U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley called in a 20-man training camp roster ahead of the U.S. team's World Cup qualifier against Mexico on Feb. 11.
The group is made up almost entirely of players who were part of the national team's January camp, with veteran right back Frankie Hejduk the new face in the mix. All but one (Charlie Davies) are currently MLS players so the training camp is in place to keep the group sharp ahead of the Mexico match since they are all currently out of season.
Here is the 20-man roster:
GOALKEEPERS: Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Will Hesmer (Columbus Crew), Matt Pickens (Colorado Rapids)
DEFENDERS: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Ugo Ihemelu (Colorado Rapids), Chris Wingert (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS: Brian Carroll (Columbus Crew), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Jack Jewsbury (Kansas City Wizards), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), John Thorrington (Chicago Fire)
FORWARDS: Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire)
These players will train together at Home Depot Center in Carson, California in preparation for the World Cup qualifier vs. Mexico. The roster for the Mexico qualifier isn't likely to be known for at least another week, but more than half the roster could consist of European-based players.
What do you think of the group? Share your thoughts below.
Isaac:
I agree 100% regarding Hejduk. In addition to what you mentioned, he is an incredible teammate. At the 2006, he came to the world cup and hung out with the team even though he was injured. Hejduk is awesome, and he plays with heart. Eddie Johnson has skills, but he gives up easily. Hejduk doesn’t understand what the phrase “give up” means.
Mexico on the road … in the cold- USA 4 Mexico 0.
I would love it if Bradley would play win, but I think he is too conservative, and if Cherundolo is not healthy he would start Hejduk. I think Torres should be part of the squad, not start but be on the bench as a sub.
i’d love to see this Guy kid in camp…..
Instead of endless conjecture about who we’ll see on the pitch this February 11, can we please talk about something important? Namely, the fact Sacha Kljestan buzzed his hair. This is big news, folks. Discuss.
Torres deserves a callup. His one chance to show Mexico what they’re missing. I’m starting to hate myself for how cocky im sounding. *slaps self*…..much better.any ways I hope Torres gets a cap vs MExico.
maybe someone asked already but…
is the reason torres isn’t on the list the same as the european based players? i hope so, i think it’d be a shame not to have him on the squad especially as we face mexico.
This Guy,
Blanco is done with international competition. I wish he would play for Mexico, the guy is old and slow. (Fire STH here)
Yes, I was being sarcastic 🙂
can we stop saying stuff like “we will crust them” and “we will put rodgers on if we get a big lead”???
you guys are sounding like mexicans…
be confident,not cocky or arrogant
Why is Eddie Gaven getting called in?
To counter Blanco’s diving? so we too will have a diver on our squad?
interesting to chat about but I am ready for him to announce what Euro’s he is planning to bring in. The wait is killing me. No better way to celebrate a birthday than with a beat down on Mexico.
I know that the Euro boys would crush this Mexico squad and I’d have loved to see that, but MLS isn’t the busch league it used to be and the thought of 4 Crew players at Fort Columbus to knock off the Mexicans is brilliant.
fubar as for “wake me when the boys from europe show up”
you do realize we’re playing mexico right? We could call in a rec league squad and i’d be on top of this game.
Buddle. In NO way should you insult Hejduk. he has been a ROCK in the back for the Red White and Blue. When the U.S. is in a situation where they need a steadfast player who can step up to the situation Hejduk was there. He stepped up against Mexico before 2006 and if the situation calls for it, he’ll be there again in on the 11th. Yes I realize he’s not done well as of late, but he gives his all and after all, he DID captain Columbus to a MLS Cup. He popped up when Schelloto needed him on that third goal. What other right back do we have that gets THAT far into the box? Wynne may have but I think he’s not ready.
Bruce Arena & Bob Bradley’s love affair with Frankie Hejduk baffles me. The guy his so overrated with his pace and loves to make ridiculous two-footed tackles. Not to mention his crossing is awful. The guy is my age and has no business even being in a camp for the Nats at this juncture.
I hope Wynne gets the nod even if Cherundolo is healthy; Stevie hasn’t played well lately.
Chris…you do know that Rolfe played on the right wing in the Sweden game…right? If you’re being sarcastic cool….cause i cant understand sarcasm over the internet.
It might be interesting if we could give Rogers a shot if we manage to gain a good lead. I know that ‘gain a good lead’ part sounds crazy but why not please the fans at Columbus for providing an atmosphere that has helped the USA in these games? Rogers may not have done that great when he got his first cap but the expectation that he would was a bit harsh. He had glimpses and settled down after the first goal. I think If we want someone to follow up Eddie Lewis’ legacy on that left flank Rogers is the man to do it.
Dude….chances for Rolfe to dress, much less play, in this game only exist in the realm of injuries.
