While the Confederations Cup still has one more game to play, the U.S. national team will begin play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup very soon. Now we know who will be on that roster.
Charlie Davies, Freddy Adu, Kenny Cooper, Steve Cherundolo and Jimmy Conrad are five of the players chosen for the U.S. Gold Cup team, which begins play on July 4th vs. Grenada.
Here is the roster:
GOALKEEPERS– Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Troy Perkins (Valarenga), Luis Robles (FC Kaiserslautern)
DEFENDERS– Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Jay Heaps (New England Revolution), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaellands), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock)
MIDFIELDERS– Davy Arnaud (Kansas City Wizards), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Colin Clark (Colorado Rapids), Sam Cronin (Toronto FC), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Logan Pause (Chicago Fire), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS– Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Santino Quaranta (D.C. United)
Surprises? There are plenty.
Charlie Davies is a surprise considering how much he has played in the Confederations Cup, but his inclusion here makes it clear that he has no intention of returning to Hammarby. Veteran defender Jay Heaps has to be considered a surprise, while Jimmy Conrad's return to the national team fold might put to rest some of the conspiracy theories about his lengthy absence. Logan Pause might be a surprise pick for some, but he has quietly enjoyed a very strong season for Chicago.
(So why Heaps? it boils down to this. The team needs a back-up left back to Heath Pearce. How many American left back options are there exactly? Not many.)
Surprising absences? D.C. United rookie Chris Pontius seemed like a good bet to make the squad. Houston winger Brad Davis has enjoyed a good year, but there have long been questions about his work rate on the international level. Jose Francisco Torres seemed like a good bet for this tournament, but you wonder if Pachuca wanted him participating in two tournaments this summer. Houston defender Geoff Cameron, arguably the best defender in MLS right now, is a disappointing exclusion but Houston has Stuart Holden and Brian Ching on the roster so you have to think Bob Bradley didn't want to take three of Houston's best players at the same time.
What might the starting lineup be when the United States takes on Grenada? Here's a possible starting lineup:
—————Ching———–Davies————–
————————-Adu—————————
Rogers—————————————–Holden
———————–Pause—————————
Pearce——Parkhurst—-Conrad——–Cherundolo
———————–Robles————————–
What do you think of the roster? What do you think about this starting lineup? What player's inclusion surprised you the most? Who's absence surprised you the most?
Share your thoughts below.
Brad Evans! Woot! SOUNDERS!
Really surprised by some of the selections. I for one was hoping to see a lot of Torres this tournament. Same goes for Pontius. Have Cronin and Rogers really had a better year than Pontius?
Santino Quaranta is a surprise, I think Robbie Findley would be a more interesting option.
As far as outside backs, Robbie Russell is much better than Jay Heaps in my opinion. He plays on the right more often than the left though, so that was probably Bradley’s thinking there. Still, Russell should be on the radar. He’s physically dominating, competent on the ball, gets forward and is a good crosser of the ball.
“Rookies like Alston from NE, Wallace (who I believe should be a Left Middy) and Pont. from DC and perhaps Harrington from KC instead of Conrad (age)”
Harrington doesnt even start, rookie Matt Besler took his LB spot because Harrington was injuried early and Harrington will not get it back; reports months ago were that Besler might be called in; his exclusion coupled with other rookies exclusions only leads you to think that the USSF wants them to continue to establish themselve with thier clubs.
Texas 1836,
Seitz is hurt, but looked to be showing some improvement before the injury. I’d imagine he’ll be back in the mix again sooner rather than later.
I was looking forward to seeing Torres included in Gold Cup, but it makes a lot of sense that he heads back to Pachuca for preseason. JFT and Pachuca have a new coach and if he wants to play and play regularly, he definitely needs to be there from the start of preseason competing with the rest of his teammates.
I am really hoping this is the only reason he is being excluded from Gold Cup.
DEFENSE
GK: Yes, Seitz is injured. Curious to see how Robles does. Not interested in Busch or Perkins at all. Wish Hahnemann and Robles could split the games.
