Miguel Ibarra Gets Third Straight Call to U.S. Mens National Team
January 9, 2015 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Minnesota United FC News Release
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Friday, January 9th, 2015) -- U.S. Soccer announced today that Minnesota United midfielder Miguel Ibarra has been called up to the Men's National Team. National Team Head Coach Jürgen Klinsmann has called 28 players to Carson, California, for the USA's first training camp of 2015 as the team continues on the new cycle leading up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
"The prize in 2015 for the senior National Team is the Gold Cup, and this camp will give a lot of our players a chance to kick start their preparations for an important year," Klinsmann said. "We also get an opportunity to introduce the next wave of young players into the program, and in particular work with many of our Olympic-age guys as they build toward qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio."
This is Ibarra's third straight call to the national squad, making his debut with the team in October 2014 against Honduras. He also traveled with the team to England and Ireland for friendly matches, but did not play in either match.
"I'm excited to get a call up again and to have another opportunity to represent my country," said Ibarra. "It's a new year, we will prepare well and be ready to get a result for the two friendlies we have coming up."
Ibarra will take part in the annual January camp, a monthlong national team training camp culminating in two friendlies. The roster, which features Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, and Jermaine Jones, usually is made up of players who play for clubs in North America and Scandinavia, due to the domestic leagues taking a winter break. The extended camp gives Head Coach Jürgen Klinsmann ample time to develop talent and evaluate players for possible future call ups.
"It's an exciting time for Miguel that he is now consistently being called in to camp," said United Head Coach Manny Lagos. "It's a credit to him and his level of play in previous call ups. This one is important because it's a longer camp and a longer time for him to work with a high level of players to train for our country and to wear the U.S. badge."
Players will report to camp on January 12th and begin training the following day.
This year, the two friendlies will take place against Chile and CONCACAF rivals Panama. The Chile match will take place on Wednesday, January 28th in Chile. Location and time of the match are to be determined but the match will be broadcast on Fox Sports 2 and UniMas. The team will then return to the U.S. to face Panama on Sunday, February 8th at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Kickoff time is also to be determined and will be broadcast on ESPN and UniMas.
"I'm ready to keep learning from the veteran guys that have been around, to take it all in and just keep growing and getting better every single day, and again thank you to everyone that has always supported me and always pushed me," said Ibarra.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (8): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), Shane O'Neill (Colorado Rapids), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy)
MIDFIELDERS (10): Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (out of contract), Dennis Flores (Club Leon), Luis Guil (Real Salt Lake), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United FC), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution), Marc Pelosi (Liverpool FC), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Brek Shea (Orlando City SC), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS (6): Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Julio Morales (Tepic), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)
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North American Soccer League Stories from January 9, 2015
- Indy Eleven Signs Veteran Center Back Greg Janicki - Indy Eleven
- Tampa Bay Rowdies Announce Nike Kit and Apparel Partnership - Tampa Bay Rowdies
- Miguel Ibarra Gets Third Straight Call to U.S. Mens National Team - Minnesota United FC
- Neil Hlavaty Joins RailHawks Ahead of 2015 Season - North Carolina FC
- Julius James & Josue Soto to Return to the San Antonio Scorpions in 2015 - San Antonio Scorpions
- Fort Lauderdale Strikers Sign Defender Jonathan Borrajo - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
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