Switzerland striker Blaise N'Kufo will soon be wearing the blue and green of Seattle Sounders FC in MLS.

MLS players at the 2010 World Cup

July 9, 2010

By Simon Fudge

With the FIFA World Cup final set for Sunday between the Netherlands and Spain, South Africa 2010 saw strong representation amongst its competing teams from Major League Soccer (MLS).

Unsurprisingly, the United States provided the strongest contingent of current and former MLS players. 17 of Bob Bradley's 23-man World Cup squad either ply their trade in MLS or have had a spell in the league. The four American players that call MLS home include Los Angeles Galaxy star Landon Donovan, Galaxy teammate Edson Buddle, Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein, and Real Salt Lake striker Robbie Findley. Bradley himself is also a veteran of MLS, having coached Chicago Fire, New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls), and Chivas USA. His 124 victories rank him second among all MLS head coaches in league history.

Several other World Cup nations also had MLS representation in South Africa. Kansas City Wizards striker Roger Espinoza played alongside former MLS stars Amado Guevara and Carlos Pavon in the Honduras squad, while New York Red Bulls defender Andrew Boyens and former D.C. United captain Ryan Nelsen were part of an upstart New Zealand side. Switzerland striker Blaise N'Kufo is set to embark on a new career with Seattle Sounders FC, while former Chicago Fire talisman Cuauhtemoc Blanco saw action with his native Mexico. Had it not been for a ruptured Achilles injury, Galaxy star David Beckham would have likely been part of Fabio Capello's England squad.

With the next FIFA World Cup set for Brazil in 2014, many in MLS will hope the league's representation is even stronger when the soccer world convenes in South America for the game's showpiece event.

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