USMNT completes Copa America prep tonight with friendly vs. Bolivia

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Men’s National Team completes its series of friendlies in preparation for Copa America Centenario when they host Bolivia in Kansas City, Kan. on May 28 at Children’s Mercy Park. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast live on FS1, UniMas and Univision Deportes Network.

It’s been more than 17 years since these teams have played, with the MNT still in search of it’s first win in the series, having gone 0-2-4 in six all-time meetings with Bolivia. Their most recent contest resulted in a scoreless draw on Jan. 24, 1999 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The teams have played once in official competition, in Uruguay during the 1995 Copa America. Although Bolivia won the match 1-0, the United States would go on to win Group C and reach the semifinals for its best finish at the tournament.

The U.S. defeated Ecuador 1-0 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas on Wednesday night thanks to Darlington Nagbe’s 90th minute volley, marking his first international goal in his sixth cap. Nagbe’s strike denotes the fourth time the U.S. has scored in the 89th minute or later through six matches this year. Brad Guzan recorded his 14th career shutout and second of 2016.

MNT COPA AMERICA CENTENARIO ROSTER : In total, 21 of 23 players on the U.S. roster for Copa America Centenario are available for this match, with the exception of Ethan Horvath and Edgar Castillo, who will join the team in San Jose, Calif. next week. Goalkeeper William Yarbrough, who joined the team in Frisco, is with the team in Horvath’s place, but unavailable for the tournament. The MNT applied for Castillo to replace Timmy Chandler on the roster due to a right hamstring strain. Castillo is expected to join the team after the second leg of Sunday’s Liga MX final featuring Monterrey and Pachuca.

COPA KICK OFF SIX DAYS AWAY: The U.S. MNT is set to take on Colombia in the opening match of the Copa America Centenario on Friday, June 3 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on FS1, UniMas and Univision Deportes Network. The U.S. is 3-10-4 in 17 all-time meetings with Colombia. Los Cafeteros defeated the U.S. 2-1 in their most recent meeting on Nov. 21, 2014 in London, England. The MNT’s last victory against Colombia came in a 3-0 win in Fullerton, Calif. on March 9, 2005.

U.S. Men’s National Team Roster by Postion:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids), William Yarbrough (Club Leon)
DEFENDERS (7): Matt Besler (Sporting KC), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moencengladbach), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham)
MIDFIELDERS/FORWARDS (12): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids), Perry Kitchen (Heart of Midlothian), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (Hamburg), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy), Graham Zusi (Sporting KC)

• Fourteen players were apart on the team to make the Round of 16 in the 2014 World Cup: Kyle Beckerman, Alejandro Bedoya, Matt Besler, Michael Bradley, John Brooks, Geoff Cameron, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Fabian Johnson, Jermaine Jones, Chris Wondolowski, DeAndre Yedlin and Graham Zusi all played important minutes in Brazil while Brad Guzan was the always reliable backup at goalkeeper.
• MLS and the German domestic leagues predominately make up the 24 players on this roster. 12 players feature in MLS and five players participate in either the Bundesliga or 2. Bundesliga. In addition, three players hail from the English Premier League.
• Clint Dempsey is the leading cap-winner on the roster with 123 appearances. His 49 career goals are good for second on the USA’s all-time scoring list.
• Bobby Wood finished the 2. Bundesliga season with 17 league goals for Union Berlin, setting a single-season record for a U.S. international in Germany. His performance led to a May 15 transfer to Hamburg SV in the German Bundesliga.
• Brad Guzan boasts a 11-4-4 record in official competition for the United States, which includes matches in World Cup Qualifying, the FIFA Confederations Cup, the Gold Cup and Copa America.
• Fabian Johnson completed the Bundesliga campaign with Borussia Monchengladbach with six goals, including two in the Champions League. ‘Gladbach finished the season in fourth place and earned a spot in Champions League qualifying for next year.
• Alejandro Bedoya finished the second half of the Ligue 1 season with four goals and two assists for Nantes.
• Geoff Cameron completed the year with 30 appearances for Stoke City, helping the club finish in the top half of the Premier League.
• DeAndre Yedlin capped off a successful loan spell at Sunderland by helping the Black Cats retain their place in the Premier League. Having spent 237 days in the relegation zone, the team secured another year in the top flight on the second-to-last matchday of the season.
• After extending his contract with Hertha Berlin, John Brooks dealt with nagging injuries at the end of the campaign. The capital club finished in seventh place, meaning the road to the Europa League will begin with qualifying in late July.
• Tim Howard joins the squad after having played his final match as a member of Everton. Having ended his 10-year career at the club, he will join the Colorado Rapids following the Copa America Centenario.
• Kyle Beckerman has played in six competitions for the senior team. He and Guzan are the only two players on the roster to have participated in a previous Copa America, having played in the 2007 edition.
• Jermaine Jones is back in the U.S. fold after a fine run of form with his new club. Since joining the Rapids, he has tallied three goals in seven games.
• Chris Wondolowski sits in fourth place on the MLS scoring charts this season, his seven goals are just one behind the league leaders.
• Gyasi Zardes recorded a team-high 19 appearances in 2015.
• Christian Pulisic is the youngest player in the squad at 17 years old. He made his senior team debut in the 4-0 win against Guatemala in World Cup Qualifying in March. After breaking into Dortmund’s first team in January, he scored against Hamburg in April, becoming the fourth youngest player to score a Bundesliga goal. He also made three appearances in Dortmund’s run to the Europa League quarterfinals.
• Steve Birnbaum has earned four of his five career caps this year. His first career goal proved to be the game-winner in the 3-2 victory against Iceland, then he earned his first World Cup Qualifying start against Guatemala in Columbus.
• Perry Kitchen made the most of his winter move to Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premier League, appearing in all 10 of the club’s league matches following his arrival in March.
• Sporting KC and Colorado Rapids each send two players to the squad, both World Cup veteran duos in Matt Besler and Graham Zusi, and Howard and Jones.
• The United States has played six games in 2016, and seven of the 10 USA scorers are on the roster.
• Five players from the state of California are on the roster: Birnbaum, Michael Orozco, Wondolowski, Wood and Zardes.

