Sporting Kansas City captain Matt Besler was named to the United States Men’s National Team’s 23-player roster for a pair of upcoming international friendlies.
The United States will play host to Peru on Sept. 4 in Washington, D.C., before playing Brazil on Sept. 8 in Foxborough, Mass.
“It’s always an honor to get called in for a national team camp,” Besler said. “With the Confederations Cup playoff match on the horizon, these friendlies will be important for our preparation to face Mexico. Our goal is to be in the Confederations Cup every four years and the next few weeks will be important in helping us reach that goal.”
Sporting KC is also sending defender Marcel de Jong to the Canada Men’s National Team roster for a game against Belize on Sept. 4 at BMO Field in Toronto. The Canadian team then plays Sept. 8 at FFB Field in Belmopan, Belize.
Besler, 28, has played every minute in Sporting Kansas City’s last 27 matches across all competitions. He ranks second among MLS players with 172 clearances in 2015 and anchors a backline that has conceded the fewest shots in Major League Soccer.
In his seventh professional season since being selected in the first round of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, Besler leads all current players with 208 appearances for the club across all competitions. He is a four-time MLS All-Star to go along with MLS Best XI (2012, 2013) and Defender of the Year (2012) honors.
Internationally, Besler has 25 career appearances for the U.S. Men’s National Team since debuting in 2013. He helped lead the U.S. MNT to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup title and started all four matches for the U.S. at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. In 2015, Besler started for the U.S. against Chile on Jan. 28 and Panama on Feb. 8 in addition to being on the U.S. MNT roster for a 2-0 victory over Mexico on April 15.
Led by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, the U.S. will face two of South America’s top teams in preparation for the Oct. 10 playoff against Mexico for a spot in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. The U.S. plays Peru, which finished third in the 2015 Copa America, on Sept. 4 at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. (6 p.m. CT; FOX Sports 1, UniMas, UDN) and four days later meets five-time World Cup champion Brazil at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. (7 p.m. CT; ESPN Networks, UniMas, UDN).
DeJong, 28, has previously played 10 professional seasons in the Netherlands and Germany.
“I feel honored to be selected as part of the roster once again,” de Jong said. “I hope to go and help my country as best I can, but like always it’s a hard decision to leave my club team as I really like playing for and representing Sporting KC.”
De Jong has one goal and one assist in 14 appearances across all competitions for Sporting KC since signing with the club prior to the 2015 campaign.
Internationally, de Jong has 36 career caps for Canada with two goals since his national team debut at age 21 in 2007. He has represented his country at each of the past four CONCACAF Gold Cup tournaments, including starts in all three group stage matches during the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup last month.
Canada, No. 101 in the FIFA rankings, is seeking its first World Cup berth since 1986 and advanced in qualifying with a 6-0 aggregate victory over Dominica in June. The winner between Canada and Belize will proceed to a fourth round of World Cup qualifying, which will begin in November and continue through September 2016.
De Jong joined Canada’s 22-player training camp following Sporting Kansas City’s match at the Colorado Rapids Saturday. He will be the second Sporting KC player, along with Hungarian forward Krisztian Nemeth, on international duty during the Aug. 31 through Sept. 8 FIFA fixture window.