DALLAS -- ‎Seattle Sounders striker Clint Dempsey, who captained United States at the 2014 World Cup, says he believes he will play "more games" with the national team despite his unexpected omission from the squad that will begin 2018 World Cup qualifying next week.

In his first public comments since manager Jurgen Klinsmann decided to leave him out of the 23-man team that will contest United States' first two qualifiers, Dempsey told the "ESPN Soccer Today" radio show on KESN 103.3 FM in Dallas that he understands Klinsmann's call and does not believe it signals the end of his international career.

"I felt good with my return this year with the national team," Dempsey said. "I think I played in 10 games, scored nine goals. I've enjoyed my time playing for the country. I still think that there's some more games to be played.

"But at the same time, it's the travel of playing with the USA [that] takes a toll on your body. That's kind of what caused me to start getting some injuries at the beginning of this year. Especially that trip to Switzerland [in March] where I got off the plane and trained and picked up that [hamstring] injury.

"That kind of started my injuries off for this year because the year before that I didn't have one. So I just got to be smart about how I keep my body in top form and make sure that if I get called on again that I'll be able to go represent."