Major League Soccer could send as many as 31 players to the World Cup, eighth-most among professional leagues across the globe, according to a Monday report from Business Insider.
MLS's personnel contribution to the world's biggest tournament ranks just behind Mexico (37) and ahead of world powers like the Netherlands (28), Portugal (27) and Brazil itself (17).
The North American league's influx of star players has accelerated over the past year, creating an unprecedented state of affairs in which Toronto FC, thanks to the arrival of goalkeeper Julio Cesar, have contributed more players to Brazil's World Cup squad than European powers AC Milan.
The list is dominated by “Big Four” European leagues of England, Germany, Italy and Spain who, combined, contribute more than half of the 900-plus players called to the provisional rosters named by the World Cup's 32 participating nations.
Further down the list, the leagues of fellow CONCACAF nations Honduras and Costa Rica made it into the top 20, with 14 and 13 players, respectively.
