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USMNT Daily Update: How the roster is shaping up heading to Honduras

By IVES GALARCEP

MIAMI— As players begin to make their way here ahead of the U.S. Men’s National team stopover on their way to Honduras for Wednesday’s crucial World Cup qualifier, we are slowly getting a sense of just what this team will look like when Jurgen Klinsmann unveils the roster for the upcoming USMNT camp.

Klinsmann’s decision to wait on revealing the roster has led to some consternation among fans and even some media, but the mystery surrounding the 23-24 players who will convene here for a brief time before heading to San Pedro Sula has led to plenty of speculation on just who will be on the team (And before you even start, no, the above picture wasn’t from this weekend).

Thanks to some Twitter clues, and reports revealing the location and travels of players in the pool, we have a sense of some players who were making there way to South Florida, while some others were returning to their club teams, either in the United States or Europe.

We will find out on Monday morning just who Klinsmann has called in, but for the time being here is a look at how the the roster is shaping up:

PROJECTED USMNT CALL-UPS

LOCKS– Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Geoff Cameron, Carlos Bocanegra, Fabian Johnson, Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Herculez Gomez

SIGNS POINT TO A CALL-UP– Matt Besler, Brad Davis, Brad Evans

SAFE BETS– Timmy Chandler, Graham Zusi, Danny Williams, Maurice Edu, Eddie Johnson,

POSSIBILITIES– Sean Johnson, Omar Gonzalez, Michael Parkhurst, Edgar Castillo, Juan Agudelo

——————————————————————————————————

LONG SHOTS– Bill Hamid, Alejandro Bedoya, Sacha Kljestan, Jose Torres, Joe Corona, Terrence Boyd, Will Bruin, Chris Wondolowski

SIGNS POINT TO NOT BEING CALLED UP– Josh Gatt, Benny Feilhaber, Alfredo Morales, Kyle Beckerman, Mix Diskerud

Some thoughts:

Twitter hints and the words of Seattle Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid lead me to believe that Besler, Davis and Evans are going to make the cut, while the news that Kyle Beckerman had rejoined Real Salt Lake on Sunday seems to indicate he won’t be joining the USMNT in Florida. Gatt, Feilhaber, Morales and Diskerud have all tweeted from locations far from Miami, which would seem to suggest they aren’t making their way here.

If you add up the number of players in the first four groups, you come up with a 23-player roster, which sounds about right for the traveling group heading to Honduras.

Initially I would have figured on Klinsmann bringing along either Evans or Parkhurst to serve as the back-up right back to Timmy Chandler, with Evans figuring as a potential option because of Parkhurst’s lack of playing time over the past month, but with Beckerman being left behind you could picture both being called in, with Evans being seen as a versatile option at right back or in central mdfield.

Yes, I forgot to include Sacha Kljestan in the original list. He’s a player who is definitely on the radar.

UPDATE– The rule on game day rosters during World Cup Qualifying has changed so now teams dress 23 players for qualifiers rather than 18, which was the old roster size for qualifiers.

—————

What do you think of the above lists? Who are you hoping makes it to the camp that isn’t on our latest projected 23?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I think we can tell that the USA is progressing at football, in the 1990’s and early 00’s we would have hailed the Canada result as a scrappy result. Not any more. And if we would have won 5-0 we might not have learned any more about the side, because Canada would have been so poor. So, safe to say, is it the beautiful game for us, not yet, but, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was The Spanish national team.

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  2. Only the players who have exhibited “something” outstanding or a pattern of consistency at a high level of play mostly club or country; should be going to Honduras. The “kids” had their chance via the January call-up and the friendly vs. Canada to show their stuff. Did they? Those who did, are deserving to make the trip for game 1.

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  3. I agree with those above who don’t understand what Klinsmann thinks he gains by waiting until two days before the game to announce the roster. And I think it is totally unfair to the players for Klinsmann to demand that they swear an oath of secrecy until they fly into camp. Not one other team in the world waits until two days before games to announce rosters. It’s weird and would be nice if a journalist would ask Klinsmann to clearly explain his reasons for waiting until the last minute to announce rosters? I just don’t get it.

    What is even more worrisome, is if Klinsmann is waiting until the last second to make up his mind who he is actually going to pick for rosters. This would be an indication of indecisiveness verging on incompetence. ALL other national coaches are regularly doing their homework and assessing performances of the players in their national pools during the weeks and months before games. They have made up their minds well before the games and are not going to be swayed by a player maybe having a better than normal game on the last weekend of club play before a national team game.

