I'm hoping to update this regularly as the World Cup approaches. Here's the 23 going today, broken up by starters and bench. See post no. 2 of this thread for explanations. Starting XI (from right to left): GK - Tim Howard DF - Steve Cherundolo - Oguchi Onyewu - Carlos Bocanegra - Jonathan Spector MF - Clint Dempsey - Michael Bradley - Benny Feilhaber - Landon Donovan FW - Jozy Altidore - Charlie Davies Bench: GK - Brad Guzan - Marcus Hahnemann DF - Jonathan Bornstein - Jay DeMerit - Chad Marshall MF - Stuart Holden - Maurice Edu - Ricardo Clark - DaMarcus Beasley - Jose Francisco Torres FW - Brian Ching - Robbie Findley
Roster Projection as of February 20: Already booked a ticket: 1. MF - Landon Donovan - Everton (on loan from LA Galaxy) Long established as the best fielder player the US has ever produced and his showing at Everton is doing nothing to change that idea. Reigning MLS MVP was voted Toffee of the month by the Everton fans in January. 2. GK - Tim Howard - Everton One of the top keepers in the world is a lock to start for the US. 3. MF - Michael Bradley - Gladbach Provides some bite in midfield to go with an impressive ability to pick out a pass. Has done well since moving into a more defensive position at Gladbach and could end up on the radar of Champions League teams with a strong performance in the coming friendlies and World Cup. 4. DF - Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes The reigning Captain America has overcome his rough patch in France to return as a starter. Could see time at left back, but is most likely to be in the center. 5. DF - Jonathan Spector - West Ham United Has played well at right back in the Premiership and could see time there, particularly in the opener against England. Provides great service from deep on the left side of the attack and will start there for the US. 6. FW - Jozy Altidore - Hull City (on loan from Villarreal) Had a rocky start at Hull, but scored his first goal recently and has rounded into form and seems comfortable with the English game. The injured stars: 7. DF - Oguchi Onyewu - AC Milan As the biggest fielder player the US has ever had, he is capable of dominating in the air defensively and on set pieces like few others the US has ever seen. Liable to get stuck out of position at times, but provided dominant performances against the best competition. 8. MF - Clint Dempsey - Fulham When he's on, he can do things that no other player in the pool can do. Has a tendency to disappear for long stretches of matches before showing up in the box and sending in an unexpected goal. Could start upfront or on the right side of midfield. 9. FW - Charlie Davies - Sochaux Seemed like a long shot to even step onto a pitch again after being involved in a fatal car accident, has now been called the key to a late season push to move into the top ten by manager Francois Gillot. Was on fire for the US and in France before the accident robbed him of much of the season. 10. MF - Benny Feilhaber - Aarhus The best passer in the US pool has played well in the past next to Bradley in midfield. Currently nursing an ankle injury that has him out for an as of yet unknown period of time. He is hoping that a strong showing in the build-up friendlies and the World Cup will see him move back to a top five league in a starting role. 11. DF - Steve Cherundolo - Hannover 96 Currently out with a shoulder injury and will miss the early March friendly with Holland, but should return to Hannover shortly after. He provides a steady presence on both sides of the ball from right back. The bench 12. GK - Brad Guzan - Aston Villa Has seen limited time behind Brad Friedel at Villa, but has been terrific when given the chance. Isn't very likely to play for Villa for the rest of the season or the US in the World Cup, but is a strong candidate to become a star at keeper next season in the Premiership. 13. DF - Jay DeMerit - Watford Appeared far down the depth chart, but a strong performance in the Confederations Cup has moved him up as the third choice centerback. Continued play with Watford after a falling out with the manager has made a World Cup appearance just a couple of yellow cards away. 14. DF - Jonathan Bornstein - Chivas USA Most would have been uncomfortable with this, but recent performances at left back and, particularly, when stuck in as a center back against Honduras. Could start at left back if Spector moves to the right in the first match against England. 