On To El Salvador March 28

[Peretz48]

Seems to me we've analyzed the U.S.-Mexico match enough already, I'm movin' on. I'll start the ball rolling by posting Noah Davis' predictions for the 18 against ES.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1679/us-national-team/2009/02/18/1114939/davis-possible-18-for-us-against-el-salvador

[TimB4Last]

Seems to me we've analyzed the U.S.-Mexico match enough already, I'm movin' on. I'll start the ball rolling by posting Noah Davis' predictions for the 18 against ES.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1679/us-national-team/2009/02/18/1114939/davis-possible-18-for-us-against-el-salvador

I'll go along for the ride, although I'll be out of the country when the next two qualifiers roll around.

I have to say I like way ND slipped Adu in there quietly (no boldface, pointing to T&T).

[Wessoman]

Seems to me we've analyzed the U.S.-Mexico match enough already, I'm movin' on. I'll start the ball rolling by posting Noah Davis' predictions for the 18 against ES.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1679/us-national-team/2009/02/18/1114939/davis-possible-18-for-us-against-el-salvador

For one thing, let's just say that there is going to be a lot of overlap between the two sides. With just days between El Salvador and Nashville, you can bet that the USA is going to play with a core group for both matches.

Of course, I predict something interesting: Due to flight time and club commitments, I see many European players only playing in the Nashville game. Any Euro who plays against El Salvador would likely not play in Nashville. The only Euros who would play in both matches would be players who aren't getting any playing time currently.

Our Mexican based players, however, would probably be released for both matches, which is a big help when you consider geography.

The way I see it, I see an 18-Man roster for El Salvador being:

El Salvador:
GK: Guzan, Hahnemman
DF: Califf, Orozco, Wynne, Pearce, Bornstein, Hejduk, Parkhurst
MF: Kljestan, Torres, Beasley, Rogers, Mastroeni, Thorrington
FW: Donovan, Ching, Twellman

(Normally I would go with Cooper here but I picked Twells namely because he has more experience and his air game would be needed against El Salvador. I just would like a similar big guy in case Ching went down with injury against the Salvadorans)

Then back against T&T in Music City:
GK: Howard, Guzan
DF: Bocanegra, Pearce, Onyewu, Bornstein, Hejduk, Wynne, Parkhurst
MF: Bradley, Kljestan, Torres, Mastroeni, Beasley, Dempsey
FW: Donovan, Davies, Altidore

So you can see, a core group of 11 players will play on both rosters.

[PhillyQuakesFan]

He wants to drop Frankie from the 18 altogether after his heroic performance vs. Mexico??

I like the idea of bringing Wynne in to get him some late minutes in case the result is in hand, but there is no reason to drop Hejduk. If Cherundolo is healthy (and has a BL game or two under his belt by the 28th), why not start him at RB and Frankie at LB?? It's not like either Pearce or Bornstein has done anything to lock down the job.

I see no reason not to go with the same 18 that faced Mexico, with Reis or Perkins replacing Howard and Cherundolo replacing Bornstein or Pearce.

[Wessoman]

He wants to drop Frankie from the 18 altogether after his heroic performance vs. Mexico??

I like the idea of bringing Wynne in to get him some late minutes in case the result is in hand, but there is no reason to drop Hejduk. If Cherundolo is healthy (and has a BL game or two under his belt by the 28th), why not start him at RB and Frankie at LB?? It's not like either Pearce or Bornstein has done anything to lock down the job.

I see no reason not to go with the same 18 that faced Mexico, with Reis or Perkins replacing Howard and Cherundolo replacing Bornstein or Pearce.

Heh, as you can see I kept Frankie in my roster and dropped Cherundolo altogether. Not that Cherundolo is bad, but he's just back from injury and I'd rather him play back to his club than play in these qualifiers.

But I completely agree with you. Leave Frankie in the lineup by all means, and DO mix up the lineup with Wynne, etc. Repped.

[knoxtnhorn]

I apologize for "thread stealing" and for offending or antagonizing any of y'all.

That being said, Taylor effing Twellman?!?!?!? Please tell me this is a joke or I've fallen into some sort of wormhole of alternate history.

[Scotty]

When does the MLS season kick off?