Bob Bradley is calling up Chris Rolfe as a forward??
Doesn’t he know that Dennis Hamlet has decided that Rolfe is really a right mid?
I mean… come on!!!
“I” –> “It”
I wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Marvell Wynne play against Mexico.
“i think Robbie Rogers is whack with the USMNT (at least as he plays right now)… am i allowed to say that?”
Posted by: Cindy | January 29, 2009 at 05:06 PM
——————————————–
No, because it’s ‘wack.’ W-A-C-K. Wack.
Well Cherundolo is hurt and is currently day to day, so it will be interesting to see how things go down at right back.
i think Robbie Rogers is whack with the USMNT (at least as he plays right now)… am i allowed to say that?
it was nice of BB to give Frankie the Jan camp off and only call him in for 2 weeks of training before Mexico. I guess fitness isn’t an issue with the old man. The guy is a machine.
Ching and Kljestan will start the game out of this group. I can see Davies, Cooper, Bornstein, Hejduk and/or Wynne, Rico Clark and maybe Robbie Rogers making the roster for the Mexico match. Probably most but not all of them will make it.
The better question is which Euro-based subs will be called? Consider Edu, Adu, Altidore. And what of Torres? That will be interesting to see what Bob does.
Based on how Mexico looked last night against the Swedes, I would say a comfortable win for the US 3-1.
Can’t wait for the roster to see who makes the cut. I think the interesting story in this call up for training is the right-back back up duel between wynne and heyduk, only one will make the cut.
kpugs, I don’t quite agree with you that qualifying in CONCACAF is so much easier than Qualifying in Europe. While you’ve got one top tier team in each group maybe two in some cases, the rest of the groups are made up of a couple of so so teams and a couple of plain awful teams. That kind of sounds like the hex to me, except that we don’t have any truly top level teams in this region. Now if you are talking about the numbers of teams that qualify from each group, I would have to agree that Europe has a tougher road.
lol, Ives, I had a heartattack at first, not differentiating between camp and roster: “WHAT HECK IS BRADLEY THINKING???? Now, I can calm down.
I have been pleasantly surprised at Sacha lately.
Hey Chunk, Parkhurst has only trained a couple of times with his new club therefore for his benefit he needs to get some sessions under his belt. Califf, I’m not sure why he didn’t stay. Maybe it was out to courtesy to his club to let him return for a week or two.
Yawn…Wake me when the boys from Europe show up.
Nothing is better than the Adam Morrison mustache
Right, Denmark. Parkhurst might not be back for the Hex anyway. But Califf probably will. I guess Midtjylland was on break when he was here for all of Jan, but they want him back for a week right now for some sort of off-season training?
“Only one central defender, that’s how you know this is just a training camp roster.”
That, and the fact that none of our bets players are on it.
Parkhurst plays in Denmark, I believe. I think they run the normal schedule with a relatively long winter break. But his team will still want him in training.
im tired of pickens hesmer chris seitz
Is there some reason that Califf and Parkhurst had to be back with their teams in Norway now? Especially Califf, who many consider to be #3 CB and lock for 18-man Mexico roster — he was in camp for all of Jan but he can’t stay 2 more weeks for the Mexico match? He has to fly to Denmark for something then fly back?
this is only a training roster, then they call in the euro based players before the game.
Dempsey had hair similar to Sacha’s.
Sacha cut his hair, so no worries.
Only one central defender, that’s how you know this is just a training camp roster.
Is Holden back to 100%? I was really hoping to see him get some time in the Sweden game. I think he has a bright future with the USMNT.
Mexico must be quaking in their boots.
Wouldn’t be surprised if he took KCJ with the team to Columbus either. And Frankie Hejduk – he’ll be there . . .
Good thing Kljestan is in form because that hair is just ridiculous. You better have some confidence to sport that mop.
Sacha to Celtic… Live or dead?
The guys from Europe havent been called in because they are training and playing right now. The MLS guys arent fit and have been on holiday for the past 2-3 months.The Euro guys also cant miss 2 weeks+ worth of club games, Im usre they will be called up a couple of days before the games as FIFA rules mandate. But like I said they dont need the extra training the MLS guys do.
out this roster you take
bornstein,califf (backup),ching,kljestan, and maybe clark as a sub
please pardon my ignorance, but they will bring in european guys like donovan, dempsey and howard for such a game, correct? i mean im all about getting guys experience, but this is MEXICO….we need to win this game even if we don’t NEED to win this game….
thanks
so does this exclude all of the Euro based players or will they all be called in and most of these guys training are training for half the game roster spots?
I hope the roster for the actual match looks a LOT different. I know we have a relatively easy time qualifying compared to Europe, but it’s much better to qualify sooner rather than later. I want to see some W’s asap as a fan.