    I can just see Klinsmann and Martin Vasquez late Sunday three days before a game in a Miami hotel room going over performances in the games this weekend and then unable to make a decision flipping a coin on certain players to make the final determination of who gets invited and who doesn’t.

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    • Biff,

      You love to sling around terms like “incompetence”. Where is your evidence they flip a coin to decide on players?

      Just because you don’t know who the USMNT are calling up it doesn’t mean the coaching staff and the players don’t know exactly what is happening. For one thing there are all kinds of travel arrangements to be made in advance.

      I doubt JK is the only manager who does this and even if he does so what? I see no way this puts the team and the players at any disadvantage.

      How is it unfair to ask players to refrain from announcing their selections?
      Care to explain what kind of terrible difficulty this puts them in?

      I’ve seen lots of teams announce a week ahead and then one or two days before the game, have a flurry of withdrawals and replacements either for injury or other reasons. So the idea that the “advance notices “ actually tell you anything is often BS.

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  4. It boggles the mind that Kljestan was not even mentioned in this article, and yet Timmy “I’d rather shoot myself in the head than play for the USMNT” Chandler continues to be discussed. Maddening.

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    • If Kljestan played at a position with less competition I think he’d be treated very differently. But I agree with you in that I think he should be rated higher than he seems to be by The top brass.

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  5. surprised that Evans and Davis may make the list. i thought their US/CAN performance was C average.
    surprised that Feilharber may not make the list. he re-energized the team when he subbed in.
    surprised that Beckerman may not make the list as he performed B+ in the last match.

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    • Maybe they were bad, but Davis has an exeptional ability to cross the ball accurately. If you think about it, in the last 2 years there was no classic free-kick taker in the squad. He, and his corners and free kicks are special weapons.

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  6. I don’t think Klinsmann is engaging in gamesmanship. Honduras pretty much knows who the USA’s international veterans are, and the Catrachos have enough MLS players on their roster to tell them about any MLS opponents.

    Is it possible that very few people actually impressed Klinsmann during the January camp, so he needs time to decide whom to take from that camp, especially after the Canada match? The European-based players are pretty easy to include but with a game-day roster now consisting of 23, Klinsmann has to fill out the roster w/MLS players who aren’t in game shape or used to playing overseas.

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  7. It will be a typical Hex away game, the same as it has been forever, coaches change, Sampson, Arena, BB and now JK, but the game remains the same. Manage the game to get out with at least a point. It will be an experienced defensive side. Almost unwatchable on offense…steal a goal on a counter or corner/free kick and stack the D. I think this one will be tougher than normal though.

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      • Yep. Pathetic. Dempsey will create free kicks outside the box and we’ll convert. Write it down. Not pretty either, but we should never expect to be, away from home, on crappy pitches and worthless refs.

  8. was gonna blog this, but never finished…

    GOALKEEPERS (3):
    Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire)
    Tim Howard (Everton)
    Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)

    DEFENDERS (8):
    Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City)
    Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy)
    Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander),
    Geoff Cameron (Stoke City),
    Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg),
    Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim)
    Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland)
    Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana)

    MIDFIELDERS (7):
    Alejandro Bedoya (out of contract)
    Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo)
    Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders)
    Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
    Michael Bradley (Roma)
    Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04)
    Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht)

    FORWARDS (5):
    Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)
    Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar),
    Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna),
    Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna)
    Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur)

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  9. I have no idea why it took so long, but I am glad that JK has finally discovered what the rest of us knew already … Beckerman is just not a very good player

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  10. I have called it from the beginning. Klinsmann is going into the first game defensively. He wants at least a point from the first game. People shouldn’t be expecting offensive pretty soccer on the road in CONCACAF. Ties on the road wins at home thats the formula.

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  11. This roster is starting to look like a team playing it safe away….wish we were ready to dominate all of CONCACAF (except Mexico)….but that day isnt here yet

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  12. If the reasoning for leaving out Parkhurst in favor of Evans is due to Parkhurst not playing for his new club, I’d also point out how long it had been since Evans played (who did not impress against a weak Canada side, at any position).

    Also, I’m glad to see Besler getting the nod, potentially, over Gonzalez. Don’t get me wrong, I like Omar’s physical presence but he’s Onyewu 2.0, booting the ball into the top row of the upper deck. Besler looks far more comfortable on the ball, and unlike Tim Ream, he can defend too.