LB: Pearce may be down to #3, even with DMB looking crappy, now that BB has moved ‘Los to LB and clearly has chosen Bornstein over Pearce. Plus his Heath’s club situation sucks, so stay in US and try all you can do to impress Bob and a potential new club with GC play. He can also play in MF if needed.
CB: There is a least one WC2010 CB spot still up for grabs, with Gooch for sure, Boca likely, unless the move to LB sticks, and DeMerit now very likely too. So, hopefully gC is chance to evaluate how would get that last spot. Califf has been up and down. I personallylike Conrad, Parkhurst, and Orozco. Wish all 3 were in for GC, but will settle for two. Goodson has excelled for club. Marshall was awesome last year. Justified.
RB: Dolo now has a fight on his hands, given how good Spector has looked. Even Frankie impressed. He could have skipped GC if he wanted to, but I’m glad he wants to suit up.
Heaps? As explained above, he’s a utility guy that can play all 3 spots and has been solid for the past 2+ years.
Wish we had:
Hanhemann
Cameron
Orozco
Possible choices over heaps:
Tim Ward
Drew Moor
Anthony Wallace (R. Wallace not eligible)
Chris Wingert
Marco Vidal
Edgar Castillo (if he wants to switch)
Eric Lichaj (BB just had him in camp)
Kevin Goldthwaite
Kevin Alston
a good mix, although Whitbread, Tracy, Zizzo and Szetela deserve looks at some point.
Does Jeremiah White have games this summer? I cannot understand how he didn’t get on this roster. Insane.
Also, I’m glad Adu gets to go in and start with all the scrubs. Then when that team fails horribly everyone will point to Adu and call him washed up.
Based on Bradley’s MO, I’d say we’ll likely see a lot of the following:
————Ching——-Davies————
Rogers—————————-Quaranta
———-Beckerman—–Holden————
Pearce–Parkhurst–Marshall–Cherundolo
Regarding Torres. I thought Pachuca is starting this season with a new coach? He may need to be there for pre-season due to that change. New coach assessment, new tactics, etc.
Beckerman needs to start with Holden (with the No. 10 shirt no less) in midfield.
I can see Adu playing right wing.
Whitbread would have been a better left back option than Heaps (yes, I know he normally plays centrally, but he’s played plenty of left back in his career).
Orozco and Torres should have been on this roster. Both would have been starters, in my opinion.
Good to see Jimmy back. Hope he captains the team through the tournament.
Love that Clark and Cronin are getting a look.
Hope to see:
Davies, Ching
Rogers, Beckerman, Holden, Adu
Pearce, Conrad, Parkhurst, Cherundolo
Perkins
—————Ching—-Davies————-
Holden———Evans—-Pause———–Adu
Pearce—–Parkhurst—-Conrad—Cherundolo
——————-Howard——————
So many possibilities…..
Could it be that USSF is letting the those MLS rookies continue to establish playing time for thier clubs since its not like any of them are going to be part of the world cup squad?
Doesnt Perkins play with Valeranga?
Ohhh Well here we go again. I guess Latinos are not welcome in this National Team. Orozco and Torres a taken off the list and I know both need to go to their club but Bob Bradley keep pushing the bottom until either Orozco or Torres would like to come back to the USNMT. I’m sad cause if he didn’t want this player on his roster should let them go and play for Mexico. I’m not Mexican but I I hate this Favoritism from Bradley to his player that he feel Comfortable and what ever happen to the First Roster that Ives gave us for the Gold Cup. This totally different, Anyway I just going to enjoy the Victory against spain and than after Put all this Sh*t to Bob Bradley. FcK him!!!!
Well at least no Klejstan, and no Beasley. Yeah!
Should have called in Alvarez and capped him in an official competition to keep him from the El Sals-though he might not even be returning calls from the USMNT right now.
The GK selections seem a bit curious as well.
Real awesome to see Quaranta back on the squad. He’s really turned his life and career around. I hope he’ll get some minutes. You can never have too much depth or options.
