Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez went from long shots to the U.S. World Cup roster, joining veterans Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Tim Howard on the American team for South Africa.

U.S. coach Bob Bradley cut seven players from his preliminary roster Wednesday to reach the 23-man FIFA limit. The Americans will open against England on June 12.

Midfielders Donovan and Beasley, and defender Steve Cherundolo earned their third World Cup trips. Beasley's selection capped a comeback from nine months of national team exile that ended in March.

Both Buddle and Gomez are forwards, and Bradley said they "both have been in great form, scored a lot of goals this year."

Buddle was a nonenity for the U.S. during World Cup qualifying. But he has scored nine times this season for the Los Angeles Galaxy to lead MLS.

The 29-year-old Buddle didn't quite believe it when Bradley congratulated him at 2 a.m. Wednesday.

"I thought he was messing around. I didn't know. It was too late," he said.