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    • I favor Omar over Besler if it’s an either/or situation primarily due to Omar’s ability to be a devastating scoring target on set pieces.

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      • You can differ from it but you can’t call it “way wrong”. In doing so, you’re admitting to not watching his performances with the Nats, where he’s punted several balls into the stands.

        Who else did that? Onyewu.
        Who else has his size? Onyewu.
        Who else is great on set pieces? Onyewu.

        Onyewu 2.0.

  13. Carlos Bocanegra a lock? This is a true assumption, but one that makes me ill. I’m sure BC is a great leader but my-oh-my is he slow and easily beaten. I guess it makes sense for American soccer to have a 4-star general out on the field but easily torched regularly. Bocanegra has grown to be awful in his old age.

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  14. I just don’t see what Evans did to make the squad. Of course, I didn’t see the January camp, but his performance against Canada did nothing, in my opinion, to warrant a call for the qualifier.

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  15. Davis and Evans could be players brought along just for the experience and locker room presence, if Klinsmann sees those players as captain types for the Gold Cup team he may want to bring them to Honduras so that they may see the atmosphere and be able to convey that to a young Gold Cup team over the Summer. The last 2 position spots usually don’t see themselves onto the field, so bringing Davis and Evans along who are both capable backups, even Davis on the left could be a capable starter in Concacaf matches is not a bad thing, maybe not ideal, bot definitely not bad.

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  16. ———–Altidore——–Gomez——-
    ——————-Demspey———
    ——Johnson——————Zusi—–
    ——————–Bradley————–
    Johnson–Bocanegra–Cameron–Chandler-

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  17. #1’s; Howard, Guzan
    #2’s; Johnson, Castillo
    #5’s; Bocanegra, Besler
    #4’s; Cameron, Gonzalez
    #3’s; Chandler, Parkhurst
    #6’s; Edu, Williams
    #7-8’s; Bradley, Jones, Zusi, Kljestian, Corona
    #9-11’s; Altidore, Dempsey, Gomez, Johnson, Agudelo, Boyd

    —9——-10——11–
    ——-7——-8——–
    ———-6————-
    -2—-5——4—-3—-
    ———-1————-

    I don’t really see where Brad Evans or Davis benefit the team, maybe Davis could be used for a spot kick late in the game… i wouldn’t pick them but since they already are i guess drop parkhurst and corona and add evans and davis…

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  18. I used to think that waiting until the last possible second to unveil the roster gave us some sort of advantage. Not anymore. Between social media and just reading tea leaves, we can get a pretty good sense of the roster days in advance. It’s not like we’re going to find some player we weren’t expecting to show up and become the next Messi.

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  19. Really is amazing that Kljestan cant get a look. Really hope gets a call up, mainly because he deserves it. Gatt is promising, but is way too raw. Still not sold on Klinsmann’s ability to bring in the best players available for games that matter,

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  20. Wow! I hope you are wrong with this selection. We need a technical player to unlock the defense. After the Canada game, I’m sure teams will be packing in on us. Klinsman has no clue or imagination
    and is not capable of making changes to adjust to the game. I am hoping we can at least get a point from the first three games. We need Joe Corona or Mixx as creative midfielder. Benny slows down the game too much and no longer has the vision. I really hope Edu is not there If he is there it tells us that Klinsman needs to go. He plays the same tired and old group of guys. We need youth, vision and a coach we have confidence in.

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    • ‘no longer has the vision’–vision get sbetter with age, and if we saw one thing in the Canada game, it’s that Benny is the US midfielder with vision

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  21. —————————————————————————————-Jozy———————————————–
    ——————————————————————-Dempsey———————————————————–
    ——-Zusi———————————————————————————————————————–Gomez

    ————————————————————-Bradley———————————————————————-
    ————————————————————–Williams——————————————————————–
    ———Johnson———————–Boca——————————Cameron———————————–Chandler

    ————————————————————Howard————————————————————————-

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      • Gatt seems quite full of himself with basically zero career accomplishments . I doubt that plays well with Klinsi.

      • Really? Well, he’s not a striker, and if you want to anoint him as such based on a couple of seasons in a pretty weak league, all I can say is I’m glad no one is paying you to make the decisions. Uninformed comment, Hal.

