FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution midfielders Jermaine Jones and Lee Nguyen have been called in to the U.S. National team for upcoming friendlies against Colombia and the Republic of Ireland. United States head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called up 25 players for the games, which will be played on Friday, November 14 in London and on Tuesday, November 18 in Dublin, respectively. For Nguyen, this is his first call-up to the National Team since representing the U.S. at the 2007 Copa America in Venezuela, while Jones, who played a key role for the U.S. at the 2014 FIFA World Cup this summer, last played for the National Team on October 14 in a friendly against Honduras.
Jones has made 47 career appearances for the U.S., scoring three goals and adding four assists since making his international debut for the Red, White and Blue on October 9, 2010. One of four players to play every minute of the National Team’s run to the Round of 16 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Jones set up Clint Dempsey’s early goal in the 2-1 win over Ghana to open the tournament and then provided one of the indelible images of the World Cup, a curling strike from distance against Portugal that helped the U.S. earn a 2-2 draw.
Since joining the Revolution on August 24, Jones has tallied two goals and added five assists in 12 regular season and postseason games. The Revs are now 10-1-1 in all competitions since Jones joined the club and a perfect 7-0-0 when he tallies a goal or an assist.
Joining Jones in the National Team camp will be fellow Revolution midfielder Lee Nguyen, who will be looking to add to the three caps that he earned with the U.S. An MLS MVP candidate and the top scoring American in the league this season, Nguyen scored 18 regular-season goals for the Revolution in 2014, helping lead the club to its best record since 2007. After adding two goals and an assist in New England’s Eastern Conference Semifinal series win over the Columbus Crew, Nguyen now has 20 goals in all competitions this year – making him the first Revolution player to score 20 or more goals in a year since Taylor Twellman scored 23 goals in 2007. The 28-year-old has also added six assists in all competitions and the Revolution are 16-1-2 when he records a goal or an assist.
Nguyen, who last represented the U.S. in 2007, has made three appearances with the National Team. He made his international debut on June 2, 2007, in a 4-1 friendly win over China in San Jose, Calif., before making two appearances at the 2007 Copa America in Venezuela that summer.
Nguyen and Jones each played a central role in helping the Revolution knock off the Columbus Crew 7-3 on aggregate in their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. The pair combined for two goals and two assists in the series, helping the Revs reach the Eastern Conference Championship for the first time since 2007. There, they will face the New York Red Bulls for a berth in MLS Cup 2014. New England will host the second and deciding leg of that series at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, November 29 at 3 p.m. and tickets are on sale now through revolutionsoccer.net and all Ticketmaster outlets.