[Peretz48]

I apologize for "thread stealing" and for offending or antagonizing any of y'all.

That being said, Taylor effing Twellman?!?!?!? Please tell me this is a joke or I've fallen into some sort of wormhole of alternate history.
Unless something unusual happens, like a rash of injuries to all of the forwards (Ching, LD, Jozy, Cooper, Davies, etc.), I don't think we'll see Twellman suiting up for a WCQ any time soon.

[Scotty]

(Normally I would go with Cooper here but I picked Twells namely because he has more experience and his air game would be needed against El Salvador. I just would like a similar big guy in case Ching went down with injury against the Salvadorans)

Twellman's strike rate with the U.S. team is atrocious, and in the qualifying campaign for the 2006 WC he was a total bust. No way does he get picked over Cooper.

He's not a "big guy" either; listed at 5'11", but that stat is clearly padded by an inch or two.

[InJax]

For one thing, let's just say that there is going to be a lot of overlap between the two sides. With just days between El Salvador and Nashville, you can bet that the USA is going to play with a core group for both matches.

The way I see it, I see an 18-Man roster for El Salvador being:

El Salvador:
GK: Guzan, Hahnemman
DF: Califf, Orozco, Wynne, Pearce, Bornstein, Hejduk, Parkhurst
MF: Kljestan, Torres, Beasley, Rogers, Mastroeni, Thorrington
FW: Donovan, Ching, Twellman

So you can see, a core group of 11 players will play on both rosters.

I agree lots of overlap. However, knowing Bob the way we do, there is no way he will go with such a young squad at El Sav. He wants the points and won't want to possibly squander an opportunity for some away ones. Later in the hex is the time to experiment. This roster lacks the defensive depth and consistency of backs that have played together. Just sayin'...

[EvanJ]

When does the MLS season kick off?

New York at Seattle on March 19 and then five games on March 21 and one game on March 22.

[dwsmith1972]

I apologize for "thread stealing" and for offending or antagonizing any of y'all.

That being said, Taylor effing Twellman?!?!?!? Please tell me this is a joke or I've fallen into some sort of wormhole of alternate history.


My sentiments exactly. I don't think we ever need to see him in a nats jersey.

[Clint Eastwood]

Beasley just went off in a Scottish Cup game with an injury. It was an atrocious challenge, and the guy from Forfar was red-carded. He limped off, but didn't look great. Hopefully, he's OK. Up until that point, he had a great game.

[Wessoman]

I agree lots of overlap. However, knowing Bob the way we do, there is no way he will go with such a young squad at El Sav. He wants the points and won't want to possibly squander an opportunity for some away ones. Later in the hex is the time to experiment. This roster lacks the defensive depth and consistency of backs that have played together. Just sayin'...

I know, but knowing European clubs, even for World Cup qualifiers no team wants to be without their players for nearly a fortnight, especially Bocanegra and Onyewu. Besides, you're not doing any European based players any favors by flying them to El Salvador from Europe, flying them to Nashville, and then flying them back. I think the Euros fly directly into Nashville so as to reduce jetlag.

And besides, the starters against El Salvador would probably be Hejduk - Califf - Parkhurst - Pearce, so I don't see real inexperience on that backline. Orozco is the only weak link, and he's been playing very well at Club level.

BTW--I know a lot of you are razzing me about Twellman. Fine. Then Casey. Or maybe Cooper. But for El Salvador, I really want a guy with experience who is big and can win headers in the box, because El Salvador's backline isn't the biggest. Remember, Ching probably starts this game and goes a full 90, I just wanted a player similar to Ching in case he goes down with injury, and so far, Cooper isn't willing to use his body to full advantage, and probably never will. Twells at least has the body type and the experience. Casey has less experience but certainly more than Cooper, and he plays a similar style to Ching.

Cooper really needs to stop playing like Hidetoshi Nakata and start playing like the tough, big forward that he is. (Brian McBride) Otherwise, I'd still put Ching as my starter and continue to play older guys like Twellman or Casey until he gets a clue and figures it out.

