This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Real Salt Lake midfielder and captain Kyle Beckerman was among the 22 players called to the U.S. Men's National Team by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann for the upcoming friendlies against France and Slovenia.
The first U.S. match will take place against France on Nov. 11 in Paris, only five days removed from RSL's Western Conference Final match against the L.A. Galaxy.
On Nov. 15, five days before a possible MLS Cup match for RSL, the U.S. plays Slovenia from Stozice Stadium in Ljubljana.
"We have a very positive line of communication with MLS," Klinsmann told http://www.ussoccer.com. "We agreed that whoever will be involved in the final will be released after the game against France, which gives them more than a week to prepare [for the MLS Cup]."
The team will begin gathering Nov. 7 in Paris for the final matches for the U.S. Men's National Team this year. There is only one other international fixture date between now and the training camp in May 2012, which begins final preparations for the start of World Cup qualifying.
Beckerman isn't the lone RSL player to receive a national invite. Jean Alexandre (Haiti), Will Johnson (Canada) and Álvaro Saborío (Costa Rica) will play for their national teams.
"It is an honor when our players are called into their national teams," RSL general manager Garth Lagerwey said. "But the singular focus for us at the moment is on the Western Conference Championship. Balancing the road to MLS Cup with the upcoming FIFA international dates will be a nice problem to solve if we get to it."