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.