Real Salt Lake defender Douglas Sequeira is one of the 24 players on Costa Rica's provisional World Cup roster, announced by coach Alexandre Guimaraes on Tuesday. Guimaraes had previously named 28 players, but has made further cuts to come to within one of his final list of 23, which is due to FIFA by the middle of the month.
Sequeira's roster spot seems to be safe, as Guimaraes said defenders Harold Wallace and Michael Rodriguez, who both play for Costa Rican club side Alajuelense, are still on the bubble as they attempt to come back from injuries. The pair has been given one week to sufficiently recover.
Sequeira has been a regular with the Costa Rican national team since debuting in 1999. He also was a member of Costa Rica's U-17 and U-20 teams. The 29-year-old has played every minute of Real Salt Lake's season so far. He was acquired by Salt Lake prior to the start of the 2006 season, following one year with Chivas USA. Last season Sequeira made 23 appearances for the expansion side, registering two goals and one assist.
Costa Rica will begin play in their third World Cup finals in the first game of the competition, facing host Germany on June 9 in Munich. They will complete Group A action with games against Ecuador (June 15) and Poland (June 20).
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