[TrueCrew]

The way I see it, I see an 18-Man roster for El Salvador being:

El Salvador:
GK: Guzan, Hahnemman
DF: Califf, Orozco, Wynne, Pearce, Bornstein, Hejduk, Parkhurst
MF: Kljestan, Torres, Beasley, Rogers, Mastroeni, Thorrington
FW: Donovan, Ching, Twellman

(Normally I would go with Cooper here but I picked Twells namely because he has more experience and his air game would be needed against El Salvador. I just would like a similar big guy in case Ching went down with injury against the Salvadorans)

Then back against T&T in Music City:
GK: Howard, Guzan
DF: Bocanegra, Pearce, Onyewu, Bornstein, Hejduk, Wynne, Parkhurst
MF: Bradley, Kljestan, Torres, Mastroeni, Beasley, Dempsey
FW: Donovan, Davies, Altidore

So you can see, a core group of 11 players will play on both rosters.

What? You guys have plum lost your minds.

No way we go with 1/2 split sides and all those youngsters @El Salvador. We'll call in a larger roster (say 23-25) and see what happens. We'll go with the best 18 we can, for both games. It's an international match day, the clubs don't have a say.

If anything, we are MORE disposed to go with Euros, not less, because MLS plays through the season. Still....

El Salvador 18:
GK: Guzan, Perkins
D: Dolo, Boca, Gooch, Pearce, Hejduk, Califf
M: Dempsey, Bradley, Kljestan, Beasley, Mastroeni, Torres, Adu
F: Donovan, Ching, Altidore

Close but no cigar: Busch, Wynne, Bornstein, Marshall, DeMerit, Edu, Rogers, Davies.

For T&T, insert Howard and drop Perkins. Other than that, we with the same 18 for both games. Maybe some of the "close" group get a look if there is a suspension, injury, or someone really chokes.

We'll blood the youngsters AFTER we qualify. After these two games, the next three are @Costa Rica, Hondruas, @Mexico. That could be a tricky stretch, we need to get all the points we can now. And we close out @Hon/CR. If we need points at the end, it could be sweaty palm time, all the more reason to make sure we get all the points we can now.

[PhillyQuakesFan]

If we're only going to pull in our full complement of Euros for one game, I'd bring them in for El Salvador and let the MLS guys handle T&T. Not that ES is a better team, but it's a tough place to play. Doing it that way might mean beating T&T 2-0 instead of 4-0, but it gives us a better shot at getting 6 points from the 2 games.

[TrueCrew]

One player I left off is Spector. I healthy (he is right now) and playing a bit, I think he could make a roster.

[Davids26]

For one thing, let's just say that there is going to be a lot of overlap between the two sides. With just days between El Salvador and Nashville, you can bet that the USA is going to play with a core group for both matches.

Of course, I predict something interesting: Due to flight time and club commitments, I see many European players only playing in the Nashville game. Any Euro who plays against El Salvador would likely not play in Nashville. The only Euros who would play in both matches would be players who aren't getting any playing time currently.


Bob Bradley isn't going to mess around like this until qualification is clinched. Both days are International match days, clubs have to release their players for both days. Most players should have the entire week off from their clubs before the El Salvador match and will be able to return in plenty of time after T&T.

Your idea is hypothetical but quite honestly I'd be pissed if it were to come to fruition. If you can't call your guys for the final round of World Cup Qualifying, when the hell can you?

[bshredder]

Bradley is going to bring in his A-team. No messing around. He called 20 players for Mexico and I think he'll call in 23 for this round because there are two games and more time to practice.

If there is going to be any 11v11 in practice, Bradley will need a full 23.

My guess? Take the 20 that were called into camp for Mexico.. assuming Beasley is healthy.

Add Perkins (for Howard's suspension)
Add Pablo
Add Adu

[deuteronomy]

Bradley is going to bring in his A-team. No messing around. He called 20 players for Mexico and I think he'll call in 23 for this round because there are two games and more time to practice.

If there is going to be any 11v11 in practice, Bradley will need a full 23.

My guess? Take the 20 that were called into camp for Mexico.. assuming Beasley is healthy.

Add Perkins (for Howard's suspension)
Add Pablo
Add Adu
Absolutely, great call with one minor exception. I will be surprised if he brings in Perkins. I think Perkins dropped down the depth chart in his recent performance vs Sweden. Whomever, he does bring in as the goalkeeper will offer a glimpse of who he might see as a third GK in '10.