SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Earthquakes forward Chris Wondolowski will represent the United States at the 2014 FIFA World Cup after making the Americans’ final 23-man roster announced by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann on Thursday.
Klinsmann will be available at a press conference Friday on the campus of Stanford University. Details on location and time will be provided shortly.
"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," Klinsmann said. "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."
The United States will continue training camp in Stanford, Calif. on Friday as they prepare for their first Send-Off Series match against Azerbaijan. The match will be played at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park on Tuesday, May 27 (7 p.m. PT / ESPN2, WatchESPN, UniMas). Tickets are on sale at www.ussoccer.com, www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 800-745-3000.
The USMNT will also face Turkey on Sunday, June 1 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. (11 a.m. PT / ESPN2, WatchESPN, UniMas) and Nigeria on Saturday, June 7 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. (3 p.m. PT / ESPN, WatchESPN, UniMas).
Wondolowski, 31, has nine goals in 19 caps with the U.S. He has nine goals in his last 10 games dating back to his first national team tally against Guatemala on July 6, 2013. Wondo has been in fine form this year, scoring both of the Americans’ goals in a 2-0 win against South Korea at the StubHub Center on Feb. 1 and the second in a 2-2 draw against Mexico at University of Phoenix Stadium on April 2. He has the highest goals-per-game average since the beginning of 2013 at 0.81. Last summer, Wondolowski took home a share of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Boot after tying USA teammate Landon Donovan and Panama’s Gabriel Torres with five goals during the month-long tournament.
Over the last four years, Wondolowski has been the most prolific American goal scorer with 84 goals in his last 150 games. He led the league in goals in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and was named Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player in 2012 after tying the MLS record for goals in a single-season with 27.
The United States was drawn into Group G along with Germany, Portugal and Ghana. They’ll open with Ghana on Monday, June 16 in Natal followed by Portugal on Sunday, June 22 in Manaus and Germany on Thursday, June 26 in Recife. For more information, visit www.ussoccer.com.
U.S. CAMP ROSTER BY POSITION
Goalkeepers (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Defenders (8): 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 (8): 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 (4): Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
