Changes for Costa Rica/Mexico?

Chandler had been out of the system for months, left 50 deg Germany for 90 deg Honduras and immediately started. I think he did OK.

 

Our Center Back situation is far worse than we want to acknowledge. Gonzales is just not the right man. The poor showing he had against Honduras was reinforced with his dismal performance in the CCL. I saw both games and honestly, the cat isn't that good. Never seen him before, maybe he is better than that, but at the very least he is not in form.

 

He didn't have much to do the last CCL game against Herediano, so not sure how you thought he was "dismal."

His debut in Honduras was shaky, but he'll be fine.

 

I'm not a fan either

 

I expect something like this, though I wouldn't be shocked to see more than 23 called up as, for example, I'm not sure if Klinsmann will have the guts to flat-out drop Carlos Bocanegra.

Guzan, S. Johnson, Hamid
Cameron, Goodson, Gonzalez, Besler
Chandler, Orozco Fiscal, Castillo, Morrow
Bradley, Jones, Williams, Edu, Kljestan, Torres
Dempsey, Zusi, Shea
Altidore, E. Johnson, Gomez

I'm assuming Dempsey and Castillo will be healthy, but Cherundolo and Fabian Johnson will not.

 

imo roster should be

GK-Guzan, Rimando, Johnson
FB-Chandler, Parkhurst, Castillo, Evans
CB-Cameron, Gonzo, Besler, Brooks
MF-Bradley, Jones, Edu, Williams, Gatt, DeLeon, Zusi, Shea, Kljestan, Pontius
FW-Dempsey, Gomez, Altidore, E Johnson

Boyd, Corona, O'Brien, Feilhaber, Torres just miss the cut

It would be nice to actually have some wing options like Shea, Gatt and DeLeon, instead of a bunch of redundant CMs

 

Dempsey and certainly, Castillo are NOT healthy or fit. Castillo is post-surgery on his facial bones.
Dempsey turned out an unspectacular half for Hotspurs in a third loss with or without him.
Fabian is supposedly ready for CRC.

No reason not to bring in Friedel should Guzan get hurt, and leave S. Johnson and Hamid home.
Goodson? No better than Gonzo and Besler despite his seniority.

 

Grant Wahl suggested that Boca isn't going to get the call. Assuming that's true, we may be in for a surprise at CB. Given his situation with Germany, it doesn't look like it'll be Brooks, though that would certainly be interesting.

I'm guessing Gonzales and Cameron will be backed up by Goodson and Besler. Edu provides additional cover in case there's emergency. The next guy in the order is likely to be Orozco as you have above. It would be unfortunate if we needed him on the field.

 

Goodson is terrible, if Brooks cant make it I'd rather see Okugo

 

A total newbie like Okugo has less than a 1% chance of a callup for these March qualifiers. Maybe up to 50% chance for the Gold Cup, if he keeps playing well in MLS.

Brooks is wishful thinking, too. Firstly, he's a newbie and that severely drops his chances. On the other hand, he's a German-American, so that increases his chances. But I think the key aspect at this moment is that Brooks will not want to lock himself in with the US right now. He wants more time to see if the US or Germany are the best choice, so he will avoid a Cap-locking World Cup Qualifier like the plague. 1% chance in March.

One veteran CB will surely be there this month, and Goodson is the only healthy, currently playing veteran CB in the pool, so I'd say Goodson has better than an 80% chance of being called in.

 

I think there is a good chance for a newbie, but not in place of Goodson.

The thing is, Klinsmann's back is pretty close to being against the wall. Costa Rica isn't a must-win (though I argued it was last month), but Mexico will be if the team falls short in Denver. And that type of thing often brings out the unpredictable.

I may be wrong and you may be right on Castillo/Johnson, but you're certainly wrong on Dempsey and the goalkeepers. Friedel will fly over only if/when Guzan gets hurt, not beforehand.

And I agree on Goodson, but he's pretty certain to get the call IMO.

 

I get it but I dont think veteran experience matters much when you play as bad as Goodson has over the past year, there are plenty of guys not even on the USMNT radar (some rightfully so) who are playing better than him. The 4th CB isn't likely to play anyway though

 

I just can't think of who the pure newbie surprise could be. Heck, Gonzo still qualifies as a newbie in my book, with only 2 Caps under JK and then those other two caps over 2 years ago under BB. Gonzo is still very raw. Besler is another true newbie, too. How many newbies can one take to crucial World Cup Qualifiers?

1) Cameron is 100% lock;
2) Goodson is 80% since he's the only vet still standing;
3) Gonzo (amazingly) is the next most internationally experienced, healthy and currently starting for his club CB in the entire US pool, so he's 80% too;
4) Besler was at the January camp and started vs Canada, so he's 50%.

5) Boca was dropped from the XI by JK in February after having had 3 consecutive club starts just before the Honduras match, but has been benched for club and country since. He's down to 20%.
6) Onyewu? 5%.
7) John, Ream, Orozco are maybe at 2% chance.

8) Very young newbies like Okugo, Hedges, Berry, Brooks are at 1%.

The true CBs will almost certainly be Cameron, Goodson, Gonzo, and Besler, with Goodson and Gonzo competing for the starting spot next to Cameron. Edu and Williams are the deep emergency backups in March. I see no point, and almost no logic to calling in anyone else in March. May/June and Gold Cup could be very different, though.

 

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH

 

I agree. Your analysis of what to expect from Klinsmann is fine enough, except I think Orozco-Fiscal has a higher chance due to the sudden opening at right back.

I just think the back against the wall issue could be a factor. If the team fails to get 3 points against Costa Rica, not even the spots of Michael Bradley or Clint Dempsey should be safe. At this stage, I think it plays out that we could see a couple of surprises in the squad, with center back being one of the spots.

 

That makes sense.