BRISTOL, Conn., May 26 (UPI) -- U.S. soccer Coach Bob Bradley pared his roster down to the final 23 players who will represent the United States at the World Cup in South Africa.
Bradley announced the cuts of seven players from the 30-player group that had been training in recent weeks. The final team includes forwards Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez.
"Plain and simple, Edson and Herculez have had real good stretches and scored a lot of goals," Bradley said in a conference call Wednesday.
The players cut were defenders Heath Pearce and Chad Marshall, midfielders Alejandro Bedoya, Sacha Kljestan and Robbie Rogers, and forwards Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson.
"It's important in any team-building process to get to the final 23 and clearly there were some tough decisions to make," Bradley said. "We are confident that this is a group of players that will work together and be committed to doing whatever it takes to be successful."
The United States meets England June 12 in its first match of the 2010 World Cup.
The complete U.S. World Cup roster:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan, Tim Howard and Marcus Hahnemann.
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson, Oguchi Onyewu and Jonathan Spector.
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Stuart Holden and Jose Torres.
Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle, Robbie Findley and Herculez Gomez.
