SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake has announced that Captain Kyle Beckerman, GK Nick Rimando and MF Luis Gil have been called up to represent the United States in an international friendly against Mexico next Wednesday, April 2. The match will be held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. and will kick at 9:00 p.m. MT. The match will be nationally broadcast on ESPN2, WatchESPN and UniMas.
Real Salt Lake’s Beckerman, Rimando and Gil will hope to make their case to be included in U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup this summer in Brazil. An official U.S. World Cup roster will be announced in May ahead of the Americans’ first group stage match against Ghana on June 16. Most recently, Beckerman, Rimando and Gil were all called into the U.S.’s annual January training camp which involved a training stint in Brazil and an international friendly against Korea Republic on Feb. 1. Beckerman and Rimando both started and played a full 90 minutes in the Americans’ 2-0 win and Gil earned his first U.S. Men’s National Team cap, subbing on in the 75th minute.
A regular member of Klinsmann’s squad selections, Beckerman has 34 career caps with the United States. He appeared in ten matches – including nine starts – for the U.S. in 2013, notching two assists for the Stars-and-Stripes last calendar year. Beckerman captained the U.S. in its 0-0 draw against Canada on Jan. 29, 2013 in Houston and earned CONCACAF Gold Cup Final MVP honors in the U.S.’s tournament clinching win over Panama on July 28, 2013.
Nick Rimando has 13 career caps with the U.S senior team. The 34-year-old ‘keeper had six appearances with the USMNT in 2013, posting a perfect 6-0-0 record, registering two shutouts, allowing just four goals and helping lead the team to its CONCACAF Gold Cup crown.
This is Luis Gil’s second call up to the senior U.S. Men’s National Team. The 20-year-old was a fixture for the U.S. Under-20 National Team, playing every minute for the U.S. in last summer’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup and notching one goal and one assist in the tournament. Gil played a leading role for the U-20’s during qualification for the World Cup, scoring a pair of goals to help the team to a second-place finish at the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Puebla, Mexico.
The Real Salt Lake trio will depart for U.S. camp on Sunday, following RSL’s match against Toronto FC at Rio Tinto Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets to Saturday’s game are still available and can be purchased at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office, online at www.RealSaltLake.com/Tickets or over the phone at 801-727-2700.
Beckerman, Rimando and Gil are not scheduled to miss any RSL matches while with the U.S., returning to the Claret-and-Cobalt in time to be available for the club’s April 5 MLS Cup 2013 rematch at Sporting Kansas City. The April 5 game at Kansas City will be broadcast live on Utah’s ABC 4 and ESPN 700 AM starting at 6:30 p.m. MT.
