U.S. U-23 MNT facing Brazil tonight in international friendly

(Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team is in Recife, Brazil to play its first of two friendlies against the traditional South American soccer power. The teams square off today at 6 p.m. ET in the Ilha do Retiro Stadium in Recife and the game will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports Go.

Head coach Andi Herzog has called 19 players to Recife for the pair of matches. After the game in Recife the teams will travel north to Belém, Brazil for the second head-to-head which kicks off at 3 p.m. ET on Nov. 15. The game will be available on FOX Sports 2 and FOX Sports Go.

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It’s been just over a year since the team’s last met in Oct. 2014 for a friendly that was played in Brasilia. A Seleção defeated the MNT 3-0 in that game. Six USA players that were with the team for that trip return to Brazil this time around.

Roster by Position: Detailed Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Cody Cropper (MK Dons; Maple Grove, Minn.), Charlie Horton (Leeds United; Cleveland, Ohio), Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City; Leawood, Kan.)
DEFENDERS (7): John Brooks (Hertha BSC; Berlin, Germany), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur; Westcliff on Sea, England), Eric Miller (Montreal Impact; Woodbury, Minn.), Shane O’Neill (Royal Mouscron; Boulder, Colo.), Boyd Okwuonu (Real Salt Lake; Edmund, Okla.), Dave Romney (LA Galaxy; Irvine, Calif.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Julian Green (Bayern Munich; Tampa, Fla.), Alejandro Guido (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire; Milwaukee, Wisc.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Gedion Zelalem (Rangers; Bethesda, Md.)
FORWARDS (3): Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart; Berlin, Germany), Khiry Shelton (New York City FC; Leander, Tex.), Maki Tall (FC Sion; Washington, D.C.)

Additional Notes:

• Making his way back from injury, John Brooks joins the U-23 MNT for the first time in 2015. The Bundesliga defender started in 10 matches for the senior MNT this year and scored in the senior team’s comeback victory against then sixth-ranked Netherlands in June.
• Julian Green joins the team for the first time since the team won third place at the Toulon Tournament after defeating England 2-1 on July 7.
• Jerome Kiesewetter and Boyd Okwuono have both played in 14 of the 15 games the U-23s have played this year, leading the team in caps and appearances for 2015.
• At 17-years-old, defender Cameron Carter-Vickers is the youngest player on the roster. The U-21 Tottenham Hotspur captain made his first appearance with the U-23 MNT in last year’s match against Brazil and was also included during the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in October when he scored his first goal for the U-23s and played every minute of the competition for the USA.
• Cody Cropper was unavailable for the Olympic Qualifying tournament as he was recovering from injury. The MK Dons backstop returns for this camp having started five games for the U-23’s in 2015, including a shutout in the USA’s 3-0 win against Mexico in April.
• This is the first international call-up for Dave Romney to any U.S. Youth National Team. He is a product of the LA Galaxy Academy program.
• Jon Kempin joins the U-23 after playing for both the U-18 and U-20 teams in past years. This is also his first call-up to a U.S. National Team since being called into January Camp with the senior team earlier this year.
• So far this year, the U-23 MNT has only given up 15 goals in 15 games and managed to put away 33 goals against opponents. Kiesewetter leads the team with five goals.
• Sixteen players on the current roster have played at least one game for the U-23s in 2015.
• The roster is made up of a diverse mix of players from clubs around the world. Nine players represent MLS clubs, three play in England, three in Germany, and a player each from Mexico, Belgium, Scotland and Switzerland.

Brazil U-23 Men’s National Team
Association: CONMEBOL
Head Coach: Rogerio Micale
Best Olympic Finish: Silver Medal, three times (Most Recent: 2012, London)

Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Ederson (Benfica), Uilisson (Atletico Mineiro)
DEFENDERS (4): Lucao (Sao Paulo FC), Marlon (Fluminense), Doria (Granada), Rodrifo Ely (AC Milan)
OUSTIDE (4): Jorge (Flamengo), Fabinho (Monaco), Zeca (Santos FC), Wendell (Bayer Leverkusen)
MIDFIELDERS/FORWARDS (12): Fred (Shaktar Donetsk), Gabriel Jesus (Palmeiras), Lucas Silva (Marseille), Rodrigo Caio (Sao Paulo FC), Walace (Gremio), Valdivia (Internacional), Felipe Anderson (Lazio), Grabriel (Santos FC), Luan (Gremio), Kenedy (Chelsea), Gustavo Scarpa (Fluminese) Vinicius Arujo (Cuzeiro)

Additional Notes:

• While in this match Brazil will be managed by Rogerio Micale. It was announced earlier this year that National Team head coach Dunga would lead the Olympic Team as it hosts the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Dunga was a former Brazilian midfielder and 1994 World Cup Champion.
• Brazil reached the Gold Medal match in the 2012 Olympics in London, but was defeated by U.S.-rival Mexico 2-1.
• Wendell set up the loan goal for Brazil against France in the team’s last game crossing in a beautiful ball that ended in a France own goal.