The U.S. Men’s National Team 23-man roster (ussoccer.com)
U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jürgen Klinsmann released his list of 23 players who will be traveling to Brazil to compete in the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Thursday with one glaring void: Landon Donovan.
With Donovan’s absence, the Americans are without their all-time leading scorer (57 goals) and veteran of three World Cups.
“It’s an exciting moment when you have narrowed the roster down as a coaching staff, and these 23 players that you’ve chosen can focus now purely on Brazil,” said Klinsmann in a prepared statement. “We can go into more specific things about technical approaches, and about the opponents. For the players, it’s very important to know that they are now part of it and they can relax and know they are on the list going to Brazil and taking it from there. After almost 10 days of work right now, we thought the point has come to make the decision.”
Donovan released a statement on his Facebook page, where he addressed Klinsmann’s decision to leave him out:
“It has been an honor and privilege to have represented the US National Team in three World Cups. I was looking forward to playing in Brazil and, as you can imagine, I am very disappointed with today’s decision. Regardless, I will be cheering on my friends and teammates this summer, and I remain committed to helping grow soccer in the US in the years to come.”
Here is a detailed list of the USMNT 23-man roster:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Defenders: DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Nürnberg), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jones (Besiktas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
The following seven players left off the roster were put on a standby list: forwards Terrence Boyd and Donovan, midfielders Joe Corona and Maurice Edu, and defenders Brad Evans, Clarence Goodson and Michael Parkhurst.
Goodson, a veteran of the 2010 World Cup, took to Twitter to support the 23 who made the cut: “I gave absolutely everything, not just this camp but every time I put on the jersey. Zero regrets. All the best boys.”
The USMNT play three matches in the United States as part of the Send-Off Series: May 27 vs. Azerbaijan at Candlestick Park in San Francisco; June 1 vs. Turkey at the Red Bull Arena in New York; and June 7 vs. Nigeria at Everbank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
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