Cameron Makes Final U.S. Roster; Donovan, Parkurst Among Cuts
- Updated: May 22, 2014
Attleboro (Mass.) native Geoff Cameron will get the chance to play in the 2014 World Cup after he was named to final 23-man U.S. Men’s National Team roster on Thursday.
Cameron, 28, was among 30 players who made coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s preliminary roster, which also included national team mainstay Landon Donovan, as well Providence, R.I. native Michael Parkurst. But Donovan and Parkhurst were among the seven who did not make the final cut.
“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 in a statement on Thursday. “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.”
Cameron just finished up his 2013-14 season with Stoke City of the EPL, where he’s primarily featured as a right back. He was transferred to Stoke during August 2012 following a five-year career with the Houston Dynamo. He’s been capped 24 times, his first coming in 2010.
Another player with New England connections who made the final roster is former Boston College midfielder Alejandro Bedoya. Bedoya played at Chestnut Hill from 2007-08, and has been capped 26 times. He currently plays for Ligue 1 side Nantes.
Meanwhile, Donovan, who’s collected 156 caps and tallied a national team record 57 goals, is the most surprising name on the list of those cut. But after a lackluster run of training leading up to last month’s friendly vs. Mexico, his spot on the roster was cast in doubt.
Parkhurst returned to MLS with the Columbus Crew during the offseason following stints with F.C. Nordsjælland (Danish Superliga) and Augsburg (Bundesliga), and played center back and right back overseas. He was originally drafted by the New England Revolution as a center back in 2005, and was named 2007 MLS Defender of the Year at age 23. He was first capped in 2007, and has collected a total of 25 during his national team career.
In addition to Donovan and Parkhurst, the following players were also released from the U.S. MNT’s training camp: forward Terrence Boyd, midfielders Joe Corona and Maurice Edu, and defenders Brad Evans and Clarence Goodson.
2014 FIFA WORLD CUP – U.S. 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)
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