Heaps goodson and Conrad selections are ridiculous. Drew moor is getting screwed. I don’t know what else he can do to get picked. He leads defenders in scoring and has played every defensive position for fcd this year.
Also busch is a horrible keeper. Probably in the bottom half of the mls
——————–Ching——————
Rogers—————Adu————-Davies
—————-Pause—Holden————-
Pearce——Parkhurst—Conrad—Cherundolo
Cooper in for Ching (57th)
Evans in for Rogers(70th; slide Davies up top next to Cooper, Adu over to the right, Holden to the left and Evans where Holden was)
Cronin in for Adu(85th)
seems fine to me….
I notice Brad Evans is listed in the numerical roster listing on ussoccer.com, but not in the “Roster by Position”.
I forgot to mention Tino Quaranta making it back into the Nat’s camp. What a rollercoaster of 12 months he has had, beating a severe pain-killer addiction, fighting to make it back into the MLS, earning a starting spot on DC United, get married, having his first baby, and now making it back onto the men’s national team.
Ives, have you been considering an article on his story? It is a fascinating story, a couple news pieces have been done on him around the DC area. I’d love to get your take on it.
I guess the Tico’s are now heavy favorites to capture the Gold Cup. With the USA fielding a “C” team at best and Mexico sending a “B” team should be an easy path for CR. With CR, they always send their best players whether its the national team or one of their league teams.
I agree why no Torres?
I’m not a Eurosnob, I love the MLS, but why so many MLS players???
I’d love to see Whitbread, Zizzo, Szetela, Arguez, Tracy, Jemal and Eddie Johnson, etc. But I’m assuming training camp opens shortly in Europe considering the first round of fixtures are in the middle of August.
I’m a tad bit worried about this squad.
would like to have seen Wynne get more playing time.
Mapp.
________Perkins_____________
Dolo_Conrad_Parkhurst_Pearce
________Beckerman___________
Holden___________________Adu
_________Quaranta___________
_____Davies____Ching________
Ching is a strange selection. Would have liked to have seen Rolfe in there.
No Marcus Hahnemann? So we have an American EPL goalie that consistently gets ignored by Bradley?
We knew about Quaranta a few days ago and that is great news. He really deserves a look.
Would have liked to see McBride!
My Ideal lineup:
——Ching————Davies——-
—————Adu——————
-Rogers——-Holden———-Evans-
Pearse–Marshall–Conrad–Cherundolo
—————Robles—————
GO USA!!!!!!
The good:
– Cherundolo back in the fold. Interesting battle looming between a healthy Dolo and a healthy Spector.
– Conrad and Quaranta back with the team. I still think Jimmy could push Califf for the “reserve CB” spot on next year’s team. Quaranta can bring true winger skills as a late game sub.
– The forward group. The internet may explode, between hatred of Brian Ching and fandom of Cooper and Adu. Especially when Bob trots out Davies and Ching for the first game. I could only imagine if EJ got the call as well…
The bad:
– There’s not a whole lot to inspire me in that midfield group, apart from Rogers and Holden. I suppose Bob is going to get a close look at these guys, and this may be the last look a few of them get.
– Same with the GK group. I’d be AFRAID to see any one of those 3 in a qualifier. I guess Hahnemann is out of the picture entirely. I’m sure he wants to settle in with Wolves. I think he is still a better option than those 3, and on even footing with Guzan. I suspect we’ll see a different keeper in each 1st round match, and then go from there. I still also firmly believe that if something were to happen to Tim Howard, either Keller and/or Friedel’s phone would ring, international retirement be damned.
The ugly:
– Jay Heaps
– Logan Pause
– Exclusion of Pontius and Cameron
– Not knowing Clint Mathis announced his international retirement last year.
Haha, nepotism!
Idiot.
Pardon the potentially ignorant question…
What on earth has happened to Chris Seitz?
Has he suffered some horrible injury? Is he sucking eggs in MLS?
