After missing out on September qualifiers, Gyasi Zardes was named to the U.S. Men’s National Team on Sunday morning. On Sunday afternoon, U.S. Soccer revealed the LA Galaxy forward won’t join the squad after all.
Zardes withdrew from the USMNT squad on Sunday due to a groin strain suffered in the LA Galaxy’s 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake on Saturday night. As a result, Zardes will miss the upcoming matches against Panama and Trinidad & Tobago. The forward was last with the U.S. during the Gold Cup.
The U.S. will not call in anyone to replace Zardes, leaving the roster at 25.
Here’s a closer look at the USMNT roster:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 15/0), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids; 37/0), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake; 0/0)
DEFENDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo; 35/6), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 12/1), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/ENG; 24/2), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX; 16/0), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana/MEX; 6/1), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 6/0), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna/MEX; 4/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United/ENG; (8/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City; 20/3)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; 5/0), Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution; 0/0), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 5/1),Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 9/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/CAN; 38/7), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City; 6/0), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers; 9/0), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 11/5)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC/CAN; 39/16), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC; 41/18), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Bobby Wood (Hamburg/GER; 12/4)
Yes, totally agreed. #ArenaOut. Facing a “do or die” situation, I have no problem with Arena relying on his potentially starting “experienced” veterans, staying in a comfort zone for a laid back, old fashion head coach. I have a BIG problem with him picking the 3rd choices players (not likely to get into a game for the October qualifiers) such as Nick Rimando and Max McCarty. If picking Rimando and McCarty to sit way down on the bench for the 2 games, why not call in Ethan Horvath to start gaining international/CONCACAF experiences? What’s wrong with calling in Weston McKennie to get a head start understanding with the USMNT’s tactics and systems? Fabian Johnson was not sharp enough playing left wing/midfield the last window, but he’s still an upgrade over the 38-year old Demarcus Beasley (make no mistake, I have tons of respect for Beasley) at left back. If the US fails to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Bruce Arena and Sunil Gulati will go down in US soccer history as the BIGGEST villains to blame for, not Jürgen Klinsmann! I’m praying that the USMNT will survive the storm and eventually qualify for the world cup! Go, go, go USA!
Glad we don’t have a full roster with 7 starters carrying yellow cards.
I do not know who is the most injury prone out the three. Choose Wisely
A. Gyasi Zardes
B. Derrick Rose
C. Marco Reus
Zardes games played
2013 34 matches for LAG
2014 44 matches for LAG
2015 35 matches for LAG 19 for USMNT
2016 21 matches for LAG 12 for USMNT
2017 24 matches for LAG 6 for USMNT
-You can give Zardes a lot of criticism, but injury prone is not one of them.
Yes, I agree somewhat since you broke it down like that. But he has not gotten fit as of late.
Before Sigi Schmidt put Zardes at RB, unwisely, IMHO, Zardes seemed to be finally regaining his form. He had scored twice in either 3 or 4 games, can’t remember which.
No one works harder on the field than Zardes. He is a box to box midfielder and when he could not regain his scoring touch after injury, he focused on defense, tracking back as well as forward into the attack. This is the reason why Sigi Schmid put him at RB, a position he had not played since high school If he picks up full back skills, you will probably see him on the WC team as a utility player.
I hope Arena finds somebody else that dribbles out of bounds the way he does.
The U.S. will not call in anyone to replace Zardes, leaving the roster at 25.
Seriously? #ArenaOut
you can only dress 23 to begin with, and there was a chance Zardes wouldn’t have played anyway, so don’t blow a gasket for nothing!!