The Final U.S. Squad!
Less than 24 hours after that disastrous WC warm-up performance against the Czechs that exposed some real concerns among the U.S. squad, the gaffer Bob Bradley has announced the final 23 players who will carry U.S. hopes into South Africa. No surprises with the Goalkeepers: Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, Brad Guzan.
(I think that order is probably right, as Guzan was found lacking on a couple of the Czech goals last night).
The defense is a real problem area for us:
Steve Cherundolo, Oguchi Onyewu, Jay DeMerit, Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Clarence Goodson, Jonathan Spector.
(The good news last night was the excellent performance by Goodson. However, throwing an unseasoned guy into the cauldron of a WC match against England is a real gamble. I fear that Bradley will go with Gooch and DeMerit, both of whom are coming back from injuries. Gooch wasn't moving well and then had a massive ice pack on his knee after going off.)
The midfield is our strongest area and essentially picks itself:
Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Stuart Holden, Jose Francisco Torres.
(Once you get beyond the obvious starters - Bradley, Clark, Dempsey, Donovan, and Holden, there are some real surprises here - I'm particularly surprised that Beasley made the cut for a third WC appearance; Mo Edu was horrible last night; I'm shocked that the lightweight Torres is in the squad; in the end Sasha Klejstan killed his hopes with a really puzzling stinker last night.)
Now, the real shocker - attackers: Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle, Herculez Gomez, Robbie Findley.
(Only four names there, which either means to me that Bradley intends to play Jozy up front alone - particularly against England - or that he'll push Dempsey up front alongside Jozy; Buddle and Gomez have played themselves into contention by lighting up their domestic leagues recently; I'm shocked that Findley got the nod ahead of Robbie Rogers; Ching, Casey, Eddie Johnson all surplus to requirements this time around.)
Wow! What do you think, lads?
posted by The Blue Devil @ 1:57 PM
3 Comments:
Weak up front and I do not understand why Chad Marshall did not seem to be getting any chance at a shot to make the squad.
At least he'll be in the lineup on Saturday against the Galaxy.
I was surprised by Marshall's exclusion too, especially given the injuries to Gooch and DeMerit. I suspect that if either pull out, Bradley will petition FIFA for a replacement and Marshall might just sneak onto the plane for SA.
Marshall arrived with an injury that didn't respond to treatment in camp and limited his ability to train with the squad. Demerit also is questionable, but higher in the pecking order so he's the one they take a chance on being ready to go in 2 weeks. Otherwise, I think a healthy Marshall would be a lock for the squad.
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