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Tim Howard, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Oguchi Onyewu were among the European-based veterans called in to the U.S. national team's 20-man roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Mexico on Wednesday (7pm, ESPN2 HD/ESPN2/Univision). The roster was revealed on Sunday afternoon.
Here is the 20-man roster (18 will be in uniform for Wednesday's match):
GOALKEEPERS: Tim Howard, Brad Guzan
DEFENDERS: Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, Frankie Hejduk, Heath Pearce, Dan Califf, Jonathan Bornstein, Marvell Wynne
MIDFIELDERS: DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Sacha Kljestan, Jose Francisco Torres, Ricardo Clark, Robbie Rogers
FORWARDS: Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Brian Ching, Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies
Missing from the list were Kenny Cooper and Freddy Adu to name two. Steve Cherundolo is out with an injury while Pablo Mastroeni is suspended for the match.
Most of the European-based members of the squad arrive in Columbus on Sunday ahead of Wednesday's match. Most of the Mexican team arrived on Saturday night.
What do you think of this group? Do you like the U.S. team's chances of continue its streak of dominance against Mexico on American soil? Disappointed that Cooper and/or Adu didn't get the call? Can't wait for the match to kick off on Wednesday?
Share your thoughts below.
Roster is what I expected. I hope Rogers gets some playing time. He is an exciting player and I have still not fogotten his goal against New York on ESPN.
Chris – and yet he’s gone 90 min before for club and national duty…. how very very strange….
1. You have to sub Bradley out at 70 minutes. He just doesn’t have the lungs to go 90.
2. Cooper was horrible against Sweden. Maybe he had the flu and didn’t tell anyone, or maybe he can only score against lesser opposition. Mexico WCQ is not the time to try to find out which.
——————Timmy——————-
————-Boca——Gooch————–
–Wynne—————————‘Dude’–
——————————————
—————-Bradley—————–
————————-Sacha————
——————————————
——–(J)F.Torres———————–
——————Donovan(Dude Jr)——–
——————————————
—Deuce———————————-
————————-Ching————
Subs: DMB for Deuce, Jozy for Ching, Rodgers for Torres
Note: if the subs start in place of my starters except Deuce i’d be happy with that as well.
I hate having Ching in the lineup as most everyone, but he holds the ball well and will play defense.
He’ll play the ball down for Donovan and Ching. Jose can play the Righ Midfield as Donovan can play most anywhere attacking.
While Bradley play the hole and Sacha can be his link man.
Adu seems to always disappoint with the full USMNT.
He doesn’t track back. Doesn’t keep posession. Doesn’t take care of the ball.
He does have foot skills and will take players on, but almost always to the detrement of play, normally losing the ball.
If he were getting time at Monaco he would be included, but seeing as he isn’t, I don’t see how you CAN include him in this list.
Adu should be in this Roster instead of Clark but I think since Adu, Torres and Beasley play a very similar position is hard for Bob Bradley to Call him up. Torres been playing good for Pachuca and I hope he get plenty of time and not leave him on the bench.
Cooper should be in this list either for Davis or Ching. I think in the Sweden games his performance wasn’t that good becuase u have to very Similar style of playing with ching playing next to him. I remember when he play with Altidore and Davis against Guatemala he did a great job. Plus Mexico has never played against him they don’t know of his big and powerful body. Mexico already know how Ching played.
Edu well he need more time.
Jay DeMerit he need it to be in the roster cause of his style of playing and his big body will make his present well know.
Orozco yes he did a mistake in the Olympics but first of all he was playing out position. Nowak Kill his chances to be call more time to the USNMT cause he did him wrong. plus it was an elbow that was not intentionally. I think Orozco should be playing this game for two reason 1. is against Mexico and how good it will be that orozco or torres, Bocanegra and Boisntein make a goal against their background root. 2. Orozco knows they style of play of Mexico remember he play in their league.
Bob Bradley have plenty of time to make a good roster for this game against MEXICO. So if he loose this game ummmm what make you think he’ll do good against Brazil, Italy and Egypt in the Confederation Cup. or the World Cup Stage.
My lineup that I would like to see:
Bocanegra—Onyewu
Pearce—Howard—Dempsey—Donovan
Adu—Edu—Beasley—Bradley
Jozy
This line-up would totally throw off the Mexicans.
This post is almost as ridiculous as some of the crap that I see on this site. It almost seems that most of the people on this site have no idea how to judge soccer talent, and just throw out household names as to who should be playing in the biggest game that the USA has in qualifying. Adu training, and not even making the bench, for a mid level French team is better then Torres seeing game in and game out action in the mexican league for a top club? How do you even know Adu is training? He, along with Edu could be sitting on the bench during training for all we know. And for some of you to call out Ives for his journalist integrity is absolute BS.
