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Gomez and Buddle forcing their way into World Cup mix

Herculez Gomez 1 (Reuters) 

There is no debating that American strikers Herculez Gomez and Edson Buddle are in the best form of any American forwards on the planet, and this past weekend both strikers score two more goals to boost their chance of earning a surprising World Cup roster spot.

Here my is my take on Gomez and Buddle for Fox Soccer. It really is crazy to think where both players were just four months ago. Neither was anywhere near the U.S. national team radar. Now, with Gomez scoring a league-high 10 goals in Mexico and Buddle notching a record seven goals in the LA Galaxy's first four games of the MLS season, both look like good bets to be called up next month and one of them just might make the U.S. World Cup team.

What do you think of their recent hot streaks? Have they done enough to make you forget their past struggles? Still not convinced either player could help the U.S. national team? Hoping both players earn call-ups?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. “Casey can only score from the penalties ”

    This is BS. Casey’s two goals came from a header and his right foot.

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  2. Players’ fortunes wax and wane, injuries happen and are healed. Before the 2002 W.C. Armas was widely considered the most important cog in the middle of the field for his fierce defense. He tore his ACL and a player who was scarcely on the radar 9 months earlier (Pablo M.) performed well and had a stellar camp that made him a player that could not be denied a spot. We can only hope that Bedoya, Torres, Buddle and or Gomez have fortunes similar to Mastoeni’s and that no (more) players suffer Armas’ fate due to injury.

    Said another way, of course those guys will be looked at seriously. It is up to them to come through.

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  3. i disagree. we have too many injuries. benny is not a natural winger and i think bedoya should be playing there. beasley cant get minutes again and we dont have too many other options for a winger after holden and beasley.

    further, that lineup was if we went TODAY…well, yesterday. benny is just starting to get 90 minutes. i agree that bob would play torres or benny before bedoya, but i don’t think he should.

    if bedoya looks good in camp and in those friendlies, i would start him on the wing over one of our center mids.

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  4. Valid point. Bedoya certainly makes a good case for himself though, especially if he keeps it up before the tournament starts.

    Benny out wide would be interesting to see. I’m used to thinking of having him in the center but I like where your head is at.

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  5. There’s no question that Gomez and Buddle get a look. However, my HEAVY lean is toward Gomez, as I think the Mexican Primera is a stronger league than MLS.

    At the WC, I think I’d like to see Altidore and Gomez start up top, with Ching and Davies as subs. I will add though that Davies needs to prove that his form is there before being selected. If it is not, then I think Buddle gets the nod.

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  6. You’re joking right?

    Benny is still recovering from an ankle injury and even at his best, was no better than a 20-30 minutes of play sub. He is talented but very inconsistent and is not to be trusted.

    Torres showed you in the Holland game that he can still be overrun by a tough, speedy direct physical team, which is what you see a lot of in the World Cup.

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  7. Great freaking comeback buddy. Want to provide some proof that he won’t do well at the world cup instead of just stating an opinion

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  8. BRIAN MCBRIDE

    This team needs veteran leadership behind the scenes and someone who can give a good 20 minutes as a sub. That’s Brian McBride people!

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  9. I say BB has to call up both Gomez and Buddle for the camp. Let’s be honest though, when was the last time an in form MLS striker made an impact on the national stage (with the exception of LD). Gomez has an edge over Buddle to make the squad in my book, FMF is a better league than MLS. Gomez plays against teams that do well in Libertadores and CCL, and scores. I’d like to see his fitness go up though. I think Buddle makes the camp, but doesn’t get the call to SA. Unless Charlie Davies is staring next to Jozy in the WC, we will probably see Clint Dempsey at forward. I can’t see any other forward make the starting 11 versus the Three Lions. If that’s the case, it would be nice to see a healthy Stuart Holden on the right side delivering crosses into the box.

