Midfielder Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Fulham forward Brian McBride figure to be prime scoring threats for a squad that blends US and European club talent as well as youth and experience.

"Landon is an experienced player," Arena said. "He's a player we will look to not only lead us but to be important in our attack."

The biggest absentee from the list was New England Revolution star Taylor Twellman, last year's Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player and scoring champion. He was among 13 players named as alternates for the squad.

Borussia Moenchengladbach goalkeeper Kasey Keller will get the starting nod ahead of World Cup debutantes Marcus Hahnemann from Reading and Tim Howard of Manchester United.

Keller, 36, went 10-1 with three drawn in World Cup qualifying with a 0.57 goals-against average. This will be his fourth World Cup finals but first as the key man between the bars.

"This is the first time he'll be our starting goalkeeper so I know he will be excited and ready for the challenge," Arena said.

Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching, who has six goals in five games to lead Major League Soccer, will join McBride and Kansas City teammates Eddie Johnson and Josh Wolff in the forward line.

Johnson, 22, is the youngest player on the roster and like Ching will make his World Cup finals debut.

Donovan will be joined at midfield by DaMarcus Beasley of Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, Claudio Reyna of Manchester City, Bobby Convey of Reading and US-based players Clint Dempsey, Pablo Mastroeni, Ben Olsen and John O'Brien.

Reyna will be the USA captain. Olsen played in no World Cup qualifying matches for the USA squad. O'Brien scored the first USA goal in the 2002 World Cup and played every minute of every game four years ago in South Korea.

Absent from the team or alternates list was D.C. United midfielder Freddy Adu, the 16-year-old Ghana-born prodigy who briefly played in a USA friendly earlier this year but still needs experience to claim a USA World Cup berth.

The defensive unit includes Eddie Lewis of Leeds United, Oguchi Onyewu of Belgium's Standard Liege, Steve Cherundolo of Germany's Hannover, Cory Gibbs of Dutch side Den Haag, Fulham's Carlos Bocanegra and US-based players Eddie Pope, Frankie Hejduk and Jimmy Conrad.

USA players will assemble May 10 at Cary, North Carolina, for training and play three international friendlies on home soil later this month before departing June 1 for their German home base in Hamburg.

The USA squad features 12 players returning from the 2002 squad that made a World Cup quarterfinal run. There will be 12 European-based players and 11 from US Major League Soccer teams.

The average age is 28.6 years, slightly younger than the 2002 squad, and an average of 44.2 caps, 11 fewer a man than four years ago. Reyna is the leader with 106 caps.

Hahnemann has the fewest with six caps while Onyewu has the lowest among field players with 12.

"As usual, we will not make any bold statements or predictions," Arena said. "However, I can assure everyone that the team that steps on the field on June 12 against the Czech Republic will be a team all Americans will be proud of."

Goalkeepers: Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Tim Howard (Manchester United), Marcus Hahnemann (Reading)

Defenders: Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Eddie Lewis (Leeds), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege), Cory Gibbs (Den Haag), Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards)

Midfielders: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Claudio Reyna (Manchester City), Bobby Convey (Reading), John O'Brien (Chivas USA), Ben Olsen (DC United)

Forwards: Brian McBride (Fulham), Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo)