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Bradley names 33-player U.S. national team pool for upcoming friendlies

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U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley has named a 33-player pool for the U.S. team’s upcoming matches against England, Spain and Argentina.

While the usual suspects made the list (Donovan, Dempsey, Howard), Bradley also called in some players who have played their way onto the radar in recent months (Robbie Rogers, Kenny Cooper and Michael Orozco to name three). He also named some talents who haven’t seen much playing time in recent months (Carlos Bocanegra, DaMarcus Beasley, Freddy Adu, Dominic Cervi).

“With the challenging schedule of friendlies we have organized to prepare for World Cup qualifying, this is an excellent opportunity to continue to evaluate our player pool and at the same time balance the workload,” Bradley said. “Many of our players have just completed seasons in Europe, and the MLS schedule is in full swing, so it is important that we manage the time wisely to give ourselves the best chance to be successful in the important matches this summer.”

Here is the 33-player pool:

GOALKEEPERS– Dominic Cervi (Out of Contract), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS– Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Dan Califf (FC Midtjylland), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

MIDFIELDERS– Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Eddie Lewis (Derby County), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids)

FORWARDS- Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Nate Jaqua (Out of Contract), Eddie Johnson (Fulham FC), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Josh Wolff (1860 Munich)

I’ll offer up a further breakdown of this group on Friday morning. Which names surprised you? Which players are missing that surprised you? Share your own thoughts on the group in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. Wow- Troy Perkins? He was awful last year! It seemed like he was really rocked down in Mexico with D.C. United last year. I was very happy to see him go. I really hope he does not get the chance to screw up our USMNT. Maybe the US goalie pool is not as deep as we all think!

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  2. Julio- the guy opens up the field with his hustle and determination… he places himself in opportunistic spots…. personally ching and EJ confuse me at the top…

    i like Ching, but unless he’s running up top with LD, i see no combo that would work

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  3. brett,

    thank you for the post about subotic and torres. I was just going to hit on that myself. The issue is getting tiring.

    subotic has yet to choose a nats team to play for.

    torres, might be a different story though, there has yet to be significant news about which country he wants to play for.

    no one has yet to ask him if he’d like to play for the U.S. or Mexico. Though I believe R. Mahoney has written that US Soccer has approached Torres. Let me know if I have that wrong.

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  4. Sometime I would like to see a US Over23 team play a US U23 team.

    I think alot of people on here think too highly of these 19-21y.o. kids. I understand the need to introduce national team experience early, but the majority of the time they are not the best choice.

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  5. Tim Crawford- so you dont think Wolff should be on the roster b/c of his limited playing time?? but you think Zizzo merits a call?? Wolff may not be a leading scorer for the USMN but he does alot of work to open the field for the rest of the team… he does the dirty work and never gets praise….

    what has Zizzo dont to merit a callup against such quality sides??

    as for Hejduk, what’s your reasoning behind it?? he has been solid for the nats before, and he always brings hustle… he gets into the attack and also gets back…

    people are talking about wanting to bring a top quality starting XI but then frey from wanting to use certain vets, and would rather replace them with inexperienced youth players… understandable if we were facing a Poland or some other good side, but we are about to face 3 large teams, and placing an inexperienced young player doesnt seem the right thing to do.

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  6. Kpugs, bit full of yourself, no? Settle down.

    Roster seems like the usual suspects, but it’s a quality list.

    Disappointing not to see Parkhurst or Conrad, solid ballers. Parkhurst will prove all the nay-sayers wrong, just give the kid a chance.

    Heyjudck should never be and never have been on the roster. He’s junk. Granted he brings a lot of heart to the team and to the the lockeroom (apparently), but his skills have never been good. And while Old Man Keller has been playing well at Fulham his international days should be done as well.

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  7. Missing players:

    Marcus Hahnemann–yes Reading got relegated, but not because of Hahnemann but because Reading went almost 600 minutes without scoring a goal. Only so much a keeper can do.

    Jimmy Conrad–he has played well, has good skills and I think earned a shot to be seen at the National level.

    Michael Parkhurst–I would like to see him get a shot at a cap.

    Taylor Twellman–I still think is would be good for the U.S. He is not quite the classic poacher, but close enough. I suspect his injury is the reason for the no call this time.

    Suprise Players

    Troy Perkins–although I think it a good idea, but don’t know how much playing time he would get behind Howard, but Perkins was solid for DC United and is playing well in Sweden.

    Kenny Cooper–I shouldn’t be surprised given his play of late, but I didn’t really think he was on Bradley’s radar. He is a good addition though, and could complement with Donovan in particular I think.

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  8. Tedhill-

    I totally agree. If Johnson scores I think I will pee myself with laughter…but I won’t get my hopes up. If he does, I’ll save the highlight for days when I’m feeling a little down.

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  9. kpugs,

    did you lose your job or get dumped recently?

    go off your meds?

    seriously man, what’s gotten into you?

    your posts used to be reasonable and interesting.

    now you are just petty and whiny.

    first, when you make a criticism, it is best to do actually refer to what you are criticizing (this is something you are supposed to learn in a middle school english class).

    i spent good time making thoughtful and reasonable contributions to the post in order to spark and engage in interesting discussion. and then you chime in with this bs? with your logic and approach you should blogging over at the drudge report.

    with regards to football knowledge and resumes, I would stack mine up against yours anyday and I would imagine you’d be surprised.

    to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re one of those who still lives with their parents after all these years.

    lastly, if this is you holding a grudge against coments I made regarding freeman last week, perhaps you didn’t see my many attempts to get in touch with you.

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  10. I think this is a well-rounded mix, but I agree with some posters who find the inclusion of Josh Wolff, Eddie Johnson, Eddie Gaven and Eddie Lewis is incredulous. While I can’t readily think of who should replace these jokers, surely there has to be better players that should have been included.

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  11. Oh, and I agree with those who think Pablo shouldn’t be there. I really don’t see anything special about him. He plays far too stupid for me . . . dumb yellows, dumb fouls, dumb attitude . . . just not a good player really.

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  12. This Josh Wolff stuff has to stop . . . his career with the US National Team should be finished. He really hasn’t done anything for a while and he’s only been coming off the bench with his club. And I don’t think Frankie Hejduk should be called up anymore either. How about Sal Zizzo? Definitely Michael Parkhurst? And Matt Reis should really have gotten a look by now . . .

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  13. Not surprised by his omission but I do feel for Marcus Hahnemann. First the drop, then the non-call for this camp. OUCH.

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  14. I just hope that we play our best XI for the three games and not get into a situation where Bradley tries to play everyone and we have weakened lineups. We’ve finally have some friendlies against top notch competition, we better use our best XI or what’s the point. Might as well schedule Switzerland more if you are going to go the little league everyone gets to play route.

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  15. I’d be the first to clamor for Holden over Eddie Gaven, except that Holden is just now finally getting over injury and playing consistently. Too bad, Holden should be either Beasley’s back up, or I’d love to see them both start, you could have them switching flanks to confuse the defense.

    I can’t believe that Pablo Mastroeni was called back up, especially over Beckerman. With Beckerman’s hot start, there are more “Colorado got rid of the wrong guy” tidbits in a lot of articles.

    Whoever is complaining about Eddie Lewis getting called up, didn’t you see him against Poland? Hitting dangerous crosses and scoring a goal on a sweet free kick… does that ring a bell?

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  16. Hejduk! Its good to see him back in the mix….He isn’t as young anymore but probably one of the national team’s best/fastest defenders…

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  17. WTF

    Eddie Gaven? Eddie Johnson? What are these Overrated “talented but useless” players doing in the pool? How many times does coach need to see the Eddie’s before he realizes that they are not national team material? Both are missing the class to play at the top level.

    Josh Wolff still plays? (sarcasm)

    Troy Perkins? Enjoy watching the matches.

    Props for including Frankie, Robbie, and Kenny. I hope Cooper top shelves one against England.

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  18. wjmooner- while i agree that he’s a better option then Pablo and Benny (in current form), i think Kljestan deserves the spot… he seems to be CUSA’s only bright spot this season… he’s netted some nice goals…

    is beckerman better then Feilhaber?? probably not, but he’s in better form and is getting the minutes… hopefully Feilhaber can bounce back, but not getting much time at Derby hurt….

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  19. RE: Torres and Subotic

    can we stop it with the “WHERES SUBOTIC/TORRES??” comments?? its clear cut that they probably havent picked a team yet… its truely annoying… Ives has hit up Subotic issue quite a bit already, move on…

    Hejduk and Lewis may be old and past their prime, but they bring experience and energy to the team… Lewis netting a goal against Poland and doing well for a terrible Derby squad demands his presence.. plus who else can we show confidence in on the left against such quality opponents (currently) with beasely just recooperating from an injury…

    —-

    Jaqua was always my fav. player when he was with the Fire… he’s not quick by any means, but his movement was smooth and always able to net around 8 goals a season… but i agree that his callup is a bit suspect… there are other options id love to see… like the inclusion of Bernardo.. i know the kid is only 18-19 area, but he’s moving up in Napoli’s youth system…perhaps the U23 cup wouldve been better option

    —-

    Pablo needs to go away… never liked his style… we have too many options already in the center…

    —-

    clearly the USM’s are feeling pretty high on Cervi becoming a top prospect… perhaps all these call ups will spark interest in europe’s sides and the kid can sign up….i wasnt overly impressed during the Olympic qualifiers, but he is clearly showing potential..

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  20. I’m biased towards RSL, but with the way Beckerman has played this year he’s a better option than half the midfielders called up (Mastro, Sacha, Benny at least) and he’s still only 25 years old I believe.

