GOALKEEPERS (3) : Brad Guzan (Aston Villa - 5/3 SO), Tim Howard (Everton – 22/9 SO), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire – 0/0) DEFENDERS (9) : Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City – 0/0), Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander – 31/5), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City – 5/0), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana – 0/0), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg – 0/0), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders – 0/0), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy – 0/0), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim – 3/0), Michael Parkhurst (Augsburg – 3/0) MIDFIELDERS (8) : Michael Bradley (Roma – 19/5), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo - 0/0), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor – 9/0), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04 – 5/0), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht – 12/0), Jose Torres (Tigres – 9/0), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim – 4/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City – 3/0) FORWARDS (4 ): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar – 17/6), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur – 26/10), Herculez Gomez (Santos – 6/2), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders – 11/10) Interesting to me that Goodson and Gooch are dropped. Can't say I'm disappointed about Goodson -- he's been crap lately. I would think Gooch's experience and physical presence would make him useful, but I guess Klinsy is of a different mind. I'm surprised Beckerman isn't on the list -- I would've thought his performance against Canada would've earned him a spot, and I always thought Klinsy liked him. Our midfield is crowded enough, though.
Agreed. My only thought is that he wants players who can bust a bunker and play a possession game. A role that he doesn't excel at compared to others. Nice to see Chandler on the list. Does he start?
There's always room for one more! One more midfielder, that is, not one more thread. Mods, please don't merge the roster threads until doing so would create an unreadable hodgepodge.
I think Chandler gets a start. Should be in form due to league play and he knows tough environments even if he hasn't played for the national team. Given hostile hostile environments in Germany,etc are slightly different that a hot afternoon surrounded by Hondurans.
Yes, I'm glad to Chandler as well. It's our chance to finally cap-tie him. The only way he wouldn't start is if Cameron starts at right back, I think. I expect to see Cameron and Boca starting in the middle, and Chandler starting at right back.
Yeah. Landon Donovan and Conor Casey were vital to the win at Honduras last cycle. This roster misses both of those players equally. But this roster is certainly capable of getting a point or three on Feb 6th. http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Mens-N...rst-Final-Round-FIFA-World-Cup-Qualifier.aspx
So, 6 guys from the January camp. Looks like that was Wondo's last chance. I would have like to seen Gatt in there.
Strong roster overall. The first thing that jumps out is how many central midfielder types we have. Very little width. Aside from Jones, none of them can beat a man on the dribble with consistency. I suppose Klinsmann felt those with ability in that department weren't up to standard (Gatt) but it is concerning going into the WC. The legacy of Lewis/Beasley/Donovan to Zusi.
Beasley is still getting lots of minutes with Puebla. Why not at least put him on the roster instead of a Brad Davis.
Agreed. If you want an offensive option off the bench, Beasley is probably a better choice than Davis. He's 6 months younger, in season, with more WC qualifying experience. Plus he's just a faster player, even at this advanced age. Only advantage to Davis is his service, but we have other players who can take free kicks (Dempsey, Bradley, Zusi).
The roster is fine. Mostly logical, and I like that he took both Gonzo and Besler, presumably as the backup CBs to Cameron and Boca. It's long past time to work these guys into the squad. Like others, I would have preferred Gatt over one of the many, somewhat redundant central midfielders or slower outside mids. Why have all 3 of Torres, Zusi, and Davis when Gatt's speed and more classic wing play could have been a nice option off the bench? But this isn't a killer decision, just a marginal one. Evans won't make the game-day squad, as he is insurance for the outside backs, where Parkhurst has been inactive for a while and Johnson had a minor injury issue last week (but seems to be OK now, knock on wood).
My biggest question is who is our offensive game-changer option off the bench? Kljestan? That's not going to work. Davis? He's a bit old to be getting his first WC qualifying cap. Zusi? Eh. EJ? Eh. Roster is crying out for a speed-option like Agudelo, Beasley, or an offensive juggernaut like Feilhaber. Really bummed Torres made it over Feilhaber - that's just a bad call in my opinion. Also - what about Joe Corona? Never seen the kid play, but people have been clamoring for a call-up.
*raises hand* I theorized after the WC 3 years ago that I could see him retiring from the sport altogether before the next WC ... much less from international soccer. That conversation began in response to a nutjob who postulated that he could see Donovan being on the US squad through the 2022 World Cup.
If that's his thinking it's strange that it only applied to the DM position and not anywhere else, you know the positions where attacking is required.
Well Corona is cap tied now but only time he's seen qualifying is the last bit of Guatemala in KC. He was very good in that short time though.
There are pairs of fullbacks, though. Would Klinsmann do something like sub in Castillo for a mid and push Johnson forward? Or let Castillo push forward, since that's what he does for his club?
i saw the same thing but don't agree that it is a strong roster. it is weak. davis and evans and edu and torres are clearly not full WC NT quality .... they aren't even CONCACAF NT quality ... never have been and certainly aren't now in their 30s. and Zusi is still a ? on whether he is good enough beyond Concacaf minnows. JK is an idiot when it comes to building rosters and assessing talent. there is ZERO width or speed in the midfield ... none, nada ... zip, zilch. you are going to see the same clogged mess we saw with Canada in the 1st half ... with a bunch of sideways and backwards passing .... and probably some turnovers if Torres and Edu are involved ... and that is the best case scenario assuming JK doesn't do something colossally stupid and play 4 CMs across the midfield with a guy like Williams out on the right. if losing this game would mean an end to JK i would gladly cheer for a humiliating loss just to get rid of him but i think that the snake oil salesman has hoodwinked Sunil but good and only non-qualification will see him fired so i just hope for an ugly game with some luck and who knows. and quick question ... isn't Bradley Johnson of Norwich City eligible for the USMNT? why would you call in Edu or Torres or Davis when there is an average to slightly above average EPL central midfielder available? just wondering since i saw him play this weekend and he is clearly better than most of the fringe CMs that JK seems enamoured with.