Sawt Falasteen - Son of former US coach Berhalter in squad for June friendlies

Berhalter, the son of former US international coach Gregg Berhalter, has been in dazzling form for Vancouver this season, helping the Canadian club reach the final of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

The 24-year-old is one of two Whitecaps players in US coach Mauricio Pochettino's 27-man squad, with Vancouver forward Brian White included amongst the pool of strikers.

The US play Turkey on June 7 before facing Switzerland on June 10 in back-to-back fixtures against European opposition that Pochettino says will be invaluable as the US prepares for next year's World Cup in North America.

"As we continue preparations for the World Cup, this is a fantastic opportunity to work with this group of players for an extended period and it's important we take advantage of every moment we have together," Pochettino said.

"Of course, we want to win and to perform in a very good way. These players have earned the chance to compete for our fans and to show their quality and mentality."

United States squad:

Goalkeepers: Matt Freese (New York City FC), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG)

Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergino Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), DeJuan Jones (San Jose Earthquakes), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati)

Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG); Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP), Luca de la Torre (San Diego FC), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union); Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew)

Forwards: Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA); Damion Downs (Cologne/GER), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG)

L.AbuTayeh--SF-PST