Jeff Parke Part Of USMNT's 23-Man Squad For Tuesday's Friendly Against Canada

Short history or not, it's a surprising fact that a newcomer could make national team history for the Philadelphia Union.

Speculation among the team's fan base had pinpointed Zach Pfeffer, Jack McInerney and Amobi Okugo as the most likely players on the team, after the decline then trade of Danny Mwanga, to produce caps at the international level for America.

Instead, former Seattle Sounders stalwart Jeff Parke has jumped to the forefront of the race to obtain the Union's first ever full cap for the United States Men's National Team, after being named to the team's 23-man roster for Tuesday's friendly versus Canada.

The center defender was acquired by Philadelphia in a deal with the Sounders that sent allocation money, and a Supplemental pick in this year's draft, to Seattle.

The 30-year-old already has one cap to his name, also in a January friendly, from last year. Parke was noted to be ready to play if given the chance, according to coverage of the national team's recent practices.

"Preparation meets opportunity on Tuesday night," Parke was quoted as saying by US Soccer's official twitter account.

The USMNT plays against Canada tomorrow at BBVA Compass Stadium, home of the Houston Dynamo, 7 pm EDT.

The 23-man roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire)

DEFENDERS (8): Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), A.J. DeLaGarza (LA Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Connor Lade (New York Red Bulls), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes), Jeff Parke (Philadelphia Union)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (out of contract), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Joshua Gatt (Molde), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

FORWARDS (4): Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA), Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)