TORONTO -- Understandably, Ryan Nelsen is torn about Jermain Defoe and the World Cup. Talk to the Toronto FC manager and he lists off the reasons why his star striker should go to Brazil. But he better than anyone knows that Englands gain would be his loss. "Look, for Toronto FC Id love him to stay obviously, because hes a quality player," said Nelsen, who captained New Zealand at the 2010 World Cup. "But for Jermain, if I was the England manager, I probably would pick him. Because you know what youre going to get with him -- you absolutely know what youre going to get with him." Defoe, who played at the 2010 World Cup, offers England experience and a scoring touch off the bench. He has potted goals everywhere he has played -- including 19 in 55 appearances for his country. The 31-year-old striker says he is in the dark, waiting for the phone to ring. "Its down to the manager," said Defoe, referring to England boss Roy Hodgson. "He picks the squad. "Im sure he knows what every player can do. And even before he was the England manager, he probably knew all the players anyway. So Im sure that the manager knows his squad. And he probably knew his squad a long time ago -- maybe just one or two additions that youre not sure about. "I dont know. Its up to the manager. As players, you just concentrate on playing for your club and then, like you said, you wait for the call." Hodgson has apparently made up his mind. He is set to announce his 23-man squad Monday as well as seven standby players. "Ive known for a while," he is quoted on Englands Football Association website. England will travel to Portugal on May 19 for a training camp that runs through May 23. The squad will reassemble May 27 with a friendly against Peru at Wembley on May. 20. The 23-man World Cup squad will be confirmed June 2. England has friendlies June 3 against Ecuador and June 7 against Honduras, both in Miami, before heading to Brazil for its World Cup opener June 14 against Italy. Realistically Defoe is hoping to land a spot as a reserve striker with Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck of Manchester United, Daniel Sturridge of Liverpool and perhaps Rickie Lambert of Southampton ahead in the pecking order. Given that, some argue that it would make more sense to take a younger player over Defoe. The argument there is that it would be an investment in the future. Nelsen sees the other side to that coin, suggesting his man has the seasoning and mental toughness to survive the England spotlight. "Probably the Brazil and the England national team are the hardest teams in world sport to play for, in terms of expectation and pressure," he said. "You know Jermain can handle that. On the worlds biggest stage, you want to kind off knock out the variables. And I think Jermain does that." "With my TFC hat on, I hope he doesnt (go). I hope he stays here," Nelson added with a laugh. Barring injury, U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley and Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar will leave Toronto for the World Cup. Nelsen expects Cesar to leave his team after the May 23 game against Sporting Kansas City. "Jermain, if he does (go), (will be) roughly about the same time," he added. "(U.S. manager Juergen Klinsmann) Juergen wants Michael now. Or tomorrow," Nelsen said with a smile. "But were trying to hold that. I think for Michael, it will probably be the 19th or the 20th that we lose him." The World Cup runs June 12 to July 13. Bob Feller Jersey . The victory strengthened Liverpools position in the top four after Tottenham lost 1-0 at Norwich in the days late kickoff, cutting the north London club six points adrift of fourth place and the final Champions League slot for next season. Yan Gomes Jersey . 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"This will help a lot of people that really do need that help," Kluwe said.LJUBLJANA, Slovenia -- Croatia reached the semifinals of the European basketball championship for the first time in 18 years by defeating Ukraine 84-72 Thursday. Croatia will play Lithuania, which edged Italy 81-77. France and two-time defending champion Spain will play the other semifinal on Friday. Croatia has won eight straight games since losing its opening game of the tournament to Spain by 28 points. "Its a long time since weve been in the semifinals. That was the first target for this young, talented generation, but this story is too beautiful to stop here," Croatia coach Jasmin Repesa said. "Honestly, we expected to be in the semis, we have quality and a system." Croatia is seeking to make the podium for the first time since it took bronze at the 1995 tournament in Greece, where it fell to Lithuania in the semifinals. The only time Croatia played in a final was at the 1992 Olympics, when it lost to the U.S. Dream Team. Dontaye Draper, Croatias American-born point guard, had two steals and six points in a key 13-0 run at the start of the second quarter, when Ukraine failed to score in five minutes and had three turnovers while missing five straight 3-point attempts. "I looked at my teammates and I heard them say, Ajde, and I just tried to get some energy, to get something going, even a foul, anything," said Draper, who finished with six assists and four steals to go with six points. Ajde is Croatian for "come on." Croatia used relentless zone pressing to lead by as many as 19. "The second quarter was our demise, we lost controll of the game then," Ukraine coach Mike Fratello said.dddddddddddd "We gave the ball away 17 times and you cant do that against a team like this." Shooting guard Krunoslav Simon led Croatia with 23 points, while Pooh Jeter, another American-born point guard, had 19 points, six rebounds and six assists for Ukraine, which was in the quarterfinals for the first time. "We were completely lost in the second quarter," said Viacheslav Kravtsov, Ukraines NBA centre. Lithuania won the European title in 2003 and was bronze medallist at the 2010 worlds. But it has not made the podium in Europe since the 2007 bronze and lost in the quarterfinals at home two years ago. Lithuania had a big size advantage over Italy and it was centre Donatas Motiejunas who had a pair of important consecutive layups in the fourth. Since winning a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, Italy has not been able to reach the quarterfinals in any major competition. It failed to qualify for the last two Olympics and last world championship. "They destroyed us in the low post at the start of the fourth, they have too much size. When you are tired they can use the size for easy baskets," Italy coach Simone Pianigiani said. Earlier, Slovenia earned a place in next years World Cup by beating Serbia 92-74. Slovenia will play for fifth place and Serbia for seventh on Saturday. Ukraine and Italy will decide on Friday which of them will meet Slovenia. Seventh place will earn a spot at the World Cup because host Spain is a direct qualifier and already in the European semifinals. Jerseys NFL Cheap Wholesale Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo Cheap NFL T-shirts Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2020 ' ' '