SANDY, UT (Monday, December 30, 2019) – Real Salt Lake defender Justen Glad has been called in by U.S. National Team Head Coach Gregg Berhalter for January camp to open 2020. After starting in Doha, Qatar, the U.S. will face Costa Rica in a friendly on February 1 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
“We are thrilled to see Justen rewarded for another excellent season,” RSL General Manager Elliot Fall said. “His selection to January camp further establishes our club as an elite developer of young American talent.”
Camp will open with training and closed-door scrimmages from January 5-25 at the Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar, before returning stateside for the final week of training and the friendly against Costa Rica. The match will serve as an important preparation opportunity for the rest of the year as the USMNT will compete in the Concacaf Nations League semifinal in June and the start of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying, which kicks off in September.
“I am very excited for Justen. It is always beneficial for the player and for the club to have representation at the national team level,” Real Salt Lake Head Coach Freddy Juarez said. “Justen is a professional that continues to grow and has a lot to offer U.S. Soccer.”
Glad, 22, is returning to January camp for the third consecutive year, but still seeks his first appearance for the U.S. National Team. He made 23 regular season appearances for Real Salt Lake in 2019, all of them in a starting role. RSL went 14-6-3 with Glad in the starting lineup in 2019, posting a 0.78 goals against average with 10 shutouts in those 23 matches. He now has 109 career appearances for RSL, with 107 coming as a starter since he signed out of the Real Salt Lake Academy in 2014.
In 2017, the Tucson, Arizona, native started in nine of his 11 appearances with the U.S. U-20 National Team as the U.S. won the CONCACAF U-20 championship and made a run to the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup quarterfinals. In addition, he was a regular call-up to U.S. U-23 camps in 2019 in preparations for the upcoming CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico, from March 20 to April 1.
“I’m very excited to get called in again,” Glad said. “It’s always an honor getting invited to camps and hopefully I can make the most of it and leave a lasting impression.”
Glad is one of 10 Real Salt Lake Academy products on the current RSL roster. In each of the last two seasons, RSL has led Major League Soccer in minutes played by Academy products and RSL Homegrown players have made frequent appearances for the U.S. National Team at the U-23 and U-20 levels, as well as with the senior national team.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (4): Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 8/0), Bill Hamid (D.C. United; 6/0), JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 0/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Julian Araujo (LA Galaxy; 0/0), Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; 10/0), Chase Gasper (Minnesota United FC; 0/0), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake; 0/0), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 16/3), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union; 0/0), Sam Vines (Colorado Rapids; 0/0), Walker Zimmerman (LAFC; 11/2)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union; 0/0), Christian Cappis (Hobro/DEN; 0/0), Bryang Kayo (Unattached; 0/0), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 13/2), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas; 1/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 19/0), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; 6/0)
FORWARDS (6): Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 32/5), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas; 0/0), Jonathan Lewis (Colorado Rapids; 5/0), Ulysses Llanez (Wolfsburg/GER; 0/0), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 39/10), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew SC; 55/12)
