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Bruce Arena will not announce his U.S. Gold Cup squad until Sunday afternoon, but one player who seems certain to make the list: midfielder Kenny Saief, whose application to change associations was approved by FIFA this week.

Saief, 23, was born in Florida and moved to Israel when he was 4. He served with several Israeli clubs before moving to Gent in Belgium in 2014. Last season, playing primarily on the left flank, he scored seven goals in 31 league matches and one in 13 Europa League appearances (12 starts) during Gent's run to the round of 16.

Saief (pronounded SIGH-ef) served with Israeli youth national teams for seven years before making senior appearances in friendlies last year against Serbia and Croatia. He was called into Israel's squad for a World Cup qualifier against Italy last year but did not play. If he had, Saief would not have been allowed to apply for an association change.

Because he played in official U-19 and U-21 matches for Israel, Saief needed to petition FIFA. Now that he has been approved, there's no turning back: He is tied to the U.S. program for good, even without playing in an official event. The timing, though, allows Arena to call him into the 23-man squad for the Gold Cup, which will kick off July 7.

Saief was among 40 players included on the provisional roster submitted to CONCACAF several weeks ago. The final list must come from that broader pool.

The Americans will open training camp Monday in Nashville, travel to East Hartford, Conn., for next Saturday's friendly against Ghana, then return to Tennessee for the first group match against Panama on July 8.

The U.S. Soccer Federation is also awaiting word from FIFA on FC Dallas goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez, 22, who applied to switch his allegiance to the United States from Mexico. The Gold Cup roster deadline is Tuesday. It's unclear whether there's a contingency plan in case Gonzalez is approved shortly after the roster announcement.

There are no such issues involving Sporting Kansas City's Dom Dwyer, an English-born forward who received U.S. citizenship this spring. Without any English national team ties, Dwyer did not need to apply to FIFA for approval.

With many of his foreign-based regulars, including Christian Pulisic, in need of time off before club training camps open, Arena will load up his roster with MLS players in mid-season fitness and form. Some non-MLS candidates are expected, as well.