FIFA approved a change of nationality for 18-year-old German-American striker Julian Green, U.S. soccer confirmed, adding that Green is eligible immediately to play for the team.
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U.S. soccer federation president Sunil Gulati confirmed the news via Twitter.
FIFA has approved change of nationality for Julian Green--he's eligible to play for USMNT immediately.
— Sunil Gulati (@sunilgulati) March 24, 2014
Last week U.S. soccer made Green's decision to switch nationalities official.
The Florida-born Green is a reserve team member for Champions League holder Bayern Munich. He has made one appearance for Die Rotten as a late substitute in the club’s Champions League win over CSKA Moscow. On Bayern’s reserve team, he currently has 15 goals in 21 appearances.
Green is expected to train with the U.S. ahead of the April 2 friendly in Phoenix against Mexico, according to a report. Green had had earlier trained this month in Frankfurt, Germany, before the Americans' March 5 loss to Ukraine in Cyprus.
"A big part of the decision was the experience I had in Frankfurt," Green said. "All the players were super nice and welcomed me from the beginning."
The Mexico match is the last tune-up for Jurgen Klinsmann's team before its pre-World Cup training camp begins in Northern California in mid-May.
The appeal to FIFA was needed because Green had participated in competitive matches with Germany's under-19 team during European qualifying.
Last week, Klinsmann told USsoccer.com that if Green decided to represent his birth nation, he'll have a chance to make the 23-man squad for this summer's World Cup in Brazil.
"This is a player who has tremendous potential going forward," Klinsmann said. "I think there's a strong chance to see him rather sooner than later and there's also a chance for him to break even into this World Cup roster."