Defender Alexi Lalas and midfielder Cobi Jones have been added to the U.S. roster for U.S. Cup ’97. Lalas replaces midfielder Mike Sorber, who is sidelined by a nagging hamstring injury, while Jones fills out the final spot on the 20-man roster.
U.S. coach Steve Sampson said the two players were kept off the initial roster to let them rest after their busy 1996 schedules.
The USA fell to Partizan Belgrade, the 1996 Yugoslavian league champion, 5-3 in a scrimmage at the ARCO training center on Tuesday. Preki Radosavljevic scored twice for the U.S., and Frankie Hejduk added the final U.S. tally.
Nearly 20,000 tickets have been sold for the USA-Peru, Mexico-Denmark doubleheader Friday night at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Due to renovations, the stadium will only seat 35,000 fans, only about half of its regular capacity.