D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum has been named to the U.S. Men's National Team final roster for the upcoming friendly matches on Oct. 7 in Cuba and Oct. 11 at RFK Stadium.
“These two games are very important for us because it’s the last time we can see certain players before making the decision on the 23 going in to represent us for the Mexico and Costa Rica clashes," USMNT head coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, said. "There’s a lot at stake for the players to make their case, to show where they are right now. The bigger picture behind this is definitely Mexico and Costa Rica, and these two games will show us a lot about individual players.”
The California native has made eight appearances for the national team since his debut on Jan. 28, 2015 against Chile and played a prominent role for head coach Jurgen Klinsmann throughout 2016. After Birnbaum scored his first international goal against Iceland on Jan. 31, (his header off a Michael Bradley corner earned the Red, White and Blue a dramatic victory at the StubHub Center in Carson, Ca. in the 90th minute), he made his World Cup Qualifier debut against Guatemala in March, was selected to the final roster for the Copa America Centenario and most recently played in their WCQ against Trinidad and Tobago in September.
“It shows the faith that Jurgen [Klinsmann] has in Steve [Birnbaum] that he’s going to be a part of this process,” said D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen. “Qualification is a whole other experience that pushes him in his development. It expands you and challenges you and ultimately that’s going to make him a better player. That will translate to our crew here, so I’m very excited that he gets that opportunity. It’s well deserved and now he’s got to go there and make the best of it.”
Birnbaum, 25, has made 68 league appearances for the Black-and-Red, was a 2016 MLS All-Star and was named a Rookie of the Year finalist in 2014. The United States most recently defeated Trinidad and Tobago on Sept. 6 to clinch a berth into the last round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, known as the “Hexagonal.”
Birnbaum, one of eight MLS-based players to make the roster, will join the team in Miami on Sunday, Oct. 2 ahead of their flight to Cuba.
U.S. Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes), Ethan Horvath (Molde FK), William Yarbrough (Club Leon)
DEFENDERS (7): Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland), Perry Kitchen (Hearts), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Danny Williams (Reading)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (Hamburg SV)