  22. Not much offensive spark or creativity. No Benny, Sacha, Mix, or Corona to name a few is troubling. Zusi is not Landon Donovan. Dempsey & Bradley will have to get it done from the midfield. What is the over/under on # of minutes it takes Jones to see yellow?

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    • The problem with the mixes and the kljestans is that mediocre creative players are pretty much worthless at the full international level.

      Those guys tend to need a fraction of a second more time than they’re afforded to make the pass that unlocks a defense. And they offer little in the way of defensive quality.

      So while it may be discouraging to see a williams-jones-bradley midfield, it’s probably more effective than starting a second rate playmaker.

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  23. This experiment is taking way too long, why do we still have to balance between Euro and MLS training camps and the associated drama? Germany, Italy, Spain and Mexico are not going through this painful, dragged out process – it’s damaging the players – psychologically – at a time way to close to Hex.

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  24. I see Sacha getting the call over Parkhurst, considering we have cover from Edu at DM and Brad Evans who can play RB and DM and Castillo covering LB there should be no reason to not call a player who has been instrumental to a League Leader in Europe who is about as versatile as a midfielder can get on our squad. Parkhurst hasn’t seen minutes since his move and needs to stay to find a role in Augsburg.

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  25. I’d be shocked if Gonzalez and Castillo didn’t make it, for sure. It scares me to think me might not have a decent midfield substitution if the game needs an offensive spark. Given Zusi’s performance against Canada, we’ll likely need it. If Mix is in the doghouse, Feilhaber should be on the bench. Frankly, not too psyched about the team’s momentum right now.

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    • i don’t agree with you. i am a fan of Wondo but he should stay in MLS, he is too old, and it is too late, for him to go to europe -even to those lower leagues.

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    • No one in Europe will pay much for an older striker with no proven Internatiomal success, mediocre athleticism and ball skills. He is worth a lot more where he is. In MLS, he is a proven valuable commodity. In Europe, who knows? If you don’t get out of MLS by 25/26, while you still have upside, you’re probably not getting out.

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    • It’s tougher at that age. The team that owns you has little fallback if you don’t work out there. Can’t sell the player’s rights very easily, and may not even get any interest putting him up for loan. So the club isn’t going to offer anything respectable for a transfer fee, and the MLS won’t accept peanuts for a league MVP.

      With someone a few years younger, the club can take more risks, under the ‘bigger idiot’ theory. If a younger player doesn’t work out, a club figures it still can find a bigger idiot to buy the player.

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  26. Boyd has been in pre-season for his club. He’s not fully ready for a NT call-up. No Brad Davis. No MLS players at all right now.

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  27. My issue is that there are no true wide players in that squad and a real lack of creativity in midfield. We need a Kljestan or Feilhaber to at least come off the bench. We could have used the pace of Gatt and his ability to play out wide. And we could have used the strength of Boyd up top. Beckerman played well against Canada yet Evans likely will make the squad? What?

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    • I will still be amazed if Kljestan isn’t in Honduras. Not only on the roster, but I’d be mildly surprised if he isn’t starting.

      Gatt should be there to come in for Zusi. And if we don’t use Kljestan as CAM, then Dempsey would probably be there, meaning we’ll probably have EJ at left wing. Already running low on quality winger options (as if that wasn’t already apparent by Zusi projected to start on the right).

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      • Why Gatt? He only lost possession against a pretty weak Canada. He did show enthusiasm and a bit of athleticism, but no real soccer sense. Maybe later.

      • i dont know if you watched the same game as the rest of us. although gatt worked hard and looked quick he had only one foot. if that doesnt work against canada B it isnt going to work against the team the crushed their A team

    • I think the point of the 4-3-3 system JK employs is that the fullbacks are supposed to provide the width. I’m not a big soccer tactics guy so please correct me if that’s wrong.

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  28. Why does he wait so long to reveal the roster? As a fan, it’s annoying. I guess I can cope as long as there’s some real advantage that is being derived from the secrecy. But it can’t be that big of an advantage…

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    • I don’t think any advantage. It’s not like there’s any question of Dempsey, Bradley or F. Johnson being there, or any likelihood of Donovan being there. Players like that can impact an opposing teams plans. Players like Evans… well… like I said, I don’t see any advantage to delaying like this.

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    • it’s possible that he wants to get through the weekends games to see how things go, but he could still release by Sunday afternoon.

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