Landon Donovan left out of USA squad for World Cup in Brazil

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/22/landon-donovan-left-out-usa-squad-world-cup-brazil

Version 0 of 1.

Landon Donovan has been left out of the USA squad for next month's World Cup in Brazil.

The other players released from coach Jürgen Klinsmann's original 30-man World Cup roster were Terrence Boyd, Joe Corona, Maurice Edu, Brad Evans, Clarence Goodson and Michael Parkhurst.

Klinsmann said: “After almost 10 days of work right now, we thought the point has come to make the decision.”

The USA face an extremely tough draw in Brazil, sharing Group G with Germany, Portugal and Ghana. Their first game is against Ghana on 16 June in Natal.

In recent days, Donovan's chances of selection had inspired intensifying debate. The Los Angeles Galaxy striker, 32, who had a successful spell in the Premier League with Everton and has also played for Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, has played in the last three World Cups, scoring five times. He has 156 caps and has scored a national-record 57 goals.

Speaking from the team's Stanford training camp on Monday, Donovan appeared to share the doubts about his selection expressed by some pundits. He said: "I sort of liken it to 2002.

“In 2006 and 2010, I knew for the most part that, unless I was awful, I was going to make the team. This time is more similar to 2002 where I wasn't sure.

"In that way, it is as competitive as it has been personally in a long time. There is a lot of quality here and you can really make the case for any of the guys to be on the squad."

There is a place in Klinsmann's squad for Julian Green, an 18-year-old German-born Bayern Munich midfielder who has one cap and could now be the youngest player to make a US World Cup team.

In a recent interview, Donovan said: "As far as Julian goes, I’m always reluctant with young players to, one way or the other, to critique them, because they’re still young and they need time to develop.

"We’ve seen a lot of times in this country that we get a little too excited about a young player and it ends up affecting them one way or the other, good or bad."

In 2012, Donovan took a break from football, citing tiredness resulting from a near-constant global schdeule. The break meant he missed the USA's first qualifying matches for Brazil, but he said at the time: “If I'm not enjoying playing anymore, the World Cup is the last thing on my mind.

"I need to make sure that I'm enjoying playing every day. If I'm not enjoying it, none of that stuff really matters."

In 2013, he returned to Klinsmann's squad.

Announcing his selection for the 2014 finals on Thursday afternoon, Klinsmann said: “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.”

USA World Cup squad

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)