CARSON, Calif. (Monday, May 12, 2014) – LA Galaxy forward Landon Donovan and defender Omar Gonzalez have been named to the U.S. National Team preliminary 30-man roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. From this list, a squad of 23 players must be chosen by June 2 for the final roster that will travel to Brazil. The USA’s 23-player FIFA World Cup roster will be announced at a later date.
The U.S. Men’s National Team will convene in Stanford, Calif. on Wednesday, May 14 in preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Last year, both Donovan and Gonzalez helped the U.S. qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Gonzalez appeared in and started eight of the 10 games that the U.S. played in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying while Donovan appeared in three qualifiers, scoring once.
Donovan has a total 156 caps, and is only eight shy of Cobi Jones’ record of 164 appearances for the U.S. National Team. Already the U.S. record holder for goals and assists with 57 goals and 57 assists in his international career, Donovan had eight goals and eight assists in 10 appearances for his country last year, leading the U.S. to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup championship. Donovan is seeking to reach his fourth FIFA World Cup where he has tallied five goals in 12 matches.
Gonzalez, who was also a part of the U.S. squad at last year’s Gold Cup, collected 14 caps in 2013 and now has a total of 18 for his international career. Gonzalez is currently recovering from a left knee injury that was suffered in the first half of the team’s 1-0 road defeat to the Colorado Rapids on May 3 and is expected to be back within the next two weeks.
“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 U.S. MNT's Send-Off Series kicks off with United States vs. Azerbaijan, powered by Yingli Solar, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 27, at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The U.S. 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. 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.
Season tickets for the 2014 MLS season are still available, starting at $12.50 per game. Becoming a Galaxy Season Ticket Member gives fans the opportunity to see every Galaxy home game as well as a number of additional benefits such as access to the new LA Galaxy Locker Room Rewards program, extra savings on additional single and group tickets, early entrance into the stadium and much more. For more information about becoming a Galaxy Season Ticket Member, please call 877-3GALAXY (342-5299) or visit www.lagalaxy.com/tickets.
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 (Nürnberg), 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)