    He probably wouldn’t make my 23, but he’s definitely top 33.

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  21. I like that there are 3 Crew players in the pool…even though that will hurt the team. It is a way to evaluate the team and see who can play if any of those players go down with an injury.

    How’s that for optimism?!?!?!?!

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  22. I agree with most of you here. Maestreoni is done and has had his time, same with Eddie Lewis. All good guys and good players but we need to move on. I would like to see Holden, Sizzo and Arturo Alvarez get a look. Heck I even heard that two Colombian’s who have not played with the Senior team want to play for the U.S. one is W. Conde (chicago fire) and the other Juan Toja (Dallas) these guys would be great for the U.S I know neither is a citizen yet but they want to play for the US Team.

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  23. i cant understand what people see in eddie gaven he is straight garbage, how could he get the nod over the likes of holden. Josh wolff and frankie heyduk are also very suspect and their def. not going to be or god i hope so not in the running for 2010. Im wondering what the deal is with torres from pachuca. hes got some super skills i would of loved to see him included, maybe he declined a word from anyone on that?

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  24. I was going to make a joke about why Bradley called up the olympic team to face these senior national teams. Now that I think about it, it’s a pretty good blend of youth and experience. The young players in defense, the midfield and forwards all have at least one very experienced vet to learn from. I just wonder if any of the young guys will get some significant playing time.

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  25. I like list, except for the inclusion of Mastroeni and the exclusion of Parkhurst. Other than that, I think that the lack of Torres and Subotic might signal that they are not quite ready to commit their future to the US…

    And again Szetela is likely not even considered as Brescia is in the middle of a battle for promotion and have three games left, plus the playoffs, so its not surprising that he was not included here or in the Toulon tournament.

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  26. Nice group, but we certainly should be getting Corey Gibbs back into to camp to see if he can make it make to international status. Very surprised Jimmy Conrad is not included. Just for you now Ives..Where is John O’Brien ? Though he might be included….

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  27. Bradley brought in a good mix of players to try and get the most out of each one. Some of the players mentioned as having no reason to bet there have a good purpose, I bet:

    Jaqua is there to provide a challenge for Cooper, Jozy, and Ching in the air. He also had a good season in Austria, is young, and while maybe not great could become a much better player.

    Hejduk is a great challenge to try and push Heath Pearce at left back; also although he is older, he is still a strong option

    Lewis is having a decent year and, as someone said, scored on a wonderful set piece during the Poland game. I have also met him and I imagine he is great as a locker room presence; he is a very “classy” player. (Isn’t his nickname the American Beckham?)

    Josh Wolff can challenge Adu and Landon Donovan as a creative passer and still has some good speed; he can play as a center or right forward to link with one of the big strikers like Ching, Cooper, or Jaqua.

    Eddie Gaven can challenge Dempsey for a right wing spot and visa versa; Also the right wing seems to be a weakness for the US team rather than the left wing, where we have 3 premiership names DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey, Eddie Lewis (Injuries aside); Maybe Sacha Klejstan is competing for a right midfield spot as well, or is he left-footed?

    Mastroeni is great to have to push the young defensive midfielders, Edu and Clark especially but maybe also Bradley depending on how you view his game. I think Bradley is more than just a defensive midfielder, but I haven’t seen enough of his league games to know for sure.

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  28. Ferrari was called up for the U23’s.

    This is a great mix of veteran players and youth potential. Two changes that I would have loved to see:

    take out Kljestan for Szetela

    take out Mastroeni for Torres

    I’m interested to see how well Szetela or Torres will be able to pair up in the middle with either Bradley or Feilhaber. We could have ended up with our dangerous U20 center line-up of Szetela, Bradley and Adu.

    In all, there aren’t many surprises in the list. Most of the odd picks to me are at GK – Cervi and Perkins, but both are good players. It’s essentially a solid list of some of our best veterans mixed with some of the best youth prospects.

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  29. Re: Holden

    He played for the US U23’s in Olympic Qualification. Qualification for a FIFA sanctioned tournament, which would mean that he’s eligible also to play for the full US team. Christian Miles didn’t know what the hell he was talking about…

    If you play in a FIFA sanctioned tournament, or even qualifying for one, you have to have citizenship of the country you play for simple as that, otherwise, what’s the point? It’s not the same as ODP.

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  30. Nathan said: “Where the **** is Michael Parkhurst?”

    Good question. What has this guy done to piss off Bradley? I mean, if he can’t get a sniff of a roster this large, how is he ever going to make a real one? Is there anybody out there who thinks he’s gotten a legitimate chance?

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  31. Love the addition of youth w/ Rogers and especially Orozco. Why recycle Hedjuk and Pablo? Lets give Subotic a shot! Josh Wolff is a waste of a slot…would like to see Gabe Ferrari get a shot..

    Reply

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