U.S. team’s preliminary roster named for World Cup
U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has selected the 30-man preliminary roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. From this list, a squad of 23 players must be chosen by June 2 for the final roster that will travel to Brazil. A date to announce the USA’s 23-player FIFA World Cup roster has not been set.
The 30 players on the preliminary roster will begin reporting to Palo Alto, California, on May 14 for the start of training camp at Stanford University.
“First of all, we want to thank all of the players who have been a part of the process these last three years,” said Klinsmann. “It’s been an incredible journey, and everyone has worked tremendously hard. We had some difficult decisions to make, and we are very excited about the 30 players coming into camp. There is competition in every position, and these next couple of weeks will allow us to make the final determinations on the best 23-man unit to represent the United States in the World Cup.”
Under the banner of “One Nation. One Team.” the U.S. will play three matches in the Send-Off Series from May 27-June 7 in San Francisco, New York and Jacksonville, Florida. The Send-Off Series kicks off with USA vs. Azerbaijan, powered by Yingli Solar, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 27, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco [TICKETS]. The USA then hosts Turkey at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 1, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, before traveling to Jacksonville, Florida, to face Nigeria on June 7 at 6 p.m. ET at EverBank Field [TICKETS]. All three Send-Off Series matches will be broadcast live on ESPN2, WatchESPN, UniMas and ESPN Deportes Radio. Fans can also follow the games live on Twitter @ussoccer.
A host of interactive events and social media programs will provide U.S. Soccer fans across the nation with unprecedented opportunities to connect with the U.S. Men’s National Team on its journey from training camp through the build-up toward the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. [SCHEDULE]
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3) : Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (11) : DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Nrnberg), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Parkhurst (Columbus Crew), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
MIDFIELDERS (10) : Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Maurice Edu (Philadelphia Union), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jones (Besiktas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (6) : Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
The U.S. Men’s National Team was drawn into Group G of the 2014 FIFA World Cup along with Ghana, Portugal and Germany. The U.S. opens the tournament on June 16 against Ghana, with kickoff at 6 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local) at Estadio Das Dunas in Natal, located on the northeast coast of the country in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
The USA will then face Portugal on June 22 at 6 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local) at Arena Amazonia in Manaus, in the state of Amazonas, and will finish group play against three-time World Cup champion Germany at Arena Pernambuco in Recife, which is the capital of the state of Pernambuco and is also located on the northeast coast of the country. Kickoff for the match against Germany is at 12 p.m. ET (1 p.m. local).
ROSTER NOTES
Nine top-flight leagues are represented on the preliminary roster: USA’s MLS (15), England’s Premier League (4), Germany’s Bundesliga (4), Mexico’s Liga MX (2), Austria’s Bundesliga (1), France’s Ligue 1 (1), Netherlands’ Eredivisie (1), Norway’s Tippeligaen (1) and Turkey’s Super Lig (1). A total of 24 clubs contribute players to the camp. The Seattle Sounders send three players to Stanford, while the LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting Kansas City have two apiece. A total of 10 players were also on the preliminary roster for the 2010 FIFA World Cup: Jozy Altidore, DaMarcus Beasley, Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Maurice Edu, Clarence Goodson, Brad Guzan and Tim Howard. Bedoya is the only player who did not make the trip to South Africa. Beasley and Donovan have each appeared on three World Cup rosters. Dempsey and Howard have two each, while Altidore, Bradley, Edu, Goodson and Guzan all made their debut in 2010 in South Africa. Three players on the roster (Beasley, Dempsey and Donovan), have more than 100 caps, while Tim Howard is set to become the 15th player in MNT history to play in 100 games. At the other end of the spectrum, five players have 10 caps or less: John Brooks, Timmy Chandler, Julian Green, Aron Johannsson and DeAndre Yedlin. A total of 25 players on the preliminary roster appeared in at least one FIFA World Cup qualifier in the 2014 cycle. The five who did not are Brooks, Green, Nick Rimando, Chris Wondolowski and Yedlin.
Source: U.S. Men’s soccer team
