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Ahead of the latest round of 2018 World Cup qualifiers, U.S. men's national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann continues to keep several familiar faces in the fold. And that includes Real Salt Lake captain Kyle Beckerman.

On Sunday afternoon, Klinsmann named his 26-man roster for a camp ahead of upcoming World Cup qualifiers against St. Vincent and the Grenadines on the road on Friday, and at home against Trinidad & Tobago on Sept. 6 in Jacksonville, Fla., where the team will gather to begin training.

Beckerman, 34, has 57 career caps with the U.S., and was part of this summer's Copa America Centenario team that qualified for the semifinal round before finishing fourth overall. The RSL midfielder started in the 4-0 loss to Argentina in the Copa America semifinal match, his most recent cap with the U.S.

"It's always exciting to be a part of it," Beckerman said in a club release. "These are the last qualifying games for the year and we want to finish on a high and qualify for the next round. It's important for us and we want to get after it right in the first game."

Klinsmann and the U.S. close out Group C play in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying with these final two matches. The Americans are in second place in the group (2-1-1, seven points). Unbeaten Trinidad & Tobago currently leads the group at 3-0-1 and 10 points. The top two teams from each World Cup qualifying group advance to Hexagonal round, which begins in November.

The U.S. will automatically advance to the Hexagonal round on Friday if it beats St. Vincent and Trinidad & Tobago tops Guatemala at home. Klinsmann recalled 19 of the 23 players from this summer's Copa America roster.

The most noticeable absence is forward Clint Dempsey, who is undergoing further medical evaluation for an irregular heartbeat. The U.S. is boosted with the return of Jozy Altidore, who missed the Copa America tournament this summer due to a hamstring injury. Joining Altidore are fellow strikers Bobby Wood, Jordan Morris, Chris Wondolowski and Rubio Rubin.

Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones join Beckerman as central midfielders on this World Cup qualifying roster. Bradley won't be eligible for the first match against St. Vincent due to suspension and Jones, despite being called in, is still dealing with a knee injury suffered in early July.

"We definitely think that the group that got fourth in the Copa America deserves a certain priority going on to the next World Cup qualifiers because they did tremendously well in the Copa America," Klinsmann said in a Q&A with ussoccer.com. "It was an exciting tournament with great games. The whole group learned a lot, playing teams like Colombia, Ecuador and Argentina.

"This is a big stage, and they deserve to come back and confirm what they did in the tournament in these upcoming, very important World Cup qualifiers."

Since Klinsmann's appointment as head coach of the U.S. in 2011, Beckerman has asserted himself as a mainstay. The RSL midfielder started all three group-stage matches at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he was part of last summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup roster and most recently this year's Copa America roster.

Beckerman is likely to miss RSL's next league match at home on Wednesday, Sept. 7, against the L.A. Galaxy. RSL could very well be down two midfielders as rookie Omar Holness was also summoned for this slate of upcoming World Cup qualifiers by the Jamaican national team.

Jamaica faces Panama on the road on Sept. 2 before hosting Haiti on Sept. 6.

Late in Friday's 2-1 win over the Colorado Rapids, Beckerman — in his 17th year in MLS — became the league's all-time leader in minutes played by an outfield player, passing former New England Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston by playing 33,148 minutes.

"At the end of the day, he's still the best and that's why he gets called in," RSL coach Jeff Cassar said. "These are meaningful games that they have to get results, so they bring in the best. Jurgen sees what he's doing with our club and playing that position and it fits extremely well into how he wants to play with his team."

Twitter: @chriskamrani —

U.S. roster for World Cup qualifiers

Goalkeepers • Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough), Ethan Horvath (Molde FC), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids)

Defenders • Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), John Brooks (Hertha BSC), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle)

Midfielders • Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Caleb Stanko (FC Vaduz), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Forwards • Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC), Rubio Rubin (FC Utrecht), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (Hamburg SV)