The bottom line is this, Adu would never see the light of day on the field for this game, so why even bring him. His game and confidence is lower then our confidence in the US eceonomy. The starting eleven that has been thrown around is a solid lineup, and other then those 11, Torres and Jozy are the only ones that can cause a change for the good in a close game…
Isaac – a goal is still a goal….
to be fair, no one scored against that sweden team outside of Kljestan… he had a single half to do anything, and he rarely saw any opportunities….
he scored twice in what amounts to 2 full games (1 90 min game, and 2 45 min games)… but still if you want to use games in general, he has a 66% score rate… seems to me he’s more then capable of finishing….
you sound like the type of person who was bagging on the US for always scoring off of set pieces…. a goal is a goal regardless of how it was presented to the scorer… most goals tend to be gifts rather then individual effort….
I agree that Beasley (with his multiple World Cups, caps, goals and proven performance against Mexico) should sit, based on lack of playing time.
Also, Landon Donovan is only playing about 15 minutes per match with HIS club team. We should probably sit him, too.
Someone fire up the PS3, scour FIFA ’09 and find us a couple of 18 year old replacements that are playing in the Dutch second division, but show a lot of promise.
…..ok leaving Hejduk out if the lineup at right back was not a crack on Frankie, I swear….
I will come out and say that I criticize Bob Bradley a LOT, just like most on this site, but we have to actually think about it. He gets to see these guys in training all the time. He sees how they practice, sees what their attitudes are, etc etc. We (SBI mafia) don’t get any time to see how these players are outside of game play. Roster decisions aren’t based solely on what is done on the field of your club team games. There is much more that goes into choosing a squad. There may be injuries to players that are never even reported, injuries that Bradley might not want to chance with injuring the player worse and sending them back to their clubs. Some roster decisions make me scratch my head, but at the end of the day I have to believe Bob is fielding squads that give the USA the best opportunity to win. Otherwise, why would he want the job?
That being said, here are my 2 cents…I would try Bocanegra at left back (like he plays for club) and see if he can put that problem to rest. We have depth at CB (Califf, Demerit, Parkhurst, Marshall) so why not see if he could be the missing link there? I believe no one would say, in their right mind, that he can’t do a better job out there than Pearce or Bornstein. I am a stickler for playing players at positions they are comfortable in. LD scored 20 goals last season playing primarly as a striker….he is playing as a striker for Bayern Munich and doing well there, so keep him where he is comfortable. Deuce plays as a winger for club and has for some time, why throw him up top? Keep him in his element.
Best success would come this way, no adjustment time would really be needed.
I wish USA luck and hope they come out on top against Mexico, otherwise there will be an uproar from the fans as tho why this didn’t happen this way and why so and so wasn’t on the roster etc etc. If Bradley fields the team wisely and plays people at their dsesired postions we will be champions and shut up Sven once and for all!
Davies scored 14 goals in Europe last season and Rogers is a MLS Best Eleven. Def better to leave Freddy at home until U-20’s.
—————Donovan—Ching————–
Beasley——————————Dempsey
—————Bradley—Kljestan———–
Pearce——-Bocanegra—Onyewu————
——————-Howard——————-
I love Torres as much as the next guy and as much as I wanna see him starting, this is the best lineup out there.
Brett. Kenny was playing against a Swedish B maybe even C team and he couldn’t score. While he was one of the highest goalscorers in the MLS but he wastes way too many chances. even against Guatemala he had to have the ball dropped in front of the net for him to score. Also his goal against Denmark on his debut the work was basically done for him by Heath Pearce who has gotten WAY to much criticism on this topic so far. He’s a clever striker, but he’s not quite ready for primetime on the National Team.
I agree that Donovan has to be at forward over playing on the wing. The only other option, in my mind, would be for him to be an attacking mid in some other formation than what we normally play. I mean, obviously we’ll be just fine with dempsey up front and donovan on the wing….but its not what those guys have been playing and its a huge waste of donovan’s skills. Donovan has touch for creating scoring around the goal like nobody else on the team.
I was very impressed with Torres yesterday against America. He was the best player on the field. Would be nice to see him get a start in the middle of the field.
