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Tim Howard and DaMarcus Beasley named to U.S. squad for friendly vs. Peru

Reuters

Everton 'keeper Tim Howard and Houston Dynamo full-back DaMarcus Beasley have been recalled to the U.S. National Team for a friendly against Peru on Sept. 4.

The friendly match, which is being held at Washington's RFK Stadium, will see two of the country's most capped players return to the side.

Howard, 36, has been capped 104 times while Beasley, 33, has made 122 appearances for the U.S. The squad will use the match against Peru as a tuneup for for an Oct. 10 tie against Mexico that will determine CONCACAF's representative for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.

Manager Jurgen Klinsmann is pleased to see Howard return to the side following a year-long absence.

"We can be really thrilled to have Tim Howard back on board," Klinsmann told ussoccer.com.

"He took a year off because of family reasons, and that was all fine for us. Now after the Gold Cup we had the understanding that we were going to talk on the phone, which we did at length. He said he would love to come back. This is more great news for us.

"Tim has accepted for the time being to be the No. 2 (behind Brad Guzan), and then down the road there will be a fight for the No. 1 spot like in every position," Klinsmann continued. "He accepted that, and we are really happy to have him back on board because of who he is and what he has done for us."

In Howard's absence, Aston Villa first-choice shot-stopper Guzan, 30, has made nine straight appearances for the Americans, including every match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Beasley, who came out of international retirement for the Gold Cup, will join the American side for the Peru match and for a friendly against Brazil on Sept. 8 in Foxborough, Mass.

The fifth-most-capped U.S. player's inclusion comes as a bit of a surprise. Beasley was expected to retire again following a disappointing Gold Cup that saw the Americans lose the third-place match to Panama on penalties.

Beasley took the fifth penalty, forcing a save from Panamanian second-choice 'keeper Luis Mejia and sending the Americans home with a disappointing fourth-place finish after losing 3-2 on spot kicks.

"One of the most important follow-ups after the Gold Cup was definitely a conversation with DaMarcus Beasley," Klinsmann said. He continued:

He made himself available for the Gold Cup and it didn't work out the way we all wanted it with his injury after the first training session. So we had that conversation and I asked him to reconsider the National Team and he was all fired up. He was all proud and happy and he said "I'm there for the U.S. National Team."

It's a big statement for us because not only is he a guy that's important on the field with all of the qualities that he has, it seems like he's not getting older at all, but he's also extremely important as a chemistry guy within the group.

He's always a positive thinker. He looks after young players. He makes sure that the energy level is high, so to have him back in our group for the future is huge for us. Hopefully it will be a long future still with DaMarcus Beasley with the National Team.

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