By Ameenu Shardow, follow on Twitter @alooameenu
USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called a 23-man squad to begin their World Cup preparations which involves a training camp in Brazil five months ahead of the tournament.
The month-long camp begins on Monday, January 6 in Carson, California and ends with an international friendly with South Korea on February 1.
The team full of locally-based players will also make a trip to the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo from Jan. 13-25 to give the players and staff a dry run of this summer’s tournament.
The early preparations by the US shows clearly how seriously they are taking their seventh straight participation at the World Cup.
The Yanks will open their campaign against Ghana on June 16 in Natal.
The USA have never beaten the Black Stars at the World Cup with their previous meetings going the way of the West Africans.
Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann is however determined to reverse this trend and has already started intense preparations for the finals which is five months away.
“We are all very excited for this camp because, as a team, it will give us our first taste of Brazil,†said Klinsmann.
“This is a very important camp in our preparations for the World Cup.
“It’s important for the players to continue developing their bond and sense of urgency for the tournament.
“It’s important for us to see how they do in Brazil, how the new players fit with the group and to make sure everyone is focused on reaching the highest level for next summer.â€
Klinsmann has retained 10 players that helped the side secure qualification while giving nine players a chance to secure their first caps in the friendly against South Korea.