Tab Ramos, out of the U.S. national team picture since the ’98 World Cup, was the surprise addition to U.S. men’s national team coach’s 18-man squad for theupcoming World Cup semifinal qualifying matches against Guatemala (July 16 in Mazatenango) and Costa Rica (July 23 in San Jose). “These are the games we’ve been looking at since I took the job of head coach,” Coach Bruce Arena said of the upcoming matches. “Everything we’ve done as a team in the last 18 months has revolved around preparing ourselves for World Cup qualifying, and I expect a very tough test from our first two games on the road.” The selection of Ramos, 33, marks the midfielder’s first call-up to an Arena-led quad, and his first appearance with the team since the 1998 World Cup in France. Ramos has represented his country on 78 occasions. He scored a spectacular goal against Costa Rica in World Cup qualifying in 1997, and scored his first international goal against the Central American nation on April 30, 1989. “Tab has shown that he can definitely add something to the National Team,” Arena said. “His recent form with his club team has been outstanding, and he has experience playing World Cup qualifiers on the road, so he’s a natural fit for the team.” Ten of the 18 players on the squad named by Arena play for Major League Soccer clubs in the United States, with three-time league champ D.C. United and Western Division powerhouse Los Angeles Galaxy providing five of the 10 American-based players. Defenders Eddie Pope and Jeff Agoos and midfielder Ben Olsen will represent D.C. United, while defender Robin Fraser and forward Cobi Jones will represent the Galaxy. The balance of the roster for the first two qualifying matches played professionally in Europe last season. Veteran captain Claudio Reyna (Rangers, Scotland) leads a group that includes goalkeepers Kasey Keller (Rayo Vallecano, Spain) and Brad Friedel (Liverpool, England), and defenders David Regis (FC Metz, France) and Frankie Hejduk (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany). The midfield includes Eddie Lewis (Fulham, England), Tony Sanneh (Hertha Berlin, Germany), and Earnie Stewart (NAC Breda, Netherlands) Among those missing are U.S. U-23 midfielder John O’Brien, who started two games at U.S. Cup 2000, and striker Jovan Kirovski, who was recently signed by Portuguese champion Sporting Lisbon. Gregg Berhalter is the thirid player who played in the USA-Mexico missing from the 18-player roster. Injured are defender Carlos Llamosa and strikers Brian McBride and Joe-Max Moore. The match against Guatemala, the USA’s first step on the road to qualifying for the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan, will be televised live on ESPN at 11 a.m. MT (1 p.m. ET) on Sunday, July 16. The July 23 game in Costa Rica will be shown on ESPN2 on tape delay at 1:30 p.m. ET. The United States team will begin training for the two important matches on Monday, July 10, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. After departing for Guatemala on Friday, July 14, and returning after the match on Sunday, the team will again train in Ft. Lauderdale for the week leading up to the Costa Rica match.