Beasley to go to World Cup

Former Rangers midfielder DaMarcus Beasley has been included the United States' 23-man World Cup squad.

The 28-year-old, who left Rangers at the end of the season, only returned to the US team in March after a nine-month exile from Bob Bradley's team.

"He needed to make a renewed commitment and do things as a player that makes his team better," said Bradley.

Beasley, who has earned 90 caps for the US, played his last game for Rangers on 9 March but has done enough to convince Bradley of his place in South Africa.

Strikers Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez are among 15 players featuring in their first World Cup.

Los Angeles Galaxy's Buddle has been in excellent form in Major League Soccer while Gomez became the first American to lead a foreign league goal-scoring chart with 10 goals for Mexican club Puebla.

"Both have been in great form, scored a lot of goals this year," added Bradley. "As we move into the World Cup, players who are on a roll come in handy.

"When you make tough decisions you try to factor in everything. You take into account where they are in their season and certainly to this point Edson is one of the best players in MLS."

Defenders Chad Marshall and Heath Pearce, midfielders Alejandro Bedoya, Sacha Kljestan and Robbie Rogers and and forwards Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson all missed the cut from Bradley's provisional 30-man squad.

The squad will visit United States President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday.