MLS Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham, veteran goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann and Fulham striker Eddie Johnson are three of the 22 players called up by Bob Bradley for Saturday's friendly against Slovakia (10am, Fox Soccer Channel).
Bradley called in a mostly full-strength squad of available players, with Tim Howard and Landon Donovan among those not called in for this match. According to U.S. Soccer, Bradley will consider changes to the squad for the Nov. 18 match against Denmark.
Here is the full 22-man squad selected for Slovakia:
GOALKEEPERS– Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Troy Perkins (Valerenga)
DEFENDERS– Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)
MIDFIELDERSРMichael Bradley (Borussia M̦nchengladbach), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS– Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)
Donovan, Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark and Brian Ching will miss the Slovakia match as they prepare for the MLS Western Conference final between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo on Friday, while Mexican-based players Jose Francisco Torres and Edgar Castillo will miss the match in preparation for Saturday's match between Torres' Pachuca and Castillo's Tigres, a match Pachuca needs to qualify for the Mexican playoffs.
So what will the starting lineup look like on Saturday: Here's one potential lineup:
—————Altidore——–Casey——————-
Feilhaber—–Bradley—–Kljestan———Dempsey
Bornstein—-Bocanegra—-Marshall———Spector
———————–Guzan—————————
It will be interesting to see what Bradley does with the left midfield position. He could go with Feilhaber, who plays there for AGF Aarhus, or he could put Dempsey on the left and Kljestan on the right, with Feilhaber pairing with Michael Bradley in the middle.
Centerback is another interesting position to consider, with Marshall, Conrad and Goodson all possibilities to partner with Bocanegra.
Right back remains a good battle between Cherundolo and Spector. With Spector back in the lineup for West Ham, he could have the edge, but Bradley could choose to give each of them a start with two friendlies to work with.
We should expect to see additions to the squad for the Denmark game from the loser of the Galaxy-Dynamo playoff match as well as from the Mexican league.
What do you think of this group? Glad to see Cunningham get a look? Surprised to see Eddie Johnson back in the mix? What's your Starting XI vs. Slovakia?
Share your thoughts below.
There is no need for cheer-leading at SBI, that’s what network sportscasters are paid to do.
Exactly right, there is no need to look at him, none.
Look, he is a good player just not there yet. Please play him so we can put this to bed for now. He will get his chance later, give him some years.
Like Isaac said, he played with youth nationals, there is your investment.
He contributes, that is it. Rock solid? Dont get too crazy with the Super Dax stuff.
probably right, but I think Dax does bring a little more pace and speed in the center of midfield than Beckerman.
I would have liked to see Pittman called in.
MlS didn’t screw sasha’s transfer he was going to celtic who if you haven’t notice have been unloading players and not signing many because of the revenue problems in the SPL to want 2.5 mill DOLLARS not pounds for one of your bright stars is not asking too much, they just didn’t value sascha at that price becase they are cheap, thats not MLS fault this is a business would you buy a mercedes for 50,000 and sell it for 5 because the person buying wants it at that price? I think not.
We’re not going to have Donovan AND Holden. Whoever wins the Western Conference Finals on Friday I’m sure will be not be going to Denmark.
How did the 4-3-3 work out last time we used it?
It is amazing to me how many people can spell Sacha Kljestan’s last name correctly but get his first name wrong. Maybe they’ve been reading his name in Serbian; but I don’t think most people on this site can read Cyrillic so I doubt it.
Anyway, it’s a truism among a lot of American soccer fans that because it is a niche sport in the country our fans have to be smarter. The reactions to this roster prove that theory to be a lie. Basic reading comprehension skills don’t even seem to be necessary anymore.
Lost in internet translation. When Ives specifically addresses why Torres and Castillo weren’t called in, I have to inject a lil’ sarcasm.
I really like the idea of Altidore and Cunningham playing off each other with Jozy’s strength and Cunningham’s explosiveness.
Brad Davis deserves a call-up, at least into camp. Guy’s been playing lights-out the last half of the MLS season. Sure he’s older, and he’s probably not an option to start/develop for the National Team, but he’s a quality veteran player that would provide depth for the team if needed.
Not a Freddy hater….
He does not deserve a call up. At this point, he needs to quietly remove himself from the spot light. Turn off his Twitter account. Bank his money and focus on being a professional Footballer.
If he wants to become a professional Footballer, he needs to dedicate himself to game. He needs to quit listening to his own press.
It might do Freddy some good to go back to Ghana and see what his life may have been without Football. Maybe he should go visit a banged up Charlie Davies to see how fragile life really is.
He needs to get off the publicity train and back to the Football field.
The kid has what it takes. He needs to start using it.
Supsam,
There is a reason EJ’s appearances ranged from 35-5 minutes. And it’s not a good one.
The more he scores the more he plays. The less he scores the less he plays. Tough but that’s life. Why else do you have EJ on the roster? Of course the stat is fair. If EJ was playing better and scoring regularly he’d get more minutes.
