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10 players who should’ve been on the USMNT preliminary Gold Cup roster

Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/USA Today Sports

Even with 40 players to choose from, the U.S. Men’s National Team’s preliminary Gold Cup roster was bound to have some exclusions. The pool is too deep and there are too many situations and scenarios to consider ahead of this summer’s tournament.

Many of the exclusions are straight-forward. Regulars like Bobby Wood and Fabian Johnson need rest. Ethan Horvath is facing UEFA Champions League qualifiers. Emerson Hyndman is injured while Danny Williams and Perry Kitchen have to figure out their club futures. Some European-based players, like Christian Pulisic, can be kept around as the U.S. anticipates making six switches for the knockout round. However, by and large, the roster was always going to be MLS-based.

That’s not to say there aren’t some notable MLS exclusions too, even if some make sense. Any member of the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team needs to return to their club situation, leaving up-and-comers like Tyler Adams, Erik Palmer-Brown, Brooks Lennon and Justen Glad out of the mix.

With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at a series of surprise exclusions from this summer’s preliminary roster:

SACHA KLJESTAN

While his numbers this season are nowhere near as gaudy as last year’s and his performances haven’t been near as good, Kljestan still has six assists for the New York Red Bulls. He’s proven his mettle with the USMNT before and would have been a welcome veteran presence on what could be a young Gold Cup squad.

CHRISTIAN RAMIREZ

Yes, it’s his first MLS season, but you can’t argue with Ramirez’s numbers. There were calls for a USMNT inclusion when Ramirez was lighting the NASL on fire and now, with eight MLS goals on his resume, he’s proven he can score in the top flight as well. January likely beckons, but Ramirez is a young, dynamic forward option that is a surprising exclusion.

TIM MELIA

No goalkeeper in MLS has been as good as Tim Melia, who has been nothing less than incredible for Sporting KC this season. The former league pool goalkeeper leads the league in shutouts and save percentage, more than meriting a reward among the pool of USMNT goalkeepers despite his age.

LUIS ROBLES

The New York Red Bulls goalkeeper has long been one of the more consistent goalkeepers in the pool but, at 33, it appears his international career will largely be limited to January call-ups. He remains behind veterans like Tim Howard, Brad Guzan and Nick Rimando as well as a slew of younger options despite several outstanding seasons with the Red Bulls. He would have been a good for for this Gold Cup roster, providing experience alongside a good crop of young shot-stoppers.

TIM PARKER

Tim Parker has quietly been one of the top defenders in MLS this season. At just 24 years old, Parker already has USMNT experience and has been absolutely spectacular for the Vancouver Whitecaps this season. Instead, Arena opted for youngster Matt Miazga and veteran Jonathan Spector, who hasn’t been with the group in some time, alongside more frequent call-ups like Steve Birnbaum, Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler and Matt Hedges.

JERMAINE JONES

This is a controversial one, for a variety of reasons, but there would have been nothing wrong with having Jones involved in some capacity despite his recent injury issues. Sure, he may be past his prime and, sure, there are younger options, but few players fight and work harder in the USMNT pool than Jones. If Chris Wondolowski’s locker room presence and training attitude is enough to keep him involved despite his age, why isn’t Jones’ relentlessness? Should he be going to the Gold Cup? Probably not, but there are worse ideas than having him as an option.

BRANDON VINCENT

A former U.S. youth international, Vincent has come into his own as a fullback throughout 2017. A key young piece of the new-look Chicago Fire, Vincent’s attacking game has improved by leaps and bounds as he’s grown into a key defensive piece for a team on the rise. He earned a senior cap in the 2016 January camp, but hasn’t earned a look since.

IKE OPARA

The drawbacks on Opara are obvious. He remains extremely injury prone, even if his health has held up for the past several seasons. Because of those injury issues, though, Opara has never gotten a major chance with the USMNT. The thought of him in the central defense is always a frightening one given his athleticism, but he’ll have to stay on the field more consistently to earn his spot.

LEE NGUYEN

It’s hard to argue with form, and Lee Nguyen is certainly a player that is in spectacular form. He’s amassed six goals and seven assists in 15 games and has never truly been given a chance to shine for the USMNT. At his age, an extended international career is probably behind him, but his play merited a look.