Isaac – dont be stupid, Kenny has 2 goals in 3 games…..oddly enough, he’s only started 1 of the 3 games… seems his scoring rate is pretty solid so far…
Adu is a defensive liability guys…unless we play him as an attacking mid or a striker, i dont see a spot for him in the field…. the reason he did so well with the U20’s was b/c of the freedom he was given… and he wasnt forced to track back…
against Mexico, id rather have ching up top… his ability to hold the ball and set up teammates has been shown over the hex as well as the 3rd goal against sweden… overall, i dont see ching progressing, but he does the dirty work no US forward can do just yet (unless we through dempsey up top)…. Jozy does best by running off of a target forward.. he can do well as a target man, but he’s best suited at getting the ball on his feet and facing goal, rather then holding it and laying it off…
….John….dont be stupid….Freddy has ONE goal for the U.S. and Kenny can barely score on the international level.
No Freddy and Kenny. No goals. US looses.
Okay line up that I would like to see not what I know what will be out there:
——–Altidore—–Donavan———
Kljestian–Torres—Bradley—Dempsey
Beasley–Boca—Gooch—Wynne—
Pearce doesn’t get any playing time and Bornstein is not playing right now either. We have plenty of speed on the wings and it’s very attack minded. Anyways I like it.
Spector > Bornstein
Edu > Clark
Milkshake – I thought Beasley looked sharp against Milan earlier this month. Granted, he wasn’t on the pitch for the full 90, but he was conspicuous in the time he did play, and his goal was all hustle. I’ll never make a prediction about a player’s future performance, but I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over Beasley’s fitness.
Nick C – Simek isn’t fit. It’s just like Spector. We’ll look at those guys when they’re healthy and playing again.
DaveW – this is an internet soccer blog–it’s no place for perspective.
Isaac – if we want to get the most out of Donovan, we’re NOT going to put him on the wing. Donovan is best as a striker. That’s where he fits. Even last week, Klinsi tried him on the wing for Bayern and he looked isolated and out of place. Donovan is not a natural winger.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but hasn’t Bocanegra been playing some left back for Rennes this season? Why not just put him there instead of trotting out a rusty Heath Pearce or an ineffective Bornstein? DMB hasn’t played a game in months so he gets the bench. Start Califf because he’s been in camp.
———Ching————-
————Donovan——–
Torres—Kliestjan—Dempsey
———Bradley———-
Bocanegra-Califf-Onyewu-Hejduk
I don’t like that Simek hasn’t gotten a call in ages. I also don’t like to see that Jay Dimerit isn’t playing. Other than that, solid roster by Bob. I guess he isn’t so bad after all.
hey kaiser, the Pearce situation is totally different. It shows how empty we are at LB to have someone like that called up. And everyone, look at experience and what ching brings. sure he doesnt score a lot, but his hold up play and defense go unnoticed. Sure I want to see Jozy play, but RIGHT NOW for THIS GAME, ching is our best option. hopefully that will change soon.
Shut Up, Ives!!!! Sven will prove why he deserves to be head honcho for the MNT. It will be a duel worth watching.
I hope we get a result, especially 3 points, but even if we lose to Mexico there are a lot of games left in the Hex. Let’s keep the whole thing in perspective.
This is a reasonable roster given the US player pool. A talent pool that probably explains why the big name coaches didn’t want to come here. (We hope some young players will step up, but that’s harder in a country that doesn’t have a pervasive soccer culture.)
BB won the Gold Cup and has advanced us at each stage of qualifying. In other words, he has produced results, and until he doesn’t he should stay.
I suppose we could try to play pretty, but do you think we could win that way? Or even put 11 players on the field that can play that way at the international level? Do even the top national teams do that anymore?
God I can’t wait until Wednesday…
Shocked shocked that Adu is not there and Rogers is.
I’m not comfortable with both Pearce and Beasly lining up together on the left side. Neither has played any significant minutes in months. Even if they are in reasonable shape, there is something to be said for being rusty. One or the other could/should get the start, but not both, IMO.
I think having Dempsey listed as a striker is to mess with Sven’s head.
Orozco has been playing solid. His team is 3rd in their group and 6th overall of 18 teams. Really solid. Plus he knows the Mexican style of play. He knows Vuoso. And he is the future of this team. We need to start accomodating him.
Why does the consensus have Ching starting? I never understand what people see in him. He’s not a goal scorer, his target role can be filled by Altidore, who happens to be in-season unlike Ching, and Altidore needs at some point to gain experience as a starter. I’m tired of hearing that we need experience ahead of youth. I recall a couple teenagers getting starts against Mexico in Korea, 2002. Did pretty well too. And if that’s not a baptism by fire, I don’t know what is. BB is often too conservative IMO. It could hurt us in 2010 when we need the kids to actually have a little on-field time in a pressure environment.
