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The US national soccer team will take the field at this month's World Cup with a talented group of 23 players and high expectations.
But no matter how the team performs, another American soccer story will be written in South Africa, where a small group of Americans will represent other countries on soccer's biggest stage.
Among them is Roger Espinoza, an American citizen born in Honduras. He was selected to play for that country's national soccer team, in the Hondurans' first return to the World Cup in 28 years.
Espinoza grew up in Puerto Cortes on Honduras' Atlantic coast, before moving to the United States with his parents. The now 23-year-old spent his teen years in the Denver, Colorado area, where he attended high school. After two years in junior college, Espinoza went on to Ohio State University on a soccer scholarship, then decided to pursue a professional soccer career.
In the first round of the 2008 Major League Soccer draft, he was selected by the Kansas City Wizards, and has since become a regular performer for the MLS team.
Espinoza's talent draws attention
The midfielder's strong play in the US professional league caught the attention of the Honduran national team about two years ago. Espinoza made his first appearance for the Catrachos, as the Honduran team is known, early last year. He scored a goal while representing the nation of his birth in the Central American championships.
Espinoza says that it was a proud moment for his family. Even though growing up in the United States Americanized him, he says his family retains its Honduran heritage.
"Since I was born there, I have the culture. I also have the culture of the United States. But I felt I needed to play for Honduras," he explains. "That was the place I belonged to. Playing there is an honor for me. The people in Honduras, just the culture and everything, it makes me happy to play for them."
Espinoza obtained dual nationality when he became an American citizen in 2008. Along with citizenship, he gained a US passport, making the midfielder eligible to play for the American national team in addition to Honduras.
Like other dual-national soccer players, Espinoza faced a choice between his two countries on the field. FIFA, international soccer's governing body, allows a player to represent only one nation at the senior level.
"I had to choose one or the other. I have been living here for 10 years. I know everything about the culture in America, but I feel like I belong to Honduras. That's where I was born. That's where I grew up," he says. "And I would say I am better in Spanish language than I am in English. My family does not speak English, so my culture is more Honduran, you know, than it is American."
The Honduran national team's quick action in securing the services of the young player also helped.
Roger Espinoza says there was little interest in him from the American team, which has become the strongest in the region in recent years. So, when the Hondurans came calling, he did not hesitate. Espinoza went on to score a goal against the United States in a January practice match, a performance which helped him earn a spot on the country's World Cup squad.
Still rooting for the USA
But he says his Honduran team affiliation will not stop him from supporting his other national team at the World Cup.
"I definitely want them to win," he says. "Not just the United States, but I have friends. A lot of guys I play with and I've known my whole life play for the US so, of course, I want them to win. Even [before I was] playing professionally, I wanted the US to win."
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（来源：VOA 编辑：陈丹妮）
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