15. MF - Stuart Holden - Bolton Has yet to appear with Bolton, but Dempsey's injury is likely to give him a starting role against the Netherlands on March 3. He has been strong in limited appearances with the US. 16. DF - Chad Marshall - Columbus Crew Just the second current MLS player (we'll count Donovan) to appear on this list thus far, he is establishing himself as the fourth choice at centerback and with the card history of Bocanegra and Onyewu, he isn't a longshot to see minutes in South Africa. Flexibility from other players could see him as the first man out, but right now he's likely in. 17. Jose Francisco Torres - Pachuca Has been phenomenal since play restarted in Mexico and could start against Holland in Feilhaber's usual position. He has recently shown some defensive bite playing in a deep midfield position with Pachuca. Backup forward issues 18. FW - Robbie Findley - Real Salt Lake Went quickly from being the popular internet choice to replace Charlie Davies to possibly not even making the World Cup. Will need to play well in upcoming friendlies and the start of the MLS season to make it. 19. FW - Brian Ching - Houston Dynamo A late season injury has pushed Ching down the list, but still has shown more than other target forwards in the pool. Needs to get a chance or two on goal against El Salvador and needs to do some hold-up play against the Dutch if given the chance. The third keeper 20. GK - Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton Strong play with Wolves has put him back in the picture and weak play by others seeking the third keeper spot puts him on the plane to South Africa. Continued strong play with Wolves could see him moving up to backup Howard. The injured backups: 21. MF - Maurice Edu - Rangers Provides a the best combination of defense and attack in the US midfield other than Bradley. Will need to start getting some time with Rangers to really show that he is back and ready to go for the US come June. He can also provide cover at centerback if situations get desperate. 22. MF - Ricardo Clark - Frankfurt He paired well with Bradley during the remarkable US summer of 09, which put him on the fast track to move to Europe. The move to Frankfurt has been marred by injury, which has prevented him from seeing the pitch. 23. MF - DaMarcus Beasley - Rangers A loss in form made him appear clueless at the Confed Cup and World Cup qualifiers in the summer of 09 and led to him being dropped by Bob Bradley. Struggles continued as he couldn't find playing time with Rangers, but injuries put him on the pitch in December and Beasley responded by being the top American in Europe that month. He could also cover at leftback, freeing up some space elsewhere on the roster. Players on the brink: 24. MF - Kyle Beckerman - Real Salt Lake He was phenomenal as RSL made a shocking run to the MLS Cup and, with Clark in Germany, is the top American midfielder in MLS. He appeared to be in all places at once in the playoffs and rarely made a poor pass after winning possession in midfield. 25. FW - Connor Casey - Colorado Rapids Really is a poor player, but scored the first and second US goal (and set up the third) in Honduras as the US clinched qualification. Ching is ahead because he provided similar physical ability and superior technical ability. 26. FW - Jeff Cunningham - FC Dallas A strong performance against El Salvador could move him ahead of Findley as the fourth forward. Provides similar physical and technical abilities as Findley, but is older and has less of a future, which puts him lower on the list. 27. GK - Troy Perkins - DC United Played poorly in his chances with the US, combined with Hahnemann's terrific play in England has seen him go from third choice to out. Shaving his head could help, but he appears unlikely to be leaving DC for the World Cup. 28. FW - Freddy Adu - Aris (on loan from Benfica) He seemed to be at a crossroads in his career with failed loans after failed time with Benfica. A move to Greece has put him on the pitch and he has responded with two goals and an assist in his four appearances thus far. He provides skills on the ball that no others in the US has, and strong play could see him move up into a super-sub role in South Africa. 29. FW - Eddie Johnson - Aris (on loan from Fulham) Another player who seemed to have greater worries about his career, rather than making it to South Africa. He seems comfortable in Greece, and hooked up with Adu for a 90th minute goal in their first time taking the pitch together. Still a long shot to make it. 30. MF - Robbie Rogers - Columbus Can play on either side of midfield and could make it if the injuries of Dempsey, Beasley, and Holden linger longer than expected. Still, its fairly unlikely he'll make it. Incredibly long shots worth keeping an eye on DF - Michael Orozco - Philadelphia Union (on loan from San Luis) DF - Edgar Castillo - Tigres MF - Michael Hoyos - Estudiantes la Plata MF - Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro SK FW - Kenny Cooper - Plymouth Argyle (on loan from 1860 Munich)
Here are a couple of other projections. SBI - February 2010's 23. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/powerranking?cc=5901 - last updated in October...why?
