Donovan and Dempsey headline U.S. roster

CHICAGO (AP)

Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey head a 24-man roster as the United States brings in most of its top players for exhibition games against Argentina and Paraguay.

Players will start gathering Sunday in Cary, N.C., for training. The U.S. plays Argentina on March 26 in East Rutherford, N.J., and Paraguay three days later in Nashville, Tenn.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Sat., Jun. 4

Brazil 0-0 Netherlands | Recap
USA 0-4 Spain | Recap
Czech Rep. 0-0 Peru

Sun., Jun. 5

Poland 2-1 Argentina | Recap
Australia 3-0 New Zealand | Recap
Bolivia 0-2 Paraguay
China 1-0 Uzbekistan

Mon., Jun. 6

Ukraine 1-4 France | Recap

Tue., Jun. 7

Australia 0-0 Serbia | Recap
Japan 0-0 Czech Rep. | Recap
S. Korea 2-1 Ghana | Recap
Brazil 1-0 Romania | Recap
Venezuela 0-3 Spain | Recap
Italy 0-2 Ireland | Recap
Ecuador 1-1 Greece | Recap
Paraguay 0-0 Bolivia
Norway 1-0 Lithuania
Russia 0-0 Cameroon

Wed., Jun. 8

Uruguay 1-1 Netherlands | Recap
China 2-0 N. Korea

 

Three players with no previous national team experience were selected Wednesday by U.S. coach Bob Bradley: Nuremberg defender Timothy Chandler, Duisburg goalkeeper David Yelldell and Norwich defender Zak Whitbread.

Goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann and defender Jay DeMerit were selected for the first time since the World Cup. Donovan and Dempsey had not been picked together since the tournament in South Africa last June.

Just four players were picked from Major League Soccer: Donovan, DeMerit, New York defender Tim Ream and forward Juan Agudelo.

Eight players are based in England, four in Germany, and one each in Belgium, Denmark, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland and Turkey.

The U.S. is preparing for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, where it has first-round matches against Canada on June 7 at Detroit, Panama four days later at Tampa, Fla., and Guadeloupe on June 14 at Kansas City, Kan.

Argentina, led by two-time FIFA player of the year Lionel Messi, and Paraguay are getting ready for the Copa America. Argentina hosts South America's championship, which starts July 1.

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England), David Yelldell (Duisburg, Germany)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne, France), Jonathan Bornstein (UANL Tigres, Mexico), Timothy Chandler (Nuremberg, Germany), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Vancouver), Oguchi Onyewu (Twente, Netherlands), Tim Ream (New York), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England), Zak Whitbread (Norwich, England)

Midfielders: Michael Bradley (Aston Villa, England), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Mikkel Diskeruud (Stabaek, Norway), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus, Denmark), Stuart Holden (Bolton, England), Jermaine Jones (Blackburn, England), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht, Belgium)

Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New York), Jozy Altidore (Bursaspor, Turkey), Edson Buddle (Ingolstadt, Germany)