Countdown to 2014 World Cup in Brazil
The 2014 World Cup begins on June 12, when Brazil plays Croatia in the opening match. Reporters and editors for The Times will count down to the start of the tournament each day with a short capsule of news and interesting tidbits.
With 31 days to go before the start of the World Cup, Jurgen Klinsmann, coach of the United States national soccer team, on Monday unveiled the 30 players he is taking to training camp. Twenty-three will go to Brazil. The team has adopted a motto, 'One Nation. One Team.' Players are expected to report to camp at Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., on Wednesday.
'It's been an incredible journey, and everyone has worked tremendously hard,' Klinsmann said. '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.'
The players selected by Klinsmann come from nine top-flight leagues around the world: Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada (15), England's Premier League (4), Germany's Bundesliga (4), Mexico's Liga MX (2), Austria's Bundesliga (1), France's Ligue 1 (1), the Netherlands' Eredivisie (1), Norway's Tippeligaen (1) and Turkey's Super Lig (1).
Named to the team were defenders John Brooks, Timmy Chandler and DeAndre Yedlin; midfielder Julian Green; and forwards Terrence Boyd and Chris Wondolowski. Among the players left off the roster were defenders Michael Orozco and Tim Ream; midfielders Sacha Kljestan, Brek Shea, Jose Torres and Daniel Williams; and forwards Herculez Gomez, Eddie Johnson and Juan Agudelo.
A handful of players - the No. 3 goalkeeper Nick Rimando, Brooks, Green, Wondolowski and Yedlin - did not appear in any of the 16 World Cup qualifiers the United States played.
The United States is in Group G for the first round of the World Cup, with Ghana, Portugal and Germany. The United States opens the tournament against Ghana (June 16, 6 p.m. Eastern) in Natal. The American team will then face Portugal (June 22, 6 p.m. Eastern) in Manaus, and finish group play against Germany (June 26, noon) in Recife.
Before departing for Brazil, the United States will play three games: against Azerbaijan (San Francisco on May 27); Turkey (Harrison, N.J., on June 1); and Nigeria (Jacksonville, Fla., June 7).
The roster:
Goalkeepers Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake);
Defenders DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg), Brad Evans (Seattle), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles), Clarence Goodson (San Jose), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Parkhurst (Columbus), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle );
Midfielders Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto), Joe Corona (Tijuana), Brad Davis (Houston), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Maurice Edu (Philadelphia), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jones (Besiktas), Graham Zusi (Kansas City);
Forwards Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Clint Dempsey (Seattle), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Aron Johannsson (AZ), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose).
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