11 newcomers tabbed for U.S. World Cup roster

NEW YORK — Forward Brian Ching and defender Jimmy Conrad were among 11 newcomers picked Tuesday for the U.S. World Cup roster.

Forward Taylor Twellman and defender Gregg Berhalter were not included in the 23-man group picked by U.S. coach Bruce Arena.

Twelve holdovers were selected from the 2002 team, which advanced to the quarterfinals in the best showing by the United States since 1930. The holdovers included forwards Brian McBride and Josh Wolff; midfielders Claudio Reyna, Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, John O'Brien and Pablo Mastroeni; defenders Steve Cherundolo, Frankie Hejduk, Eddie Lewis and Eddie Pope; and goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

Among the newcomers were forward Eddie Johnson; midfielders Bobby Convey, Clint Dempsey and Ben Olsen; defenders Carlos Bocanegra, Cory Gibbs and Oguchi Onyewu; and goalkeepers Marcus Hahnemann and Tim Howard.

The average age of the U.S. team was 28.6 years, down slightly from 2002's average of 28.8 and just above the 28.1 average in 1998, when the Americans finished last in the 32-nation field.

At the World Cup in Germany, the United States opens against the Czech Republic on June 12, meets Italy five days later and closes the first round against Ghana on June 22.

Since the 2002 tournament, the Americans have risen to fourth in the FIFA world rankings, trailing defending champion Brazil, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. While the rankings aren't well regarded by many, American players are faced with increased expectations. A 70 1/2-foot high Nike billboard near New York's Madison Square Garden and a nearly identical 40-foot high ad in San Francisco has a picture of Johnson, Donovan and Beasley and proclaims in huge yellow letters: "THE WORLD NO LONGER WANTS TO PLAY US."

Twelve of the players are with European clubs, and 11 are from Major League Soccer — exactly the same as the 2002 roster. Three players come from the Kansas City Wizards.

Keller is the oldest player at 36, and the youngest is Johnson, who turned 22 in March 31. Reyna, the U.S. captain, and Keller set up records by making a World Cup roster for the fourth time. McBride, Pope and Hejduk are headed to their third World Cups.

Olsen was the only player selected who didn't appear in any qualifiers for the 2006 tournament, although he did appear in a qualifier in 2001.