USA vs. ECUADOR

• The MNT is 0-4-2 in six all-time meetings with Bolivia. The two sides last met in 1999, a 0-0 draw at Stadio de Tahuichi in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
• Cobi Jones became the first American to score against Bolivia in a 1-1 draw at the U.S. Soccer Federation’s Robbie Cup in February 1994. Barely more than two months later, Hugo Perez scored twice against Bolivia in Dallas for a 2-2 draw.

BOLIVIA COPA AMERICA CENTENARIO ROSTER BY POSITION:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Carlos Lampe (Sport Boys, BOL), Rómel Quiñónez (Bolívar, BOL), Guillermo Viscarra (Oriente Petrolero, BOL)

DEFENDERS (7): Diego Bejarano (The Strongest, BOL), Marvin Bejarano (Oriente Petrolero, BOL), Nelson Cabrera (Bolívar, BOL), Ronald Eguino (Bolívar, BOL), Luis Gutiérrez (Ironi Kiryat Shmona, ISR), Mario Saavedra (Bolívar, BOL), Edward Zenteno (Wilstermann, BOL)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Pedro Azogue (Oriente Petrolero, BOL), Jhasmani Campos (Kazma, KUW), Raúl Castro (The Strongest, BOL), Samuel Galindo (Petrolero, BOL), Cristhian Machado (Wilstermann, BOL), Alejandro Meleán (Oriente Petrolero, BOL), Fernando Saucedo (Wilstermann, BOL), Martín Smedberg-Dalence (Goteborg, SWE), Wálter Veizaga (The Strongest, BOL)

FORWARDS (4): Juan Carlos Arce (Bolívar, BOL), Yasmani Duk (New York Cosmos, USA), Bruno Miranda (Universidad de Chile, CHI), Rodrigo Ramallo (The Strongest, BOL)

• Bolivia is led by head coach Julio César Baldivieso. A member of the 1994 World Cup Bolivian side, he was hired in August 2015 after having previously coached at a handful of Bolivian clubs and most recently Universidad de Sucre.
• La Verde is ninth in CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying with three points through six matches. Their lone win came against Venezuela on Nov. 12, 2015 in a 4-2 triumph.
• Bolivia began last year’s Copa America with a scoreless draw against Mexico and 3-2 win against Ecuador to advance to the knockout stage before falling to Peru 3-1 in the quarterfinals.
• La Verde won Copa America in 1963 and was runners up in 1997.
• Bolivia will kickoff Group D action at the Copa America Centenario on June 6 vs. Panama at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. before taking on Chile on June 10 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. and completing the group round on June 14th against Argentina at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash.

LAST MEETING

Date: January 24, 1999
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Ramon Tahuchi Aguilera Stadium (Santa Cruz, Bolivia)
Kickoff: 5 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. local
Attendance: 39,000 (capacity)
Weather: 90 degrees, humid

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA                        0 0 0
BOL                        0 0 0

Lineups:
USA: 1-Tony Meola, 4-Robin Fraser, 12-Jeff Agoos, 23-Eddie Pope (C.J. Brown, 64), 7-Eddie Lewis (6-Imad Baba, 75), 14-Chris Armas, 21-Claudio Reyna (Capt.), 13-Cobi Jones, 8-Jovan Kirovski, 20-Brian McBride, 9-Joe-Max Moore (10-Roy Lassiter, 68).

BOL: 1-Jose Carlo Fernandez, 7-Sergio Castillo, 3-Eduardo Jiguchi, 5-Ronald Arana, 4-Lorgio Alvarez, 8-Ruben Tufino (Capt.), 6-Raul Justiniano, 20-Raul Gutierrez (13-Luis Liendo, 45), 10-Mauricio Ramos (17-Gonzalo Galindo, 68), 9-Jefferson Gottardi (22-Juan Berthy Suarez, 68), 11-Limberg Gutierrez (21-Roger Suarez, 68)