NICK LIMA

It might be a bit too much, too soon for the San Jose Earthquakes fullback, but the 22 year old certainly merits a mention. Just a few months into his rookie season, Lima has rapidly evolved into one of MLS’ better fullbacks and probably should be in like for USMNT attention at some point.

Comments

  1. Both Nguyen had his chances, & maybe Jones could be use sub for Qualifiers.

    & it’s great chance for younger players.

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  2. A few years ago I said US has depth finally and I was ridiculed, which is fine, most of the comments were more whining about the talent pool overall.

    I don’t think anyone would ridicule with me saying it now. We have legit arguments for many, many people in most spots, with even solid veterans not able to hang on too long ( work on your left foot and defending kids, Beasley can’t play until 50 )

    Sure we all wish we had 11 of Pulisic instead of incredible depth, but the US is looking very strong in the future.

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  3. I’m OK with most of the players selected to the preliminary roster. The few players I disagreed with were Wondo, Zusi, McCarty, Spector, & Pontious. IMO at this stage we all know that these guys aren’t going to help us outside of weak CONCACAF opponents….and at their ages aren’t likely to be of use there for much longer.
    I’d have much preferred to see younger/fringe guys called in for evaluation. But Bruce has always have a soft spot for aging veterans….I just hope that this will be the last time we see these guys.

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    • I think if the Gold Cup had been in June instead of July, you might not have seen those players you mentioned, but with Euro players needing to be in preseason training those players were needed.

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  4. None of these feel like snubs to me. Klejstan and Nguyen might be better players right now than some of the names on the roster, but they have had chances and at this point are unlikely to impact the first team. Jones is injured and we need to give time to the younger guys in central midfield. The others don’t have much of a case for me.

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    • Nygyuen has been called in but has never given much playing time under Klinnsmann. Jones I agree with on you. Ramirez should not be on the roster unless we want own goals smh.

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  5. and since when does scoring goals in the mls automatically mean a national team callup…with that logic bwp and valeri would be world class players

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  6. funny to see people give Klins a hard time for not calling up players like Sacha, Nguyen and Feilhaber…and then Arena does not either

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    • Snap! Leave it to a “kid” to share one of the most profound and poignant thoughts that I’ve read in a while.

      Strong take.

      Who says that there’s no hope for the youth of America???

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  7. It’s easy to say who was snubbed. But, it’s harder to say who should be dropped. For each of these, who should they have replaced?

    Fo example, would you drop Wondo in favor of C.Ramirez?

    Should B.Vincent replace G.Zusi?

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    • Unfortunately, Rosenberry is the victim of Curtin’s inability to figure his team out at the beginning of the season (or now). He was stuck having to cover for both Ilsihno (who never tracks back on D) and a slow Gooch who was still getting his game legs back. As a result he was stretched out of position and wrongly (in my eyes) blamed for Union defensive breakdowns during that losing streak.

      Now Curtin has buried him on the bench and despite the fan clamor, he hasn’t seen much time recently. I don’t understand it – Gaddis has been good, but freaks out every time he’s in the final third. Union need to get Keegan back out on the field so they can start to get more offensive pressure up the right side.

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      • Fellow Union fan here – while you’re right about much of that, I’d argue that Keegan still needed to see the bench, if for no other reason then to give him some motivation. Yes, Gooch’s tendency to keep his fullbacks close and the limited cover Ilsinho provided were issues for KR, but there were plenty of other things going on there. He looked, to me anyway, like a guy who felt he was assured of his spot no matter what, and lacked the fire and intensity that were so apparent last season. I think Gaddis needed to come in and push him, but Ray coming in happened to coincide with the 4 game winning streak. And for Curtin – a man who has proven he will ride a good thing into the ground – there was no way he was changing up that backline in the midst of a winning streak after not having won a game in 8 months. Now, after the recent 3-game losing skid, the international break, and Yaro regaining fitness, I think (well, hope), we see Rosenberry once action resumes in a couple weeks.

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