The 2014 FIFA World Cup will take place in Brazil starting on June 12th, running through July 13th, 2014. It will mark the second time that Brazil has hosted the competition, the previous being in 1950.
The United States have their final roster of 23-men set to begin play, but the Americans were drawn into one of the most brutal groups to begin first-round play. They will be matched up in Group G with the likes of Germany, Portugal (with Ballon d’Or winner and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo) and Ghana. The U.S. was picked as the fourth seed, and will face Ghana on June 16th at Arena das Dunas in Natal, the largest city of Rio Grande do Norte, in the northeast of Brazil.
Ghana won’t be an easy opponant, they shocked the U.S. four years ago in South Africa by a score of 2-1 in the Round of 16. This time around, the Americans will be looking to not only avenge that defeat, but simply survive long enough to advance, which will not be an easy task.
The full U.S.A. roster was released back in late May, but the biggest news came when MLS star Landon Donovan, whom had made three previous World Cup appearances, did not make the cut to go to Brazil. Team manager Jurgen Klinsmann called the move, “the most difficult decision of my coaching career.”
To lead this team will be up to captain Clint Dempsey, a forward who plays for the Seattle Sounders of the MLS. His 2013 season was poor, only scoring one goal in 12 games, but he came back a dominant player: leading the MLS with eight goals in nine games before being called to prepare for the World Cup. As Alexis Cuarezma of Sports Illustrated best describes Dempsey: “The U.S. captain is his team’s best creator, best holdup player and top goal poacher. No matter the alignment, Dempsey has positional freedom, often starting as a striker but dropping deep to facilitate an attack.”
If the U.S. wants to advance, Dempsey will need to be one for the Americans to lean on. Look below for the complete Team U.S.A. roster table as the 2014 FIFA World Cup begins June 12th.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Players in the MLS are highlighted in bold.
Photo courtesy of AFP PHOTO/JOSH EDELSON.
