James Sands will be trying to earn his first international cap at the Gold Cup. (Photo courtesy of MLS)

New York City FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson and defendeer James Sands were chosen to the U.S. men’s national team’s 23-player roster for the Concacaf Gold Cup.

Johnson, the team captain, has nine senior caps for his country after making his debut against Chile in January 2011. He was also part of Gold Cup winning squads in 2013 and 2017. He last saw action for the U.S. during a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in 2020.

Sands is aiming to make his senior international debut with the USMNT following involvement at Under-15, U-17 and U-19 levels. The 20-year-old Sands became NYCFC’s first Homegrown Player signing after winning consecutive U-19 national titles with the club.

A native of Rye, N.Y., Sands made his senior debut for the Boys in Blue in 2017 and celebrated signed a multi-year contract with NYCFC in March. He has played almost every minute of the team’s seaason, operating predominantly as a central defender.

Sands and Johnson will join up with the squad July 5, meaning both will miss the match vs. CF Montreal, July 7. The USMNT will begin the Gold Cup July 11, before games on July 15 and July 18 round out its group stage matches.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.