by PegNews wire

While 16 different clubs are represented on the roster, FC Dallas contributes the most, with three players headed to Slovakia.

FRISCO — Jeff Cunningham, Dax McCarty, and Heath Pearce are among 22 players named today to the U.S. Men’s National Team roster that will train in advance of the match against 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers Slovakia at 9 a.m. Nov. 14 in Bratislava live on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision.

Fans also can follow the match live online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker as well as at twitter.com/ussoccer. Following the match with Slovakia, the U.S. will play in Denmark at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 18, broadcast live on the ESPN networks.

While 16 different clubs are represented on the roster, FC Dallas contributes the most, with three players headed to Slovakia. In addition to Pearce, 2009 MLS Golden Boot winner Cunningham returns to the fold for the first time since 2005, while McCarty earns his first call up to the full team.

One of three finalists for the MLS MVP award, Cunningham launched an unparalleled hot streak during the second half of the 2009 campaign. After notching just four goals prior to the All-Star break, Cunningham scored 13 in the final 12 games, earning team MVP honors for his efforts. Behind his late-season tear, FC Dallas climbed into playoff contention in a race for the post-season coming down to the squad’s final match of the season. Although the FC Dallas playoff bid fell short, Cunningham remained the hot story of the second half, earning four player of the week awards during that stretch.

Possibly the most consistent performer for FC Dallas during the 2009 campaign, McCarty started 27 games, earning six assists, and scoring three goals, a career-high for the 23-year old former North Carolina Tar Heel.

Since signing with FC Dallas via the No. 1 allocation spot on Sept. 11, Pearce has made his mark as the starting right back in the final five games of the 2009 MLS regular season. Normally, a left-sided player, Pearce adjusted to his new role quickly as a key player in a consistent back line that went 4-1 in the final five games. The 25-year-old Pearce has been a mainstay on the U. S. National Team since 2005 earning 28 caps and recording one assist. Pearce’s seven appearances in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers were the most of any U.S. player in 2008.

More about November friendlies

The U.S. team began training this morning in Bratislava with 11 players including Pearce, while the second half of the roster will be arriving during the next two days. Bradley will consider making changes to the squad following Saturday’s match, when the team will make their first ever visit to Denmark for the USA’s 24th and final match of the year. The 24 matches represent the third most games ever in a calendar for the U.S. The team set a record for the most games in official competitions in a year with 21 total, including the 10 final round matches the U.S. played to earn first place in CONCACAF qualifying for the FIFA World Cup and the five games that culminated in the final of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.

“These matches present a terrific opportunity to continue building on the nucleus of our team, and at the same time evaluate more of the player pool against very good opponents,” said Bradley. “We are very pleased with what we have accomplished in a long and challenging year, and we move forward with the goal of getting ourselves ready to be a competitive team in the World Cup.”

Many of the USA’s standout performers from 2009 will be in Slovakia, including team captain Carlos Bocanegra and midfielder Clint Dempsey. Michael Bradley earned four ussoccer.com Man of the Match honors this year, starting with a two-goal performance that gave the U.S. a 2-0 win against Mexico to open the final round of qualifying. Jozy Altidore led all U.S. scorers with six goals in 15 matches in 2009, including a hat trick against Trinidad & Tobago and the game-winner against No. 1-ranked Spain that vaulted the U.S. into the Confederations Cup final against Brazil. Altidore and Bocanegra are two of only three players to start all 10 of the final round qualifiers. In total, 18 players on the roster were part of the effort that led to USA’s sixth consecutive appearance in the World Cup, including Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who has posted three shutouts in five qualifiers during the campaign.

This is the first international meeting between the U.S. and Slovakia. The United States faced the former Czechoslovakia in their opening group match of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, falling 5-1 on June 10 in Florence. Slovakia have reached the World Cup for the first time since beginning competitive international football as an independent nation in 1993, following the division of the former Czechoslovakia into two independent states -- Czech Republic and Slovakia. Despite their relative youth on the world stage, the Slovaks ousted group favorites Czech Republic and Poland, securing first place in Group 3 of UEFA Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 away victory on Oct. 14 in blizzard-like conditions in Chorzow.

The November 18 match with Denmark will be a record 11th international on foreign soil for the United States in 2009. The U.S. and Denmark have met five times in their history and the teams have split the spoils with an even 1-1-3 record.

Source: FC Dallas

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