Head Coach Bruce Arena has picked the 23 men to represent the United States at the World Cup in Germany this summer. Twelve of the players chosen ply their trade overseas in England, Holland, Germany and Belgium, while eleven make the squad from MLS.

Here are Arena's picks by position:

Keepers - Marcus Hahnemann, Tim Howard, Kasey Keller

As expected these three men from Reading, Manchester United and Borussia Moenchengladbach respectively, have made it. Keller will get the starting nod and unless he has a complete loss of form, will be in goal throughout the tournament. Hahnemann will be the backup after a superb year at Reading. Keeper in waiting Tim Howard will have to wait for his chance. Maybe some playing time would help, but he's on the squad for Germany which should help his confidence.

Defenders - Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Jimmy Conrad, Cory Gibbs, Frankie Hejduk, Eddie Lewis, Oguchi Onyewu, Eddie Pope

No major surprises here. Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake) found his old form during U.S. friendlies and impressed Arena enough to warrant a spot in the squad. Eddie Lewis (Leeds United) will definitely begin the campaign on the left side. Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Cory Gibbs (ADO Den Haag), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew) and Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege) round out the names everyone expected to see on the roster. They all bring very important European experience to the team since all of them are either playing in Europe now or have previously.

While there are no major shocks here, one minor surprise is the pick of Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards). I believed that while his performances were steady, surely he would not unseat someone with more international experience. However, maybe the loss to Germany and Gregg Berhalter's play, or lack there of, forced Bruce Arena to go with consistency. Conrad will be starting from the bench, so this is why it's just a minor surprise.


Midfielders - DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Pablo Mastroeni, John O'Brien, Ben Olsen, Claudio Reyna

Captain America, Claudio Reyna (Manchester City) will lead this bunch for his fourth World Cup appearance. Clearly recent performances were a huge factor for Arena. He had to take Bobby Convey (Reading) who had an outstanding season to help his club team get promoted to the English Premiership. Every team needs a couple of guys who will work tirelessly putting pressure on opponents and defending, and certainly the roster spots for Ben Olsen (DC United) and Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids) fit that bill. Olsen is also peaking at the right time, scoring for DC United over the weekend and most recently for the national team during a friendly.

The US team would not be what it is without two of it's young guns Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy) and DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven). If the squad is to succeed, these two guys will have to be a huge part of it. And Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution) proved himself throughout the World Cup qualifying season to convince Arena that he would be a better fit on the right flank than Steve Ralston or Chris Klein.

The only real question mark in the middle is John O'Brien (Chivas USA). His fitness has always been an issue, but when healthy is easily one of the USA's better players. His skill, experience and playmaking were key reasons why the team went to the quarterfinals in the last World Cup. But will he be healthy enough to contribute? His situation is somewhat similar to that of Wayne Rooney for England, who recently went down with a broken foot. Fielding a squad without them is almost unfathomable, and even at 75% fitness could greatly boost the team.

Strikers - Brian Ching, Eddie Johnson, Brian McBride, Josh Wolff

The one group where there was a major surprise is at the one position that necessitates having people with experience and who time and again have proven they belong at the international level. Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo) has been tabbed to join the team in Germany. I expected Taylor Twellman to get the nod over Ching with some stunning national team performances recently. However, Arena chose the "strike while the iron is hot" choice of Ching who leads MLS with six goals in five matches. But it remains to be seen whether he can finally put the ball in the back of the net on the international level.

Brian McBride (Fulham) with his experience was a no-brainer. His leadership and finishing abilities are invaluable. He's big, strong and makes an excellent target man who has a knack for scoring goals. His ten for Fulham is second most on the team.

Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards) has scored a ton of goals for the national team at such a young age. When healthy, he's easily the partner for McBride upfront. However, injuries and an apparent lack of motivation at the club level will have to be shed for him to thrive and get the big European contract he really wants.

Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards) is the consummate professional. He'll give everything he's got and when called upon can deliver.

The squad has been announced, and is solid at every position with ample backup. Against three tough first round opponents, guys will have to step up and play exceptional soccer to help the team succeed.

Ok, I was off by two players in my predictions, oh well. At least David Regis is no longer making me cringe.