Chicago (AFP) – US national team coach Bruce Arena named a 23-player roster Sunday for next month’s Gold Cup, using the North American championship to evaluate talent for next year’s World Cup.

A squad dominated by talent from Major League Soccer features 13 players with less than 10 caps, four of them making their first appearance at a US team training camp.

“Anytime you’re in the midst of World Cup qualifying and very close to not only qualifying, but being at a World Cup a year later, you have to have a competitive environment,” Arena said. 

“These players will push to position themselves to be a big part of things moving forward.”

Only three European-based players were selected, Chelsea defender Matt Miazga, Nottingham Forest defender Eric Lichaj and uncapped midfielder Kenny Saief of Gent.

Most Americans coming off the European season were used in World Cup qualifiers earlier this month, recording a 2-0 home win over Trinidad and Tobago and a 1-1 draw at Mexico to stand third in the six-team CONCACAF qualifying group with four matches to play. The top three teams claim automatic berths to Russia next year.

Arena took over the American team for a second time  after last year’s firing of ex-Germany star Jurgen Klinsmann after the Americans lost their first two qualifiers. The US has since won twice and drawn twice under Arena.

New England’s Juan Agudelo and Seattle’s Jordan Morris are joined by Kansas City newcomer Dom Dwyer in attack while Brad Guzan, with 54 caps, offers the most experience at goalkeeper.

Experienced defenders include Kansas City’s Matt Besler, Mexico-based Omar Gonzalez of Pachuca and Kansas City’s Graham Zusi while veteran midfielders Alejandro Bedoya of Philadelphia and Gyasi Zardes of Los Angeles are also included.

In all, 12 players on the roster have been part of the US World Cup qualifying effort.

“It’s a good roster with a nice blend of experienced, veteran players and a good group of newcomers as well,” Arena said. “There’s good balance at every position. We can play a number of ways.

“I think all these players have a desire to play for the US and will be working hard. It will be a competitive camp. They are going to be highly motivated, very coachable and they have an opportunity to make a statement.”

Players began camp Sunday at Nashville, Tennessee, ahead of a Gold Cup tune-up match next Saturday against Ghana at East Hartford, Connecticut.

The post US sets Gold Cup lineup with eye on World Cup appeared first on World Soccer Talk.

The center back's athletic finish was a thing of beauty, and rounded off a day of rather strange happenings in the world of Major League Soccer

The FIFA Confederations Cup kicked off last Saturday with the opening four matches averaging 1.3 million viewers across the networks of Telemundo. The highest viewership for the first round of play was unsurprisingly found on the second day as nearly 2.9 million people tuned in to FOX Sports 1 and Telemundo for Mexico’s opening match of the tournament. The game scored 2.3 million total streaming minutes to become Telemundo’s most-streamed match ever.

On the English-language side, FOX Sports 1 averaged 298,333 viewers for their first three broadcasts of the tournament with Cameroon’s match against Chile being broadcast on Fox Sports 2.

The National Women’s Soccer League hit a season-high 110,000 viewers on Lifetime last Saturday for a 1-1 draw between the Chicago Red Stars and Washington Spirit. The league is now averaging over 93,000 viewers with 12 regular season matches remaining to be broadcast on Lifetime.

Last Sunday’s match between the Philadelphia Union and New York Red Bulls averaged 239,500 viewers after bouncing around between ESPN2 and ESPN because of the NCAA Baseball College World Series. The match was forced to kick off on ESPN2, where it remained for most of the first half before jumping over to ESPN for the halftime show, second half and post-game coverage.

Here are the most-watched soccer games on US TV for June 13-19, 2017:

Average viewing audiences for soccer leagues on US TV:

Average MLS viewing audiences on US TV:

SEE MORE: Access our archives of US TV ratings for soccer.

HT ShowBuzz Daily

The post Most-watched soccer games on US TV for June 13-19, 2017 appeared first on World Soccer Talk.

NYCFC heads to Red Bull Arena in search of their first-ever win on enemy territory in Major League Soccer's New York derby.

Goal summarizes the biggest transfer and trade talk involving the LA Galaxy, New York City FC, Toronto FC and the biggest clubs in North America

Goal summarizes the biggest transfer and trade talk involving the LA Galaxy, New York City FC, Toronto FC and the biggest clubs in North America

Goal summarizes the biggest transfer and trade talk involving the LA Galaxy, New York City FC, Toronto FC and the biggest clubs in North America

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Goal summarizes the biggest transfer and trade talk involving the the LA Galaxy, New York City FC, Toronto FC and the biggest clubs in North America