Five Major League Soccer players have been included on the 30-man preliminary World Cup roster for Costa Rica, released on Monday.
Veteran Real Salt Lake striker Álvaro Saborío leads a group that also includes New York Red Bulls defender Roy Miller, and the Columbus Crew landed three players on the roster: striker Jairo Arrieta and defenders Waylon Francis and Giancarlo González.
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Saborío is the only player of the MLS contingent to have been previously called to a World Cup after Costa Rica failed to qualify in 2010. He came off the bench in two of the team's three group-stage games in 2006 in Germany.
Head coach Jorge Luis Pinto will whittle the 30-man group down to 23 before he leads them into World Cup play in Group D, where they’ll open against Uruguay on June 14 in Fortaleza.
COSTA RICA'S 30-MAN PRELIMINARY ROSTER
Goalkeepers (4):
Keilor Navas (Levante - Spain / 27 yrs.)
Patrick Pemberton (Alajuelense - Costa Rica / 32 yrs.)
Daniel Cambronero (Herediano - Costa Rica / 28 yrs.)
Esteban Alvarado (AZ Alkmaar - Netherlands / 25 yrs.)
Defenders (10):
Johnny Acosta (Alajualense - Costa Rica / 30 yrs.)
Giancarlo González (Columbus Crew - USA / 26 yrs.)
Michael Umaña (Saprissa - Costa Rica / 31 yrs.)
Oscar Duarte (Brugge - Belgium / 24 yrs.)
Waylon Francis (Columbus Crew - USA / 23 yrs.)
Heiner Mora (Saprissa - Costa Rica / 29 yrs.)
Junior Díaz (Mainz 05 - Germany / 30 yrs.)
Chrisitan Gamboa (Rosenborg - Norway / 24 yrs.)
Roy Miller (New York Red Bulls - USA / 29 yrs.)
Kendall Watson (Saprissa - Costa Rica / 26 yrs.)
Midfielders (10):
Celso Borges (AIK - Sweden / 25 yrs.)
Christián Bolaños (Copenhagen - Denmark / 29 yrs.)
Esteban Granados (Herediano - Costa Rica / 28 yrs.)
Michael Barrantes (Aalesund - Norway / 30 yrs.)
Yeltsin Tejeda (Saprissa - Costa Rica / 22 yrs.)
Diego Calvo (Valerenga - Norway / 23 yrs.)
José Miguel Cubero (Herediano - Costa Rica / 27 yrs.)
Carlos Hernández (Wellington Phoenix - New Zealand / 32 yrs.)
Ariel Rodríguez (Alajualense - Costa Rica / 28 yrs.)
Hansell Arauz (Saprissa - Costa Rica / 24 yrs.)
Forwards (6):
Álvaro Saborío (Real Salt Lake - USA / 32 yrs.)
Bryan Ruiz ( PSV Eindhoven - Netherlands / 28 yrs.)
Joel Campbell (Olympiacos - Greece / 21 yrs.)
Randall Brenes (Cartagines - Costa Rica / 30 yrs.)
Marco Ureña (Kuban Krasnodor - Russia / 24 yrs.)
Jairo Arrieta (Columbus Crew - USA / 30 yrs.)
