players ahead of them,” Klinsmann said. “Our thought is that if they are not in the starting lineup for us, this is a great opportunity to get an introduction with the Under-23 team. … It’s a good message to Juan and Teal that this is your age group, and they can now be challenged in different ways.”
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Everton, England)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg, Germany), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Clarence Goodson (Brondby, Denmark), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis, Mexico), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon, Portugal)
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona, Italy), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim, Germany), Jermaine Jones (Schalke, Germany), Robbie Rogers (Columbus), Brek Shea (Dallas), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim, Germany)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (AZ Aklmaar, Netherlands), DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla, Mexico), Edson Buddle (Ingolstadt, Germany), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles)
import from: http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-usroster
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