I’ll reserve judgment for after the game when we actually get to see the players on the pitch. I hope the team approaches these friendlies with intensity and that BB finds a way to use plenty of subs without disrupting the team’s rhythm. Biggest question seems to be up top and I hope EJ and Cunningham see action and are served some decent balls. Worried about the midfield without Donovan, can Dempsey put forth the effort for us he does for fulham? We will really need him in these games, I think. Can we attack the flanks with different players out wide? Or (heaven forbid) do we try to build attacks thru the center of the field? I hope we can call in Castillo for the 2nd game and give him a shot on the back line (and Torres in midfield also). For me, Spector should be a lock on the outside. And need a big physical centerback to pair with Boca in the middle.
I think we (USA) are still fighting to build the depth on the roster and it will take time. Despite all the complaints about the roster for these friendlies, I can’t think of anyone else that should be there. And despite all the complaints about BB, he is building a decent resume against top competition with very little world class talent. Of course SA will be what he is remembered for.
Dude, that’s racist…er, hairist.
Not that im a galaxy fan, but i kinda hope that Houston loses friday night. If so, I think Denmark would be a perfect place to get our first look at the lineup of holden on the right with dempsey STARTING at striker….what a fun game that will be to watch if we can see dempsey start at striker, torres start in the middle, and castillo starting at left back…
I agree!!
I am interested in seeing what Marcus Tracy and Mike Grella can do like a lot of the rest of you, but please remember, they have been professional for one year. They both left college, skipping MLS to try to make it in Europe. We’ll see them at some point, it just isn’t that time yet. I really have no issues with the roster, other than maybe another midfielder like White, but he will probably be included in the Denmark game.
I like it!!
So did Castillo and Torres Decline coming or did their teams not let them?
Did you even THINK about that comment? Who do you want inplace of Sacha exactly?
Some of yall just don’t think….
Agreed would be better with Edu, Jones and some of the other regulars/potential starters. Just think with the weekness we’ve shown in Defense lately we should explore playing to our strengths. As I see it we’ve got a slow defensive core and speed and depth in the Midfield. If we use this to our advantage we could control the midfield and work the ball forward…Vs. what we’ve been doing (booming the ball and running after it). We could use Castillo/Bornstein/Rogers as potential Left Mid-Wingers, Bradley/Jones/Torres/Clark, as central Holding Midfielders and then Donovan/Holden/Dempsey/Feilhaber as Rigth Mid-Wingers, then Play Donovan/Dempsey/Torres as central attacking Midfielders to distribute and make runs with the strikers. Subing out the Wingers after 50-60 minutes to keep them fresh leaving 1 open sub in the event of injury cards or poor performance. Also opens the option to moving Donovan or Dempsey up top if we can’t find a striker combination that works. Just my opinion.
agreed i mean Baby Bradley was punished for his “attitude” but no one is saying to not call him up cuz of that
that stat was not really fair since majority of those appearances were not starts but ranged from 35-5 minutes
I think that people who are wanting to see younger players like Adu, Bedoya, Diskerudd and other guys I’m sure I’ve failed to name aren’t really thinking.
Look at Jozy; Bob Bradley waited to call Jozy up so that he could earn his spot on Villareal and be in their future plans. He’s now more accomplished and I feel that Bob’s decision to wait on Altidore worked out well.
Cooper, Tracy, Grella, Pittmann, Adu, Bedoya, and Diskerudd are all either in club situations where they’re getting playing time, you don’t want to disrupt them and the national team is fine without them, or they need to earn their spot on the team and they’ll only be able to do that by staying there and working hard.
Be patient guys, most of these players won’t pay dividends until after the World Cup anyways. For fans who want instant satisfaction and feel all of the above are a way to get there, fine, but know that Bradley isn’t going to go for that and that’s what makes him a great manager.
i doubt you’ve seen either play enough to make that sort of judgment
if you guys remember, Adu could not even hold a consistent starting role any MLS team he played for.
oh, you mean the one where you seem retarded?
well im just assuming that we lacking more in teh forward role rather than midfield. That is why Johnson was called up and not Adu. My main question is: WHy not Cooper??? Im positive that Cooper>>Johnson
the tone of your response is kinda confusing. are you being critical or are you just retarded?
Ideally, GAM would start alongside Jozy and Goodson and Bocanegra get paired in the middle. Conrad and Marshall are not replacements for Gooch, but Goodson can be.
Let Dolo and Spector play as fullbacks and go with Dempsey – Bradley – Benny – Rogers in the midfield. Of course, if I’m dreaming we go 4-3-3 and play Jozy and GAM up top with Dempsey as the target and have Benny – Bradley – Rogers/Kljestan in the MF.
I know The Grown Ass man has been working hard to get back to form but I would rather find out what Marcus Tracy is capable of.
My starters would be:
GK: Guzan
RB: Spector
RCB: Conrad
LCB: Bocanegra
LB: Bornstein
LM: Rogers
LCM: Bradley
RCM: Feilhaber
RM: Dempsey
CF: Cunningham
ST: Altidore
I guess Bob wanted another speed guy in Eddie Johnson instead of Kenny Cooper. Though its interesting that he went with Johnson (who hasn’t been getting anywhere near the pitch lately) over Cooper who’s been getting consistent playing time with 1860 Munich.
