Earlier today, Major League Soccer announced the 26-man gameday roster of players who will battle against England Premier League side Arsenal at the MLS All-Star Game on July 28, and D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum made the squad for the first time.
The 25-year old center back will presumably leave for the week's festivities after next Saturday's game against Toronto FC and go to Avaya Stadium (home of the San Jose Earthquakes) for the midweek game. The Black-and-Red then return to RFK to host the Montreal Impact on Sunday, July 31. Congrats Steve!
The full roster follows:
Goalkeepers (2): David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes), Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union)
Defenders (8): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Laurent Ciman (Montreal Impact), Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution), Liam Ridgewell (Portland Timbers), Keegan Rosenberry (Philadelphia Union), Brandon Vincent (Chicago Fire), Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)
Midfielders (9): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Mauro Diaz (FC Dallas), Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids), Kaká (Orlando City SC), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Andrea Pirlo (New York City FC), Will Trapp (Columbus Crew SC)
Forwards (7): Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Didier Drogba (Montreal Impact), Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC), Cyle Larin (Orlando City SC), Ignacio Piatti (Montreal Impact), David Villa (New York City FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)