Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia Union
CHESTER, Pa. – Philadelphia Union today announced that midfielder Alejandro Bedoya (USA) and goalkeeper Andre Blake (Jamaica) have been called up by their respective federations ahead of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The United States’ roster announcement was made earlier today by Head Coach Bruce Arena.
Both players are part of the final 23-man rosters for their National Teams, with the tournament set to begin across the United States on July 7. The Group Stage concludes on July 16, and the Knockout Round begins on July 19, with the final set for July 26 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.
Bedoya and the United States are in Group B of the competition, set to play Panama (July 8, Nashville), Martinique (July 12, Tampa) and Nicaragua (July 15, Cleveland) in the Group Stage. Prior to the tournament, the USA also plays a friendly against Ghana (July 1, Hartford). The midfielder has earned 60 caps for the USMNT since his debut during a friendly at Honduras on January 23, 2010. This year alone, he has appeared in three 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification matches for the Stars & Stripes: vs. Honduras (March 24), at Panama (March 28) and vs. Trinidad and Tobago (June 8). He was a part of the USA’s title-winning squad at the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup and was on the USA’s roster for the 2011 and 2015 editions of the tournament as well.
Meanwhile, Blake and Jamaica were drawn into Group C of the tournament. The Reggae Boyz are slated to face Curacao (July 9, San Diego), Mexico (July 13, Denver) and El Salvador (July 16, San Antonio) throughout the Group Stage. The goalkeeper has earned 24 caps for his country and has served as the regular goalkeeper throughout recent major competitions, including FIFA World Cup qualification and the 2016 Copa America Centenario. He was also a part of the Jamaica squad at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where the Reggae Boyz finished as runners-up.
Union players Chris Pontius and CJ Sapong were previously named to the United States’ provisional 40-man roster and remain eligible to be substituted onto the 23-man roster following the Group Stage, at the discretion of Arena. Any National Team that reaches the Quarterfinals is able to swap up to six players from their Group Stage 23-man roster with six players from the provisional roster. Any roster amendments must occur within 24 hours of the respective National Team’s final Group Stage match. Teams may also replace an injured player with someone from the provisional roster up to 24 hours prior to their first match of the tournament.
The tournament includes a Quarterfinal doubleheader at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on July 19. The winner of Group A is slated to face the runner-up of Group B (6:00 p.m. ET), while the Winner of Group B takes on a third-placed qualifier from either Group A or Group C (9:00 p.m. ET). It is possible that either the USA (Group B) or Jamaica (Group C) could play their Quarterfinal match in Philadelphia.
The Union next play on Wednesday, June 28 as they travel to Red Bull Arena to face the New York Red Bulls in the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 (7:30 p.m. ET). Philadelphia’s next MLS regular-season match is Sunday, July 2 at Talen Energy Stadium against the New England Revolution (5:00 p.m. ET / FS1).
