Dave Sarachan likes the word “opportunity.”
He used a number of times when describing the roster for the United States Men’s National Team match against Portugal on Nov. 14.
“It’s an opportunity for many players who haven’t been in the picture that we feel have a bright future with the National Team to get to measure themselves in a game against a quality opponent,” Sarachan said. “It’s an opportunity for our National Team to finish out 2017 in a positive way.
“It’s also just an opportunity to move on,” Sarachan continued. “As much as we’re still gutted from how things turned out with qualifying, we have to look ahead and finish out the year the right way.”
Sarachan is the interim coach at a difficult time for U.S. Soccer. In October, the United States watched their 2018 FIFA World Cup dreams slip after a disastrous performance against Trinidad and Tobago.
With victories by Panama and Honduras, the United States was officially eliminated from contention.
Right after the loss, former head coach Bruce Arena was fired, yet U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati kept his job. There will be an election in February for a new U.S. Soccer president, with many names going against Gulati.
Before that, the United States will have the opportunity to showcase young and veteran talent against a tough Portugal squad.
“They are the No. 3 ranked team in the world, and so any time you have the opportunity to play such a high-quality opponent, it’s very important for the program,” Sarachan said. “Sure it’s a profile game, but more importantly it’s a great opportunity for these players to measure up a little bit and see where they’re at in their development. Any chance to play a team of such high quality is a real bonus for the players and our National Team program.”
More than half of Sarachan’s 21-man roster is under the age of 24.
Earning first-time senior team call ups include Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Josh Sargent.
Meanwhile, players that were ignored by Arena, like Danny Williams, Ethan Horvath, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Matt Miazga make their return to the national team.
The full roster is listed below.
Goalkeepers: Jesse Gonzalez, Bill Hamid and Ethan Horvath.
Defenders: John Brooks, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Eric Lichaj, Matt Miazga, Tim Ream, Jorge Villafaña and DeAndre Yedlin.
Midfielders: Kellyn Acosta, Tyler Adams, Alejandro Bedoya, Lynden Gooch, Weston McKennie, Kelyn Rowe and Danny Williams.
Forwards: Juan Agudelo, Dom Dwyer, C.J. Sapong and Josh Sargent.
Photo of Danny Williams courtesy of Billie Weiss/Getty Images.
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