And an update: Already booked a ticket: 1 - Landon Donovan - M/F - LA Galaxy - even 2 - Tim Howard - GK - Everton - even 3 - Michael Bradley - M - Gladbach - even 4 - Carlos Bocanegra - D - Rennes - even 5 - Jozy Altidore - F - Hull - +1 Moves up one with continued strong showings in England. Why he isn't starting regularly for Hull is beyond me, but there are usually reasons beyond the players why teams are battling relegation. Hasn't been scoring much, but Hull doesn't get much in the run of play. When they score off of free kicks or penalties, its usually Altidore drawing the foul. If he had some support, he'd be scoring goals himself. 6 - Jonathan Spector - D - West Ham - -1 Still some debate over where he starts against England. But that's the key, its where, not if. Spector goes down a notch, but not because of anything he's doing. 7 - Clint Dempsey - M - Fulham - +1 Clint is back and being ridiculous, as seen in [video=youtube;VeL1DXp-PuU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeL1DXp-PuU[/video] against Juventus in Europa League. The best part, comments on his thought process afterward basically come down Clint saying, "I looked at the goal and said…f*** it, I'm going to shoot." 8 - Benny Feilhaber - M - Aarhus - +2 Benny is back for Aarhus in Denmark. He continues to be our best passer out of the midfield and can also send in some brilliant shots from distance. 9 - Maurice Edu - M- Rangers - +12 Edu is back to health and back in a starting role for Rangers. Best yet, he's found the back of the net twice, none more important than the one that gave Rangers the win and a 12 point cushion over Celtic, making Edu a hero for half of Glasgow. Edu is a strong possibility to start and with Michael Bradley, the US can have two midfielders who have a terrific habit of getting lost in the shuffle and popping up for goals. Injured Starters: 10 - Oguchi Onyewu - D - AC Milan - -3 Drops because the guys infront of him have gotten healthy and he's still out. No bad news regarding Onyewu's recovery is a good sign, but will he get playing time when he's back? 11 - Charlie Davies - F - Sochaux - -2 All the news regarding Davies is good news. He's back with Sochaux, he's running at some speed, and he's training with the ball at his feet. Still, time is running out for him as we're about ten weeks away from USA vs. England. At this point, his best bet might be to try to wrangle a loan to an MLS club or back to Hammarby to get some game time in early May. What's the formation for England? 12 - Jonathan Bornstein - D - Chivas USA - +2 13 - Jay DeMerit - D - Watford - even The question here is who starts? Bornstein is the leading left back candidate, but isn't exactly an ideal candidate, given his worse than poor performance against Holland. Bocanegra on the left provides better defense, but less speed and service. Bornstein can keep up with anyone England can throw out there, but, as he proved against the Dutch, that isn't necessarily a good thing. Its worth noting, Bradley's back four during the successful Confederations Cup was Spector, Onyewu, DeMerit, Bocanegra and that's what I'll go with. Bornstein makes the trip, but might not see much of the pitch. Bench: 14 - Brad Guzan - GK - Aston Villa - -2 15 - Marcus Hahnemann - GK - Wolverhampton - +4 16 - Steve Cherundolo - D - Hannover - -5 Injured back-up: 17 - Stuart Holden - M - Bolton - -2 Holden was starting to look good for Bolton when Nigel de Jong goes and breaks his leg. Recovery seems to be going well for Holden as he is walking without crutches or a boot according to reports and there's hope he'll return to Bolton around mid-April. And this is where it gets fun: 18 - Ricardo Clark - M - Frankfurt - +4 Still hasn't played for Frankfurt, but its tough to forget consistently strong performances through qualifying and at the Confederations Cup. Despite sliding down the charts with strong play from Edu and a return for Feilhaber, Clark will be making the trip this summer. 19 - Alejandro Bedoya - M - Orebo - +15 From what I have read because I still haven't watch it yet, no one helped themselves more than Bedoya against the Dutch. Once Bedoya entered the match, the US looked extremely dangerous and he created chances for the US to nearly make a comeback. Strong play in Sweden helps as form will be key and he'll be rounding into midseason form with Orebo. 20 - Herculez Gomez - F - Puebla - unranked Gomez has his own thread that I posted earlier today. With 8 goals in 10 appearances since returning to Mexico, Herculez has played himself into consideration, while other forwards have played themselves or hurt themselves out of serious consideration. 