U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann today named D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid to the 22-man roster that will face Mexico next Wednesday. It is the first-ever call-up for United’s 20-year old netminder. The U.S. will take on Mexico in the teams’ first meeting in a friendly since 2008 next Wednesday, Aug. 10 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Kickoff is set for 9 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2, ESPN3.com and Univision.
“Bill’s call-up is a testament to the hard work he has put in at D.C. United,” said D.C. United General Manager Dave Kasper. “In under two years, he has gone from playing in our Academy program, to earning the starting role for our first team, before being called-up to represent his country. We look forward to seeing Bill wear the U.S. shirt and to his continued progress at United.”
In his second full season with D.C. United, Hamid has been the first-choice goalkeeper since recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. To date, he has played in 17 games (all starts) and put together a record of 5-4-8 to go along with six shutouts. In 2010, Hamid became the youngest goalkeeper in MLS history to win a League contest on May 5 against Kansas City in a 2-1 victory at RFK Stadium, beating the previous record held by former New York netminder – and fellow U.S. Men’s National Team call-up – Tim Howard. He put together a record of 3-5 in eight games for the Black-and-Red, posting one shutout and 20 saves en route to a 1.25 goals-against average mark. Hamid made United history on 9/2/09, when he became the first D.C. United Academy player to sign with the first team. As the first player to come up through the club’s youth system, Hamid was only available for non-League games during the 2009 season and did not see any playing time.
While this is the first-ever first team call-up for Hamid, the goalkeeper does have experience at the youth national team levels, having spent time with the U.S. U-18 and U-20 sides. In 2008, he traveled to Portugal with the U-20s to play in the Campos Verdes International Tournament and to Mexico for Copa Chivas.
The match on Aug. 10 will mark the 59th meeting between the USA and Mexico. The U.S. has a lifetime record of 15-32-11 against Mexico in a series that dates to 1934, but the U.S. has a 13-8-9 advantage in home matches since 1957. Since the rivalry between these two teams began in earnest in 1990, the sides have played 31 times, with the U.S. holding a 13-10-8 advantage. In the teams’ most significant matchup, the United States defeated Mexico 2-0 in the Round of 16 of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (2): Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Everton)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne), Edgar Castillo (Club America), Timmy Chandler (FC Nürnberg), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), José Torres (Pachuca)
FORWARDS (5): Freddy Adu (Benfica), Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Edson Buddle (FC Ingolstadt), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
