Major League Soccer's best are set to take on Arsenal on July 28 (7:30 pm ET; ESPN, UniMás, TSN, RDS), and on Sunday a star-studded gameday roster for the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game was unveiled live on ESPN.
Among those joining the Fan XI selections, which were revealed on July 9, and Commissioner Don Garber's selections, which were revealed earlier on Sunday, are US and Canadian national team standouts such as Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Jones and Cyle Larin, as well as experienced international players including Montreal's Ignacio Piatti and Portland's Liam Ridgewell.
The gameday roster, as selected by All-Star and San Jose Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear, is made up of 26 players, 24 of which were selected by Kinnear while taking into consideration the Fan XI and player voting, plus Mauro Diaz and Kyle Beckerman, the Commissioner's two picks. All of the Fan XI selections – highlighted by reigning MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco, US international midfielder Darlington Nagbe and world-class stars such as Kaká and Didier Drogba – were included on the gameday roster.
A total of 19 MLS teams will be represented in the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game, with the Montreal Impact leading the way with three players on the roster – Drogba, Piatti and Belgian international defender Laurent Ciman. The hometown San Jose Earthquakes will have two players representing them in their home stadium, forward Chris Wondolowski and goalkeeper David Bingham.
The All-Star Game will also feature plenty of new faces, as 16 of the 26 players will be appearing in their first summer showcase including two rookies: Philadelphia's Keegan Rosenberry and Chicago's Brandon Vincent, both fullbacks.
Complete MLS roster for the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game:
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), Wil 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)