21 - Clarence Goodson - D - Start - unranked I'm not sure why I forgot about Goodson on my first ranking. I had Marshall making it, but an off-season injury has hurt his odds signficantly and Goodson has been strong with the US and in Norway. He also provides a terrific target on corners at 6'4" as evidenced by his 7 goals in Norway. 22 - Jose Francisco Torres - M - Pachuca - -5 Torres struggled against Holland, but he can fill a deep lying position with Bradley, Edu, or Clark (I wouldn't pair him with Feilahber), or play on the left flank in a pinch. Versatility and passing ability give him a nod as the 9th midfielder. 23 - Heath Pearce - D - FC Dallas - unranked He did well against the Dutch in what may have been his last chance to make a trip to South Africa. Never would have predicted it this summer when he fell off the map, but strong showings in MLS are also helpful to him. He gets the 23rd spot. Here's the roster and starting 11: GK Tim Howard DR Jonathan Spector DL Carlos Bocanegra DC Oguchi Onyewu DC Jay DeMerit MR Clint Dempsey ML Landon Donovan MC Michael Bradley MC Maurice Edu FC Jozy Altidore FC Charlie Davies GK Marcus Hahnemann GK Brad Guzan DF Jonathan Bornstein DF Heath Pearce DF Steve Cherundolo DF Carlence Goodson MF Benny Feilhaber MF Stuart Holden MF Jose Francisco Torres MF Ricardo Clark MF Alejandro Bedoya FC Herculez Gomez
And here's the most unlikely soccer mix tape of all time. 723FootballFilms (they're good and they do a lot of American soccer videos) presents "The Underdogs." [video=youtube;m72B5C1CzUg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m72B5C1CzUg&feature=player_embedded[/video] And yes, that is a mix tape featuring Alejandro Bedoya, Herculez Gomez, and Edson Buddle. Looks like some solid work on the wing from Bedoya. Gomez and Buddle seem to pop up in the right place a lot and finish, which are two traits missing in the US forward pool beyond Jozy and Davies. Gomez does have some very skillful finishing in this video though, while Buddle is more about getting open and getting on the end of Donovan's service for the most part.
donovan, howard, dempsey, altidore, bradley, feilhaber, onyewu, bocanegra, spector, demerit, bornstein, cherundolo, holden, and guzan are all locks to be on the team. that leaves 9 more spots. hahnemann probably makes it. torres and edu both are almost definitely on the team. there will be a spot for davies if he's healthy enough. same with ching. assuming health for both of them, that leaves 4 more spots. goodson and pearce will take either one or two between them. if we give them both spots, i think clark and bedoya fill out the roster. so that would be gk - howard, guzan, hahnemann d - bornstein, bocanegra, onyewu, spector, pearce, goodson, demerit, cherundolo m - donovan, bradley, edu, dempsey, feilhaber, holden, torres, clark, bedoya f - altidore, davies, ching
Hahnemann has moved ahead of Guzan for number two keeper according to most projections. I think Guzan might be the better keeper, but Hahnemann is the one who is playing and is in form.
has bradley given any indication that guzan is no longer number 2? my projections weren't what i think the best roster would be, but what i think is going to happen. guzan has been number 2 all along even though he hasn't been playing so i don't think that would change. you probably(or definitely) are up to date on the news around the national team more than me, but i'm just going by who has been consistently called in and what i've read.
Bradley doesn't say much about anything. The idea is that the three are clearly the top keepers still playing in the pool. Hahnemann is not only playing, but is playing at an extremely high level, which gives him a nod over Guzan. Regardless, I'm hoping that we won't see anyone but Tim Howard in goal in the World Cup.
An interesting read from Jeff Carlisle on ESPN SoccerNet. I might make a new one in this format fairly soon.
[video=youtube;UF1lVUlN-mc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF1lVUlN-mc&feature=player_embedded[/video] And right when we thought Gomez and Buddle were it, Eddie Johnson asks us to remember him. Two goals in today's playoff match for a European spot. One set up by Freddy Adu and the other set up by poor defending. Both were pretty good finishes. The defensive error on the second goal diminishes it a bit, but seeing Eddie Johnson remember that he's the fastest man on the pitch and scoring a goal as a result has me hoping that he can start doing that regularly.
but is eddie johnson scoring goals in greece any different than him doing it in the mls? when the competition is bad, he can be good. when the competition is good like it is in the world cup, he's worthless.