Yet Marcus Tracey is a speed guy and scored over the weekend and doesn’t get the call. Also I don’t get why he called three right backs in Dolo, Spector, and Frankie and only six midfielders.
I did like Bob’s McCarty/Cunningham call up though. FC Dallas was one of the hottest teams in MLS towards the end of the season large in part to the play to those two guys.
During his time at Fulham and on loan at Cardiff EJ has made a total of 41 appearances. He has scored two goals in that time, both for Cardiff. That amounts to a goal every 20.5 appearances.
This is not good for a striker trying to show the US he is the man for the job. Maybe Fulham, a much deeper team, can afford EJ serving as a decoy but the US already has a number of those.
EJ has 37 appearances and 12 goals for the US most of them early on. His last goal was in an 8-0 rout of Barbados.
For the US Jozy has 21 appearances and 8 goals, a better percentage than EJ’s but not by that much. Still, 6 of those 8 came this year, even though he had little club PT, so in relative terms, for the US, the kid is hot.
I hope EJ gets another look but, as someone who has seen both play a lot for the US my view is, for all his “laziness” and drifting around, Jozy is a very threatening, direct presence and seems to come up with enough goals. In contrast, once he cooled off, EJ always seemed clueless and aimless out there.
Nevertheless, the guy who really displaced EJ (besides EJ) was Davies, who was all about being direct. Since Davies may never be back, EJ will get a longer look than he might otherwise have, assuming Findlay or Cunningham don’t impress.
id like to see a mix at forward right off the bat so you can have EJ and cunningham out there with real service and possession from the midfield and defense
we need to see who can finish up top
dempsey and donovan are the only goal scoring options at the moment
Jozy and Eddie Start
Casey and Cunningham at half
Jozy and Dempsey would be nice to see also
Also, how many of the people clamoring for Jon-Paul Pittman, Jemal Johnson, etc. have actually seen those guys play (beyond highlights)? And if you have seen them play, have you seen them more than once? This isn’t meant to get people riled up, I’m genuinely curious. I don’t catch a lot of League One here in the US.
I agree man. What is with all the Sacha hate these days? He’s not a starter on a full strength MNT right now. He was once close to being a lock starter. Is it so wrong to test out whether this guy can contribute for us again? JFT is a good player, but I wonder if theres a need to crap all over Sacha like he’s the worst player in the world just because you’d prefer to see someone else in his place.
While i agree with your point… get your facts straight. “Guys who show promise but aren’t there yet”- Bobby Convey and Ben Olsen were on the 2006 world cup team. Jesse Marsch was 34 when he got his second cap for the USMNT. Santino Quaranta and Steve Ralston were on the 2005 Gold Cup team. I’m not trying to pick a fight because I agree with what you’re saying… I just hate when people don’t have their facts right. Another case was last time we played Mexico in a friendly (i believe Feb 2008) and someone asked why they had “that kid Ramiro Corrales” playing left back… when Corrales was 30. I’m a nitpicky freak. Don’t mind me.
Just because some of these guys play in MLS doesn’t mean they are worse than guys playing in fringe European leagues or on the bench in bigger leagues. MLS is not that bad people. I don’t think people move to the Norwegian or Swedish league for the top notch, overwhelmingly better than MLS quality of the football…they get paid better. Period.
I’m so sick of hearing this. We’re gonna leave Sacha out because of his attitude? He wouldn’t be the first guy on the MNT to bitch out a referee.
But…he has red hair.
Torres, Castillo both have games. Cameron is in MLS playoffs. Cooper is coming off the bench at a B2 team. Him, Moor, Orozco, and White I could see added to this roster, but none of them are good enough to act like its some sort of crime that they weren’t included.
Yep. EJ gets a lot of hate from people who think there is some magical striker off the radar who is going to come in and solve all of our problems at forward. Fact is after Jozy and Davies the talent level is pretty even.
Kleijstan has no business on this roster. Period. Even without Torres being available. And he certainly should not earn a start – though he probably will because of Bob Bradley’s senseless loyalty to certain players.
I’d like to see Bradley rest Michael Bradley vs Denmark. I also want to see Marcus Tracy get called up and Edgar Castillo inserted into the lineup. With so many regulars unavailable for the Slovakia match it is almost worthless.
But against Denmark I’d like to see the following:
Guzan
Spector – Bocanegra – Marshall – Castillo
Donovan – Torres – Feilhaber – Holden
Altidore – Dempsey
I agree. I think its a justifiable call-up.
I think the job is Bornstein’s until somebody (looking at you Edgar) takes it from him.
hahahahah seriously! so you’re serious that kenny cooper and danny califf make this a legit roster? come on…
umm barring injury and severe dip in form i’d say that casey, klejstan and conrad all have a legitimate shot to get on the plane.
How does White not get a call up? Cooper probably deserves one. Grella, I would argue, deserves one…as well as Pittman. What about Tracy? Parkhurst? Beasley even deserves one if EJ does. Bob, you never stop amazing me…