PREVIEW: MNT Continues Kickoff Series vs. Colombia in Tampa | Oct. 11 | 7:30pm ET | FS1, Univision, UDN

The U.S. Men’s National Team continues its fall Kickoff Series when it takes on South American power Colombia on Thursday, Oct. 11 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

Coverage of USA-Colombia, begins at 7 p.m. ET on FS1, while Univision and UDN will also broadcast the game. Fans can also follow along via U.S. Soccer’s official Facebook, Twitter (@ussoccer_MNT) and Instagram (@ussoccer_MNT) accounts.

DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals)

DEFENDERS (8): 6-John Brooks (Wolfsburg/GER; 34/3), 18-Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; 0/0), 5-Cameron Carter-Vickers (Swansea City/WAL; 5/0), 21-Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 0/0), 3-Matt Miazga (Nantes/FRA; 9/1), 17-Antonee Robinson (Wigan Athletic/ENG; 4/0), 19-Ben Sweat (New York City FC; 0/0), 2-DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United/ENG; 54/0)

MIDFIELDERS (9): 23-Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids; 19/1), 15-Jonathan Amon (Nordsjælland/DEN; 0/0), 4-Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/CAN; 140/17), 8-Marky Delgado (Toronto FC/CAN; 3/0), 16-Julian Green (Greuther Fürth/GER; 12/4), 14-Fafa Picault (Philadelphia Union; 1/0) 10-Kenny Saief (Anderlecht/BEL; 2/0), 20-Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 8/0), 11-Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA; 5/1)

FORWARDS (3): 9-Andrija Novakovich (Fortuna Sittard/NED; 2/0), 13-Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen/GER; 3/1), 7-Bobby Wood (Hannover 96/GER; 41/12)

STORYLINES

VETERANS RETURN
While the emphasis from the past year has been placed on bringing along the MNT’s next generation, the master plan has always included the return of key veteran players into the mix. As a result, the October matches presented the right time to begin the reintegration process, with MNT head coach Dave Sarachan tapping midfielder Michael Bradley and goalkeeper Brad Guzan to return to the squad for this month’s matches against Colombia and Peru.

“When you are building a team, at some point there has to be the proper blend of youth and experience,” Sarachan told ussoccer.com last week. “As we head into these last four friendlies of the year, I felt the timing was right to begin that transition. I think it’s important to do it earlier than a week before the Gold Cup or a World Cup Qualifier. Bringing in players like Michael and Brad, who have a vast amount of experience and can be a great resource for our younger players – both on and off the field – is an important step for us at this point in time.”

COLOMBIA BRINGS STRONG ROSTER FOR USA MATCH
Fresh off a Round of 16 appearance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Colombia has brought another strong squad to take on the U.S. Thursday night in Tampa.  

Highlighting the roster are 12 World Cup players, including midfielders James Rodríguez (Bayern Munich) and Juan Cuadrado (Juventus), forwards Radamel Falcao (Monaco) and Carlos Bacca (Villarreal) as well as Atlético Madrid defender Santiago Arias and Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina. 

KICKOFF SERIES PROVIDING LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Along with helping to launch the new World Cup cycle with high-profile matches, the Kickoff Series schedule was laid out in part to hand the MNT’s next generation experiences against top-tier teams. While getting results in the matches are nice, the lessons learned against strong opponents are far more valuable for a young team growing together. One of 15 players to debut for the MNT this year, left back Antonee Robinson took in stride a mistake made in last month’s match against Brazil and rebounded to feed the game-winning assist to Tyler Adams in the 1-0 win against Mexico. The Wigan Athletic defender spoke about bouncing back between the two matches and the opportunity to learn from remaining games against Colombia, Peru, England and Italy.

RESTART ROLLING
With the 2022 cycle officially underway, the process of elevating a rising crop of internationals is already in motion. Since November of last year, a total of 18 players have debuted for the senior MNT. Seventeen of them came in under 24 years old at the time of their first caps, while 10 will be age-eligible to represent the U-23 MNT in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament and 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. ussoccer.com has profiled 11 of these hopefuls at the start of the new video series RISING: Emerging Faces of the U.S. Men’s National Team, which chronicle the route of players on their quest to become a part of the National Team by going behind the scenes with family, youth, coaches, teammates and professional club managers from across the world.

Click to watch series.

USA-COLOMBIA NOTES

• With 19 matches since the series began in 1961, Colombia is the USA’s most frequent international opponent outside of Concacaf.
• The USA trails Los Cafeteros 3-12-4 in the all-time series.
• The MNT won the highest-stakes match between the two nations, when current General Manager Earnie Stewart scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
• Notably, the MNT earned its first victory against Colombia on Oct. 11, 1984, a 1-0 win in Los Angeles 34 years to the day of Thursday night’s match.
• The teams most recently met twice during the Copa America Centenario. Colombia defeated the MNT 2-0 in the opening match on June 3, 2016 in Santa Clara, Calif., before achieving a 1-0 result against the USA in the Third-Place Match on June 25, 2016 in Glendale, Ariz.

