FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Lee Nguyen took another step toward potentially representing his country in one of the most prestigious international tournaments in the world this past weekend.
Nguyen was part of the 40-man preliminary roster submitted by U.S. National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann ahead of the historic 2016 Copa America Centenario, keeping him in the mix for the tournament that runs throughout the month of June.
The 29-year-old New England Revolution midfielder has been a consistent call-up in recent months, starting friendlies against Canada and Iceland earlier this year before making the roster for a pair of World Cup qualifiers against Guatemala in March.
“It’s an honor to be named to that list and to have a chance to represent my country in such a big tournament as Copa America, [especially] here at home,” Nguyen said of the South American championship, which will be held outside of South America, on U.S. soil, for the first time.
The final 23-man roster for the competition needs to be submitted by May 20, although the U.S. opens camp on May 16 in Miami and will play a trio of friendlies in preparation before kicking off the group stage against Colombia on June 3.
“We’ll see going forward if I make that final roster,” Nguyen said.
In the meantime, Nguyen is dealing with tightness in his hamstring after coming off in the 80th minute of Saturday night’s 2-2 draw with Orlando City SC. He spent Tuesday receiving treatment, but Nguyen said his status is “day-to-day” and he’s hopeful that he’ll be ready for this weekend’s trip to the West Coast.
That’s where the Revs will visit the LA Galaxy on Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN) as they look to get over the hump after drawing seven of their first 10 games. An improved offensive performance against Orlando has given New England reason to believe that they’re turning the corner.
“Obviously [the draw] wasn’t the result we wanted, but at the same time I think it showed that offensively we were creating stuff and we’re actually finishing now,” Nguyen said. “We just weren’t able to close the game out. It’s one of those things where you’ve got to put all the pieces together.”
