Dwyer scored the first goal of a 2-1 win in a Friendly against Ghana.Credit Timothy A. Clary/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — More than a month ago, U.S. Soccer quietly confirmed its hotel and training base for next summer’s World Cup in Russia.

The federation has also sent officials to investigate bus companies, travel routes and restaurants, and a separate group scouted possible day trips for friends and family who will follow the team to Russia.

For now, the critical work of preparing for the tournament — identifying players, teaching them the way Arena wants to play, and then forging a unit out of an ever-rotating pool of talent — continues.

In their place on the 23-man roster are some other veterans and a host of new faces and second-tier players, all hoping to catch the coaching staff’s eye a year before the World Cup.

The Chicago Fire’s Dax McCarty, 30, is probably facing his last chance to convert the respect he has gained in Major League Soccer into a national team career.