:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26716753/20130728_mje_ab9_139.0.jpg)
DeAndre Yedlin and Brad Evans will both travel with the United States national team for their upcoming 12-day trip to Brazil as the squad prepares for the 2014 World Cup, it was announced on Sunday. Originally, U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann had said he only planned to bring 23 players to Brazil, but apparently had a change of heart after seeing what kind of condition the players were in.
"We have been extremely pleased with the performance of the group in the first week," Klinsmann said in a U.S. Soccer release. "The players came in very fit and have done really well in training. Therefore, we believe they have all earned a chance to go to Brazil for these next 12 days. We are excited about getting down to Sao Paulo and continuing the work. This is a huge opportunity to get to know our environment for the World Cup."
After the Brazil trip, the U.S. will return to Southern California for a friendly against South Korea on Feb. 1 before breaking. Assuming Yedlin and Evans remain with the team through the friendly, they should only miss about a week of Seattle Sounders training. They will likely join the team in Arizona where they have preseason matches scheduled against the San Jose Earthquakes (Feb. 5) and Portland Timbers (Feb. 8).
"It's extremely important to get a little bit of a taste of what could come in six months," Evans told reporters about the Brazil trip. "It will be double days for the most part, so it's going to be good, physical, a little bit draining at times with 90 degrees and the humidity. It'll be a battle so the guys that come out unscathed will come out stronger from that trip and give themselves a good shot moving forward."
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION - Detailed Roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (10): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Michael Harrington (Portland Timbers), Chris Klute (Colorado Rapids), Chance Myers (Sporting Kansas City), Shane O'Neill (Colorado Rapids), Seth Sinovic (Sporting Kansas City), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Eric Alexander (New York Red Bulls), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Dax McCarty (New York Red Bulls), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (4): Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (D.C. United), Mike Magee (Chicago Fire), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