He seemed to be on the fast-track, and now he’s not even on a C-team roster?
Any info here would be much appreciated.
Cameron is the biggest exclusion for me, and EJ.
I’ll also say our roster has all of three outside backs on it (Dolo, Pearce, Heaps). Which seems awfully thin. If we get an injuryi + a suspension, we are screwed.
Look, I know everyone is on the BB bandwagon right now, but he always seems to manage to have an unbalanced lineup. At CC, we only have 2 DM’s. Here, we only have 3 outside backs. Tim Ward?
It looks like Bobbo has lost all faith in Pablo!
(hey that rhymes!)
I can’t believe that Gringo Torres was not selected. Is Bob Bradley still angry that Torres helped expose his favorite son Beasley at LB? And no Michael Orozco. I hope Bradley hasn’t gone Rongen on players with mixed nationalities.
Note: Rongen insults dual nationalities players by imposing loyalty oaths at 17.
Im happy to have Wynne back to TFC, but sad now that Cronin will be gone. But good for him!
BRIAN CHING???? Why? Is it because he still needs to prove himself?
well put timpramas
I hope Busch and Pause throw it.
CLUB BEFORE COUNTRY.
I am really surprised that Tim Ward is not on this roster. He has had a very good year.
I wonder if Bob Bradley will have an assistant coach this tournament since he isn’t having his son play.
I second EJ
Orozco?!?
Heaps can play all four positions along the back line and gives the US versatility in the case of injuries during the tournament (injured players can’t be replaced on the roster once the tournament starts). He laos has significant experience playing in a three or four defender formation. Carrying only seven defenders with a compact tournament schedule and some defenders returning from recent injuries requires a team to carry someone with this versatility. Heaps is also good at winning balls in the air which makes him a dnagerous offensive option on US set pieces. He is also playing well right now for the Revolution.
White is recovering from injury. If healthy, I imagine he would have been selected.
Torres and Orozco risk losing their starting spots on their respective Mexican league teams if they miss out on preseason training to play in the Gold Cup. Orozco was benched for over a month after returning from last summer’s Olympics. Pachuca’s coach disuaded Torres from accepting an Olympic spot. You have to assume US Soccer spoke with the club coaches before selecting the roster, so other posters talking about “snubs” are off the mark.
Given that Ching is a known quantity, I might have preferred selcction of another Dynamo player in lieu of him.
I alos might have preferred other goalkeeping choices given current form, perhaps Colorado’s keeper (Pickens) instead of Chicago’s.
Overall though, it is a good roster and affords the US an opportunity to see a good group of players for an extended period of time and determine who might help the team in the future (near and distant).
Frankly, I am baffled with the inclusion of Heaps and Conrad, both of whom are 32 and really have no chance of contributining in South Africa next year. I suppose they are being brought in as veteran leadership and as some sort of token life-time achievement recognition thing.
Positives: No Mastroeni, Adu should get plenty of PT, Cooper, Holden, Rogers, Marshall, Parkhurst all get a big opportunity to prove they deserve a place in the “A” team.
Negatives: no Torres, Orozco, Cameron, Pontius, or Whitbread. Also, was curious to see how good this Lichaj guy is.
Hopefully these guys can put on a good show. As long as they make it out of our weak group and don’t lose to Canada, I’ll be fine.
Really would have liked to see Whitbread, Torres, and Pontius.
I would have liked Feilhaber to get a few more well deserved starts, and Torres to see more of what he can do. But I agree that both exclusions are probably a matter of wanting to get them back to their clubs, to fight for and keep regular starting roles.
I do like the idea of including Beasley to help get him back on track, like I hope Pearce does. You can’t deny that Rogers deserves a look on the left side, though. I have a feeling Beasley will be motivated this year to turn things around. At least, I hope so, because we’re going to need that depth on the wings next year.
I am little surpised to not see Jeremiah White, but that is my only quibble with the roster, as I am pretty happy. I hope this Copa Oro can maybe dig up someone who might be able to contribute to the national team in the future.