Five members of the MLS Cup-champion Columbus Crew are among the 25 players named by U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley to the training camp roster that will begin workouts Jan. 4 at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The Crew’s five-man contingent — the most of any club at the Carson camp — is made up of goalkeeper William Hesmer, defender Chad Marshall and midfielders Brian Carroll, Eddie Gaven and Robbie Rogers.

The group will prepare for the USA’s first match of 2009, a friendly against Sweden on Jan. 24 at The Home Depot Center. The match will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET. Fans can also follow the game live via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker.

Click here for more info on the upcoming U.S. Men’s National Team camp. And don’t forget, Crew Stadium will be the host site for the U.S. vs. Mexico match in final-round qualifying for the FIFA World Cup on Feb. 11.

Contrary to some premature (and innacurate) reports, Crew Stadium will indeed host the home leg between the United States and Mexico in final-round qualifying for the FIFA World Cup for the third consecutive time. The USA’s most anticipated match of the final round will be played Wednesday, Feb. 11, with kickoff times and broadcast information to be announced at a later date. The match at Crew Stadium is the first of five qualifiers in the Final Round to be played in the United States. Ticketing details will be announced in the near future. For more information, click here.

Several Crew players have been busy with their respective national teams over the last week as Brian Carroll, Frankie Hejduk, Alejandro Moreno and Ricardo Pierre-Louis all contributed in their squad’s efforts to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. More after the jump.

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A few interesting tidbits to pass along this afternoon…

First, Crew captain Frankie Hejduk is currently featured in a great, in-depth interview on ussoccer.com. Among the topics discussed with Frankie are his current role on the USMNT, his past memories of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying and his love (addiction?) of espresso. Click here to check it out. (hat tip: Michael Kammarman & ussoccer.com)

Also, head coach Sigi Schmid will be appearing on the Average Joe Sports Show tonight at 8 p.m. with host Dan Fronczak on ONN. Be sure to tune in to ONN at 8 p.m. to hear coach discuss the Crew’s success so far this season, including being awarded the Supporters’ Shield, and what it will take for the Black & Gold to make a deep run in the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs.

ONN is the Crew’s regional TV broadcast partner and Ohio’s Channel for news, weather, sports and lifestyles programming. Make sure to tune in to ONN this Saturday, Oct. 18 to watch the Crew take on the New York Red Bulls at 7:30 p.m. Click here for more information and to locate ONN on your local cable system.

We’re checking in briefly with a few news and notes for your Monday afternoon perusal:

On the U.S. Men’s National Team front, head coach Bob Bradley has made two changes to his 18 man roster for Wenesday’s WC Qualifier against Trinidiad & Tobago in Port of Spain, Trinidad, both of which involve Crew midfielders. Robbie Rogers is currently recovering from a sore back after the physical match against Chicago yesterday, and has been replaced by Chris Rolfe for the match. Alternately, Brian Carroll recieved a late call-up for Wednesday’s match to replace the injured Pablo Mastroeni. BC departed early Monday morning and will join Crew teammate Frankie Hejduk and the rest of the USMNT later this evening in Trinidad.

Meanwhile, Eddie Gaven’s skillful volley from yesterday’s match vs. the Fire has been nominated for Sierra Mist Goal of the Week for Week 29. Gaven’s tally, which came in the 59th minute, was his third of the season, to go along with his two assists. Click here to view Eddie’s spectacular goal and register your vote!

And finally, the Crew Reserve squad dropped a 1-0 decision to the Fire Reserves following yesterday’s first team game, to move its record to 3-5-2 (11 pts.) for the season. The Reserves’ starting line-up and substitutions were as follows: Andy Gruenebaum (GK), Jed Zayner, Ryan Junge (Eric Brunner 60), Ezra Hendrickson, Andrew Peterson, Stefani Miglioranzi (Brian Plotkin 76), Duncan Oughton (Steve Gillespie 91+), Stanley Nyazamba, Emmanuel Ekpo, Steven Lenhart (George Joston 65), Jason Garey (Cory Elenio 65)