Why doesn’t ___________play??? He is so good! Bradley should be fired!!!!
WHINE, WHINE, WHINE,
YOu are not smarter than bradley, Shut Up!
Umm, do you people not watch the national team? Beasley over Adu is blatently obvious, Beasley plays defense, Adu does no such thing. Against Mexico we need midfielders that will work on defense. Kljestan improving his defensive effort has been a huge part of his emergence. At this point in his career Adu is too one dimensional, hence why he hasn’t gotten time in France.
We have better keepers than Brad Guzan.
Also, Ricardo Clark shouldn’t be in the Nat team picture anymore. Edu anyone?
———–TIMMY!————
-Hejduk–Boca–Gooch–Pearce-
—Bradley–Kljestan–JFT—-
——Dempsey–Donovan——-
———–Ching————-
USA4LIFE- did you really call this group a sorry bunch and that “it was nice while it lasted.” How is this group any different from what you expected? Were you thinking that Messi or Henry was going to be called in. This group has been chosen for a while and how can you not be excited about a new generation of players that includes Jozy, Kljesten and Torres not to mention the fact that are two best players are suiting up and playing well against some of the best competition in the world- Howard and Lando.
Posted by: JohnC
Your right I did say that. I guess I just saw Ching get the nod and realized we still really don’t have anyone up top. If he is our only “reliable” forward, it is no wonder why we cant make it out of the first round of the World Cup consistantly.
I must reiterate the Jay Demerit exclusion. He is easily our 3rd choice centerback for me. He was the 2nd biggest reason we kept Argentina scoreless in 2008 in the second half.
I think we should play DOnovan on the wing. Speed always kills mexico and If dempsey can finish better than he did in the gold cup final then we might do well.
AMen Jamie Z!!!
Ives,
How come they keep listing Dempsey as a forward? Isn’t he a right winger for Fulham and for USMNT??
I absolutely do not understand how so many people get off making such categorical ridiculous statements on here. It’s like BigSoccer Jr.
I’m all for healthy discussion, but let’s display a basic capacity for critical thinking before we go spouting off, shall we?
Tom R phrased it well “The Youngerster” because that is what Adu is and his inconsisty are very representative of that. Bradley chose a good squad- he has backups at every position that can come in and be reliable. Davies makes sense- he is pure speed with some size. Cooper has shown he is neither speed option nor hold-up option for the USMT.
USA4LIFE- did you really call this group a sorry bunch and that “it was nice while it lasted.” How is this group any different from what you expected? Were you thinking that Messi or Henry was going to be called in. This group has been chosen for a while and how can you not be excited about a new generation of players that includes Jozy, Kljesten and Torres not to mention the fact that are two best players are suiting up and playing well against some of the best competition in the world- Howard and Lando.
davies does not belong on the national team.
i would have included adu instead of davies. even jemal johnson deserves a shot over davies.
our weakest position is at left back. i think pearce is a liability and i expect mexico to apply a lot of pressure on the left side. with boca playing left back at rennes, i am all in favor of giving him the left back position and exploring possibilities between parkhurst, califf, orozco and others to see who might play that center back position with gooch.
I would love to see Adu and Cooper I personally think they could be very valuable against Mexico. Landon and Cooper could be something special
To be honest I like that Rogers is getting a call up. As of late we havent been developing very good wingers as shown at the Olympics (Wynne’s cross nonwithstanding seeing as how he was a right back). I think Rogers coming in and being around wingers like Beasley will significantly improve his game on the wings.
Not on this roster but will play during the hex:
for sure:
S. Cherundolo, J. Spector
P. Mastroeni, M. Edu, F. Adu
probably:
J. Demerit, M. Orozco
J. Thorrington
C. Rolfe, K. Cooper
maybe:
C. Marshall, M. Parkhurst, C. Goodsen, S. Franklin
S. Holden, D. Szetela, B. Feilhaber
I think Adu being snubbed from the roster could serve as a great thing for him in his career. If his ego has indeed been the reason why his game hasn’t progressed the way we’d like to have seen it, then this might be the reality check he needs, considering call ups have always been handed to him levels of the national team. I think Bob Bradley is sending him a message here and depending on how Adu responds, we’ll know whether his psyche is that of a Dempsey’s or an Eddie Johnson’s
If he didn’t take a knock, I would have Michael Oroszco in for Califf or Bornstein.
same for Holden, if healthy over Rogers.