U.S. sets 23-man roster

AP Sports Writer

By Ronald Blum


BRISTOL, Conn. — United States coach Bob Bradley named his 23-man squad for the World Cup on Wednesday, bringing together the likes of Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley with relatively unknown players Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez.



Bradley cut seven players from his preliminary squad — defenders Chad Marshall and Heath Pearce; midfielders Alejandro Bedoya, Sacha Kljestan and Robbie Rogers; and forwards Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson.



Midfielders Donovan and Beasley, and defender Steve Cherundolo earned their third World Cup trips. Beasley's selection capped a comeback from nine months of national team exile that ended in March.



Seventeen of the 23 players are based in Europe, with just four from Major League Soccer and two from Mexican clubs. Of the European group, eight play in England, three in Germany, two in Scotland, and one each in Denmark, France, Italy and Norway.



Buddle and Gomez are forwards and Bradley said they "both have been in great form, scored a lot of goals this year."



Buddle didn't play for the U.S. during World Cup qualifying. But he's scored nine times this season for the Los Angeles Galaxy to lead the MLS, and he made his first start for the national team in Tuesday night's 4-2 loss to the Czech Republic.


The 29-year-old Buddle didn't quite believe it when Bradley congratulated him at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning.

"I thought he was messing around. I didn't know. It was too late," he said.
Gomez might have faced even longer odds to make the squad after his contract was not renewed last year by Kansas City in MLS. But he went to Puebla in Mexico and became the league's joint top scorer with 10 goals in 14 appearances.
"I wasn't good enough for the Wizards last year, so to be where I am today is amazing," Gomez said.
Bradley praised Buddle, Gomez and Beasley for taking advantage of their opportunities.

"One player that I felt fits into that category is Herculez Gomez," Bradley said. "He's worked hard to get to this point.

"DaMarcus obviously had fallen out of it a bit and he needed to make a renewed commitment to the team and doing things as a player that makes his team better. And we've seen that.


"When you make tough decision you try to factor in everything," Bradley added. "You take into account where they are in their season and certainly to this point Edson is one of the best players in MLS. That type of form needed to really count."