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SANDY — U.S. men’s national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann had previously said he would invite several Olympic-age soccer players for the annual January camp in preparation for next summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Real Salt Lake midfielder Luis Gil appears to be in those plans.
Gil and RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando were among the 28 players called in to the USA’s first training camp of 2015, which runs from Monday through Feb. 8, in preparation for the senior squad’s first international friendly against Chile on Jan. 28.
Gil is one of 12 players who will be age-eligible for the under-23 roster at the upcoming Olympics. Vancouver’s Christian Dean, Club Leon’s Dennis Flores, Sporting KC goalkeeper Jon Kempin, former Syracuse University goalkeeper Alex Bono, Colorado’s Dillon Serna and Shane O’Neill, Liverpool’s Marc Pelosi, Tepic’s Julio Morales, L.A. Galaxy’s Oscar Sorto, Columbus’ Wil Trapp and 1860 Munich’s Bobby Wood will also be age-eligible for the Olympic team.
Also on the roster are seven veterans of the 2014 World Cup, including team captain Clint Dempsey of the Seattle Sounders, Toronto FC’s Michael Bradley and New England’s Jermaine Jones.
Meanwhile, 14 players will be looking for their first cap with the senior team, such as Pelosi and Bono, who will fly from the MAC Hermann Award ceremony in St. Louis, Missouri, to the MLS Combine in Florida to camp in Carson, California, between Friday and Monday.
Rimando is the oldest player at the January camp in his seventh appearance in the annual event. The 35-year-old goalkeeper is exactly 15 years older than Pelosi, the youngest member of the camp.
The players will practice in California from Monday to Jan. 24, then fly to Santiago for training Jan. 25-29 ahead of the friendly against Chile. The camp will culminate with a friendly against Panama at StubHub Center on Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. MT on ESPN.
Below is the full roster for this month’s camp:
Goalkeepers (4): Alex Bono (unattached), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Jon Kempin (Sporting Kansas City) and Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Defenders (8): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids) and Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy)
Midfielders (10): Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (out of contract), Dennis Flores (Club Leon), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United FC), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution), Marc Pelosi (Liverpool), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Brek Shea (Orlando City SC) and Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC)
Forwards (6): Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Julio Morales (Tepic), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich) and Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)
