Real Madrid Sending A Nearly Full Strength Squad On Tour Of USA

When the Philadelphia Union agreed with Real Madrd for a friendly on July 23, the team promised its fans that they would see the stars of Madrid and not just back ups. After releasing the official Madrid roster, it’s clear that the Union managed to keep that promise.

The Madrid World Football Challenge roster is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Spain), Antonio Adán (Spain)

Defenders: Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal), Pepe (Portugal), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Marcelo Viera (Brazil), Alvaro Arbeloa (Spain), Raul Albiol (Spain), Ezequiel Garay (Argentina), David Mateos (Spain)

Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Argentina), Kaká (Brazil), Lassana Diarra (France), Xabi Alonso (Spain), Sergio Canales (Spain), Pedro León (Spain), Mesut Özil (Germany), Sami Khedira (Germany), Hamit Altintop (Turkey), Nuri Şahin (Turkey), José Callejón (Spain), Roysten Drenthe (Netherlands)

Attackers: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Karim Benzema (France), Esteban Granero (Spain)

Manager Jose Mourinho will also be making the trip with Madrid.

The only disappointing part of this roster is that Gonzalo Higuain is not on the roster. The Argentine striker was one of Madrid's most consistent performers and a top scorer often during his time in Spain. Otherwise, Union fans will get to see the same Madrid players that featured in La Liga and Champions League play.