CHESTER, Pa. -- U.S. veteran DaMarcus Beasley expects to play his final match with the national team on Saturday against Panama.
Manager Jurgen Klinsmann, who called Beasley out of international retirement earlier this month to join the U.S. squad at the ongoing CONCACAF Gold Cup, said the 33-year-old would play in the second half of the third-place match at PPL Park in suburban Philadelphia.
"It looks like it comes to an end tomorrow if he doesn't reconsider," Klinsmann said of Beasley -- who would win his 122nd cap -- during his pre-match news conference.
"It's a very special moment for him, because what he gave this team over the last many, many years has been unbelievable."
Beasley made his senior team debut as an 18-year-old in 2001. He became the only American to participate in four World Cups last summer, starting all four games at left-back for the Americans and helping them reach the knockout stage at Brazil 2014.
Before joining the senior side, the wiry, left-footed native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, played with various youth national teams, helping the under-17s reach the semifinals of the 1999 U-17 World Cup, where he won the silver ball as the tournament's second-best player.
He said his lasting memory of his time with the program will be starting, at 20, against Portugal at the 2002 World Cup.
"I never dreamed I would make the World Cup at that age," said Beasley, who played mostly at left wing until being moved to the back line in 2013. "That was my proudest moment."
Beasley announced his retirement from the U.S. team in December, but Klinsmann convinced him to come back for one last run this summer. He was one of three players added to the Americans' Gold Cup roster ahead of the knockout stage, but he picked up a calf injury in his first training session that kept him out of last week's quarterfinal win over Cuba and Wednesday's 2-1 loss to Jamaica in the semis.
Klinsmann said Beasley is healthy now, but that he wouldn't start him against the Canaleros because the game might got to extra time.
"I was really humbled and honored that Jurgen asked me to come back," said Beasley, who will continue to play at club level with the Houston Dynamo in MLS.
"I'm not going to want to take off my shirt tomorrow."
It might not be the last time. Beasley said he won't formally announce his retirement again. But given his age and the youth movement Klinsmann has overseen since the last World Cup, he seems to know that making another comeback is unlikely.
"If I don't get called in again, I'm honestly happy with that," he said.
Still, Klinsmann said he hoped Beasley remain with U.S. Soccer in some capacity -- perhaps as a youth coach, where he could pass on his vast experience -- when his playing days are finished for good.
"He's been an outstanding professional," Klinsmann said. "He's always been a giver to the national team program, from the under-17 level on, and it's always been a pleasure to work with him."