Bill Hamid and Steve Birnbaum were named to the preliminary United States national team squad for this summer’s Gold Cup, which takes place in July. The D.C. United players were two of the forty total players named by USMNT boss Bruce Arena for the tournament, which takes place in the US.
The final list of 23 players is due on June 27th, and the players named to the squad must come from this preliminary list. Gold Cup rules also allow for up to six changes after the group stages, so players who aren’t named to the initial squad aren’t necessarily out of contention for the knockout stages of the tournament.
Birnbaum has 11 caps and 1 goal for the Red, White, and Blue, but hasn’t featured in either of Arena’s squads for World Cup Qualifiers this year, after taking part in January’s camp. Meanwhile, Hamid was meant to go to the camp this year, but had to pull out at the last minute due to knee surgery. Hamid has two caps to his name, both of which came with Jurgen Klinsmann at the helm of the national team.
The United States kicks off their tournament on July 8th against Panama. They will also face Nicaragua and Martinique in group play.
GOALKEEPERS (6): Joe Bendik (Orlando City SC), Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas), Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids), Sean Johnson (New York City FC)
DEFENDERS (12): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Greg Garza (Atlanta United FC), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest/ENG), Matt Miazga (Chelsea/ENG), Justin Morrow (Toronto FC/CAN), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire), Jonathan Spector (Orlando City SC), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna/MEX), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
MIDFIELDERS (15): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana/MEX), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/CAN), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana/MEX), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire), Tommy McNamara (New York City FC), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (Philadelphia Union), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC), Kelyn Rowe (New England Revolution), Kenny Saief (Gent/BEL), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)
FORWARDS (7): Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution), Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC/CAN), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Dom Dwyer (Sporting Kansas City), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC), C.J. Sapong (Philadelphia Union), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)