Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann was not initially planning on bringing the maximum 30 players to his pre-World Cup camp, but he has had a change of heart.
Klinsmann used his Twitter account on Thursday to announce that he intends to summon 30 players for the World Cup preparation camp set to begin in Stanford, Calif., on May 14. Klinsmann had previously indicated that he would bring less than 30 players to the two-week camp that includes friendlies vs. Azerbaijan and Turkey, but that is no longer the case.
We will bring all 30 players on #WorldCup preliminary roster into camp in Stanford. Will be a great competition for spots! #RoadtotheRoster
— Jürgen Klinsmann (@J_Klinsmann) May 1, 2014
Klinsmann’s announcement should be encouraging on many levels for several players in the pool. The U.S. currently has one of the deepest teams in its history, and a handful of deserving hopefuls would have missed out on the camp had Klinsmann opted to bring in less than 30 players.
Klinsmann must submit his 30-man preliminary roster to FIFA on May 13 and his final 23-man squad for the World Cup on June 2.
The U.S. hosts Azerbaijan at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on May 27 before heading east to take on Turkey at Red Bull Arena on June 1. The final 23-man World Cup roster then travels down to Florida to face Nigeria at EverBank Field on June 7 before taking off for Brazil.
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What do you make of this development? Think it is a good move to bring in the full 30 players? Wish he would have brought a smaller group instead?
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