Latin American Soccer Players to Watch at the 2014 FIFA World Cup
The final 23-player roster has been announced for team USA to play at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. There were some questionable decisions, the most controversial of course being the fact that Landon Donovan was not included.
Coach Jurgen Klinsmann decided to go with a younger lineup and thus excluded the 32-year-old from the 23-player starting rotation. However, there is still a chance Donovan may still see playing time as he and six other players are currently on the team's "standby list." He can become available to play in a game by coaches decision or a players injury.
Latin American countries tend to do the best at the FIFA World Cup tournaments, but this team has Latino ancestry to watch and cheer for at all positions.
Mexican goaltender Nick Rimando is the backup to Tim Howard. He's been playing soccer for decades and actually has experience with Howard in the past. The two make a great pair of teammates. Rimando has played for multiple teams, such as the Red Salt Lake. However, he comes in as a bit short, at 4 inches smaller than Howard.
24-year-old Jozy Altidore is an interesting player. The Haitian player has played for various teams over the years, including the New York Red Bulls. Altidore is a young forward that brings speed and high goal scoring capabilities. This will be his first step on the big stage against the best soccer nations in the world. We will see if he's up for the challenge.
Middle fielder Alejandro Bedoya is another young player that made the cut. The 27-year-old Colombian brings a balanced game in the midfield and hopes to help in the passing attack. Bedoya has played overseas for much of his career, mainly in Sweden.
On defense, Omar Gonzalez looks to stop opposing players from getting scoring chances. Gonzalez holds dual citizenship in both America and Mexico, so he could have played for the Mexican team. This is similar to what we see in the Summer and Winter Olympics. Gonzalez is most notable for playing with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Opposite of him, downfield, is Chris Wondolowski who will be trying to put the ball in the net for America. Wondolowski is of Native American descent and last played for the San Jose Earthquakes.
There is another theme with this squad that has some heads turning.
Five German-American players made the final cut by German coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Those players include Jermaine Jones, Fabian Johnson, John Brooks, Timmy Chandler, and Julian Green. It's not time for a conspiracy theory, but this does come as a bit of a surprise considering Landon Donovan didn't make the team.
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