CONCACAF announced on Tuesday that Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler and midfielder Graham Zusi were named to the United States Men's National Team's provisional 35-player roster for CONCACAF Cup 2015 between the U.S. MNT and Mexico on Oct. 10 at the Rose Bowl. Each national team will select their final 23-player rosters by Oct. 1 from the players on their provisional roster.
The winner of CONCACAF Cup 2015, featuring the past two Gold Cup champions, will determine the region's representative at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.
"It’s a huge game. It’s a game that’s never been played before. It’s a playoff for the Confederations Cup," U.S. Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann told USsoccer.com. "They’ve named it the CONCACAF Cup, so they’ve given it a title and a trophy. Everything has been done to set the game up in a big way, in a big stage, and this is exciting because as a player you want to be in a final that is played in front of 90,000 people and that gives you a trophy and takes you to a very important goal. It’s pretty difficult to make it any bigger than that."
Besler, 28, has played every minute in Sporting Kansas City's last 29 matches across all competitions and leads all MLS players with 182 clearances in 2015. In his seventh professional season, Besler leads all current players with 210 appearances for the club across all competitions. He is a four-time MLS All-Star to go along with MLS Best XI (2012, 2013) and Defender of the Year (2012) honors.
Internationally, Besler has 26 career appearances for the U.S. Men's National Team since debuting in 2013. He helped lead the U.S. MNT to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup title and started all four matches for the U.S. at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Zusi, a fellow Designated Player and 2009 MLS SuperDraft pick, has earned MLS All-Star honors each of the last four seasons to go along with MLS Best XI (2012, 2013) and Breakout Player of the Year (2011) recognitions. The University of Maryland product sits third on Sporting KC's all-time assists charts (43) and his 24 goals scored are 10th most in team history.
The 29-year-old has 32 international caps for the United States with three goals and six assists, including two assists at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, since his debut in 2012. This summer, Zusi made three appearances at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
