Sunderland midfielder Lynden Gooch earns call up to the USMNT squad for Portugal friendly

Interim USA national team coach Dave Sarachan has called up Sunderland academy graduate Lynden Gooch as part of a young-looking squad ahead of their game next Tuesday with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.

Californian Gooch, who made his debut for the United States senior side in October of last year, has found himself on the fringes of the Sunderland side throughout this season and hasn’t started a game since September, when he scored from the penalty spot against Cardiff City at the Stadium of Light.

Gooch is joined in the squad by English based players Cameron Carter-Vickers (Spurs), Eric Lichaj (Forest), Matt Miazga (Chelsea), Tim Ream (Fulham), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle) and Danny Williams (Huddersfield).

More than half the players that have been picked for selection are 24 years old or younger, with seven of them having taken part in the USA’s previous two U-20 World Cup campaigns - one of which is Sunderland man Gooch.

The 21-year old forward will see his call-up to represent his country as a welcome boost following an indifferent season so far at Sunderland, and will hope to return back to Wearside with the opportunity to impress his new manager on the back of a positive spell away.