Orlando City goalkeeper Joe Bendik and defender Jonathan Spector have been named to the 40-player preliminary roster for the U.S Men’s National Team in the upcoming Gold Cup tournament. Of the 40 players named to this roster, 23 will be chosen for the final Gold Cup roster. The decision will be made before June 27th.
For Jonathan Spector, the possible call-up would be a return to the U.S Men’s National Team. Spector made his first appearance with the senior team in 2004 and has made 36 appearances for the United States since then. Spector also spent a lot of time in the U.S youth system.
Bendik has also appeared in the U.S youth system, but has yet to play with the senior team. Bendik has been making a case for his addition to the national team with stellar performances since he joined Orlando in 2016.
The Gold Cup is held every two years, and determines the champion of the CONCACAF region. The competition has been dominated by the United States and Mexico since 2002. Mexico will enter the tournament as defending champions, having won the tournament in 2015.
The U.S will hold training camp starting on June 25th in Nashville, Tennessee, where they will open the tournament against Panama on July 8th. While the team won’t be traveling to Orlando, they will be in Tampa for a match against Martinique on July 12th.
GOALKEEPERS (6): Joe Bendik (Orlando City SC), Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas), Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids), Sean Johnson (New York City FC)
DEFENDERS (12): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Greg Garza (Atlanta United FC), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest/ENG), Matt Miazga (Chelsea/ENG), Justin Morrow (Toronto FC/CAN), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire), Jonathan Spector (Orlando City SC), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna/MEX), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
MIDFIELDERS (15): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana/MEX), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/CAN), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana/MEX), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire), Tommy McNamara (New York City FC), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (Philadelphia Union), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC), Kelyn Rowe (New England Revolution), Kenny Saief (Gent/BEL), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)
FORWARDS (7): Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution), Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC/CAN), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Dom Dwyer (Sporting Kansas City), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC), C.J. Sapong (Philadelphia Union), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
