US Soccer has announced that two Sounders have been called into January training camp. Midfielder Brad Evans and defender Jeff Parke will replace the Galaxy's Omar Gonzalez and FC Dallas' George John who were given permission to withdraw "in order to deal with club-related matters." Evans has been capped four times by the USMNT, while Parke is hoping to earn his first appearance for the national team. The US will face Venezuela in Glendale, AZ on January 21st and Panama in Panama City on January 25th.
Due to most of Europe being in mid-season, USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann is using thee January friendlies as an opportunity to take a closer look at many MLS-based players on the margins of the national team picture. Even with that being the case, Evans and Parke were both skipped over initially and are nearing the end of the window during which a player typically establishes themselves as a national team regular. That being the case, both Evans and Parke will most certainly be looking to turn Klinsmann's eye in the hopes of securing more regular national team duty. It's been a tough road for both in terms of catching on with the USMNT in the past, but given the deficiencies the team has at their respective positions this is a tremendous opportunity for the two Sounders.