Sporting Kansas City forward Teal Bunbury was named to the U.S. Men’s National Team roster on Tuesday for the team’s January training camp in Carson, California at the Home Depot Center. The camp begins January 4th and will culminate with the United States’ first international match of 2011 against Chile at 8 p.m. CT on Saturday, January 22nd.
The invitation is the second straight selection for Bunbury, who made his international debut in the United States’ last match, a 1-0 victory over South Africa in November’s Nelson Mandela Challenge. Bunbury played 45 minutes in the friendly, replacing Robbie Findley to start the second half at Green Point Stadium.
Bunbury, who holds dual citizenship for the United States and Canada, is coming off a successful rookie season for Sporting Kansas City after being drafted fourth overall in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft out of Akron. The 20-year-old, one of four forwards and the fourth-youngest selection on the 24-player roster selected by Bradley, contributed five goals and two assists in 26 appearances, and also scored a goal in a U.S. Open Cup game in April and recorded an assist in Kansas City’s upset of Manchester United in July.
Bunbury was also chosen to Major League Soccer’s Generation adidas squad that traveled to Spain earlier this month. He scored three goals and added an assist in matches against the reserve sides for Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
The United States, ranked No. 18 in the final FIFA rankings of 2010, has two games scheduled for 2011 thus far. Following the first friendly against Chile, the United States will then travel to Cairo to face No. 9 Egypt on February 9th.
The United States will also compete in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup in June. The tournament announced last week that Sporting Kansas City’s state-of-the-art stadium, currently under construction in Kansas City, Kansas, will host a Gold Cup doubleheader on June 14th as one of 11 host cities for the tournament.
In other international action, Sporting Kansas City defender Roger Espinoza is currently in camp with Honduras, who defeated Panama 2-1 on Saturday in an international friendly. Espinoza will now travel with Honduras to face the Catalonia National Team at 12:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, December 28th at Estadi Olimpic de Montjuic in Barcelona, Spain. The Catalan XI squad will feature seven FC Barcelona players, including Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique, and is managed by Johan Cruyff.
The friendly will be Honduras’ final match of 2010, as the team prepares for the 2011 Central American Nations Cup to be held in Panama City in January. Espinoza has 16 appearances for Honduras, ranked No. 59 in the world, including two at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
Sporting Kansas City striker Sunil Chhetri is on loan to the India National Team, who cancelled Sunday’s friendly against Qatar. India’s next scheduled international match is December 26th versus Syria.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (4): Dominic Cervi (Celtic), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Matt Pickens (Colorado Rapids), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (9): A.J. DeLaGarza (Los Angeles Galaxy), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Ugo Ihemelu (FC Dallas), Zach Loyd (FC Dallas), Ryan Miller (Halmstads BK), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls), Anthony Wallace (Colorado Rapids), Marvell Wynne (Colorado Rapids)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Eric Alexander (FC Dallas), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Sam Cronin (San Jose Earthquakes), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabaek), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids), Dax McCarty (D.C. United), Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
FORWARDS (4): Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Justin Braun (Chivas USA), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