USA ROSTER NOTES

• As of Oct. 11, 2018, the roster carries an average age of 24 years, 47 days, while 16 players are 23 years and under.
• Six players are age-eligible for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (born 1997 or later): Jonathan Amon, Reggie Cannon, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Antonee Robinson, Josh Sargent and Tim Weah
• The October MNT roster averages 17.7 caps, with 16 players holding less than 10 appearances.
• The roster is punctuated by the returns of long-time MNT veterans Michael Bradley and Brad Guzan, who make their first camp appearances since October 2017.
• Having made his MNT debut in 2006, Bradley ranks inside the top 10 for all-time appearances (140; fourth), assists (22; second-tied) and goals (17; ninth-tied).
• Another 2006 debutante, Guzan ranks in the top five among MNT goalkeepers with 58 caps (fifth), 30 wins (fourth) and 18 clean sheets (fifth).
• Bradley (140) and Guzan (58) lead the way in caps, followed by DeAndre Yedlin (54), Bobby Wood (41) and John Brooks (34)
• Fifteen players return from the MNT’s September camp, while 11 took part in the USA’s 1-0 win against rivals Mexico on Sept. 11 in Nashville. 
• The roster features players that ply their trade in nine different countries: USA (8), Germany (4), Belgium, Canada, England and France (2 each); Denmark, Netherlands and Wales (one each)
• Four players have found the back of the net for the MNT in 2018: Wood (2 goals), Green, Sargent and Weah (1 each)
• One of 15 players to make their senior-team debuts this year, Antonee Robinson leads the MNT with two assists, providing helpers to Tim Weah (May 28 vs. Bolivia) and Tyler Adams (Sept. 11 vs. Mexico).
• Last seen during the MNT’s 1-1 draw with France back in June, 18-year-old Josh Sargent has had a strong start to his competitive tenure at Werder Bremen, leading the club’s reserve side with six goals in 10 matches.    
• Andrija Novakovich joins Amon in leading the MNT’s European contingent with four goals scored this season with Fortuna Sittard in the Dutch Eredivisie.
• Four players will hope to make their first MNT appearances: defenders Reggie Cannon Aaron Long and Ben Sweat and midfielder Jonathan Amon.
• A right back in the midst of his second MLS season, Reggie Cannon has appeared in each of FC Dallas’ 30 matches, adding a goal and three assists for the Western Conference leaders.
• Similarly, left back Ben Sweat has been a stalwart for New York City FC in 2018, appearing in 27 of 32 matches to help the club clinch a third-consecutive postseason berth.
• Also in his second season with Nordsjælland, 19-year-old winger Jonathan Amon has recorded four goals in eight matches across all competitions for the Danish side this campaign.
• Six players have previously appeared against Colombia: Brad Guzan (4 games); Michael Bradley (3), Bobby Wood and DeAndre Yedlin (3 each); John Brooks (2) and Julian Green (1)
• Four players took part in the MNT’s last meeting with Colombia, coming in the Third-Place Match of Copa America Centenario on June 25, 2016: Bradley, Pulisic, Wood and Yedlin.
• Eleven players have been part of a final U.S. roster at a youth World Cup: Kellyn Acosta, Michael Bradley, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Marky Delgado Ethan Horvath, Matt Miazga, Josh Sargent, Zack Steffen, Wil Trapp, Tim Weah and DeAndre Yedlin.

Colombia midfielder James Rodríguez

COLOMBIA ROSTER BY POSITION:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Álvaro Montero (Tolima), David Ospina (Napoli/ITA)

DEFENDERS (8): Felipe Aguilar (Atlético Nacional), Santiago Arias (Atlético Madrid/ESP), Cristian Borja (Toluca/MEX), Deiver Machado (Atlético Nacional) Jeison Murillo (Valencia/ESP), Óscar Murillo (Pachuca/MEX), Helibelton Palacios (Atlético Nacional), Davinson Sánchez (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Wílmar Barrios (Boca Juniors/ARG), Edwin Cardona (Boca Juniors/ARG), Juan Cuadrado (Juventus/ITA), Didier Moreno (Deportivo La Coruña/ESP), Juan Fernando Quintero (River Plate/ARG), Juan Daniel Roa (Indendiente Santa Fe), James Rodríguez (Bayern Munich/GER), Mateus Uribe (Club América/MEX), Sebastián Villa (Boca Juniors/ARG),

FORWARDS (5): Carlos Bacca (Villarreal/ESP), Miguel Borja (Palmeiras/BRA), Yimmi Chará (Atlético Mineiro/BRA), Radamel Falcao (Monaco/FRA), Cucho Hernández (Huesca/ESP)

COLOMBIA NOTES

• Colombia began the new World Cup cycle last month with a 2-1 win against Venezuela (Sept. 7 in Miami Gardens, Fla.) and a 0-0 draw with Argentina (Sept. 11 in East Rutherford, N.J.)   
• Twelve players on the roster were part of Colombia’s run to the Round of 16 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
• Colombia is currently being managed on an interim basis by Arturo Reyes