Herculez Gomez, Edson Buddle and Robbie Findley are all going to the World Cup. Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson – two veterans of the 2006 roster – are not.
Photo Gallery: The United States World Cup roster
Those were the biggest surprises as Bob Bradley’s final 23-man World Cup roster was announced on Wednesday. Gomez and Buddle, despite a combined five career caps for the USMNT, rode amazing hot streaks in their recent club play and will represent their country in South Africa.
"Both have been in great form, scored a lot of goals this year and, as we move into the World Cup, players that are on a roll come in handy," Bradley said of the two hot hands after the announcement on SportsCenter.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Real Salt Lake speedster Findley – who did not feature in the US' 4-2 loss to the Czech Republic on Tuesday night – also made Bradley's roster, perhaps at the expense of Houston Dynamo veteran target man Ching, who had been considered a lock.
Besides Ching, Eddie Johnson, Robbie Rogers, Chad Marshall, Heath Pearce, Sacha Kljestan and Alejandro Bedoya also did not make the final 23. Ching, Rogers, Marshall, Pearce and Kljestan immediately are free to return to their MLS clubs.
Here is the United States Men’s National Team roster for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa:
Goalkeepers (3): Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Marcus Hahnemann.
Defenders (7): Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector.
Midfielders (8): DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Landon Donovan, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Stuart Holden, José Francisco Torres.
Forwards (5): Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle, Clint Dempsey, Robbie Findley, Herculez Gomez.