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  10. Especially good point about D-mids, since they often have to take professional fouls to keep big trouble from developing, defenders also to a certain extent.
    Forwards, wingers and attcking mids usually are less vulnerable to cards, even for bad challenges, if they don’t do stupid things like(in about this order):
    Take off shirt to celebrate a goal.
    Dive.(Admittedly this one is often yellow to the defender)
    Talk back to the ref.

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  11. both should make the squad. Casey can only score from the penalties and Jozy is struggling really bad and with cooper lost in the abyss and Johnson just being plain old Johnson playing scared. we have to call both of this players to have any chance of scoring goals in this world cup. unless we want to get out in the first round again. but then again the decisions falls into the hands of Bob Bradley who has proven time after time to be the worst decision maker that the U.S. national team has had.

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  12. But what if he’s 79%? Putting a percentage on something like that is dumb.

    If Charlie can get in some action for Sochaux by their season’s end, he goes. Even if he doesn’t, then maybe use one of the extra 7 spots Bob gets for the camp in May, and see if he’s good to go for Turkey or Czech Republic.

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  13. Which striker are you talking about that has years of service and is healthy? Ching is hurt and really we don’t know at this point how that hamstring is going to limit him.

    Maybe you’re referring to Casey? He’s not having that great of a year, and the only goals he can score right now are penalties. He was totally useless in the friendlies against El Salvador and Honduras this year, and he hasn’t been playing with this team for 4 to 6 years. Casey isn’t some long established starter. He only got on this team because Ching went down, and prior to him starting against Honduras in Chicago in the World Cup Qualifiers last year, Casey hadn’t been on the national team for a while.

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  14. I think Gomez is a little more competent with the ball at his feet than Buddle. He also has a bit better of a touch, which is huge in my opinion.

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  15. Gomez is bigger? huh?
    He’s 5’10.

    Buddle is 6’1 and is incredibly strong (see how he manhandled 6’4 Borchers last match).

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  16. Just to make sure we have our eyes wide open, anyone who is on the plane to SA is in a good position to start at least one game and should be selected on that basis. The WC is called tight and yellows are given out like candy. Frequently one or two players will be out by the third game due to card accumulations (two yellows and you sit out the next match) and I believe cards accumulations carry over to knock out play as well (could not find a source on this though). Then there are the inevitable injuries or just different tactics given the team we are playing.

    Although players have sat the bench the entire WC before (Conrad and Ching come to mind), they aren’t being flown for their good looks or locker room charm alone. They have to be ready to start.

    I disagree that either Buddle or Gomez would freeze at the first sight of Int’l competition – they have both had their struggles and have overcome them. I think these are two players that are tapping their genuine potential with maturity and would be happy to have either of them starting if need be. But I don’t think more than one is coming if Ching is healthy.

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  17. as the confederations cup as our witness, this team does not need a Limited Hold-up player on the field which is all that he is for. If we play the usual Counter-attacking play, players like Ching will get eatin alive. We are going to have to be Athletic well-rounded fowards, ones who are just not speed Either (Cunningham,Findley,etc.) When i see Buddle and Gomez i see two players who have many tools and Athetic and not just one thing they do, that gets exaggerated like Ching vs Barbados or a player with speed speed vs Whoever

    The 4

    Altidore

    Davies

    Gomez

    Buddle

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  18. That’s weird, because I’m posting this right now and there ain’t no captcha.

    Maybe Ives has singled out you for special attention?

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  19. no expert here, but Ching’s main problem to me is his shooting accuracy. I have seen to many times when he seems to miss the “easy” goal. Not down on him, just an observation. But he does work his butt off and can create opp’s for others, maybe even score for himself.

    Casey just confounds me. He looks slow and lazy internationally, and then, just as we all are howling, and have written him off, he scores big time for the Nats. Still, not my fav nat. Would rather have Ching, I think.

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  20. Cetainly include Herc in camp. He’s done something no other American has–dominate the scoring chart in a foreign league that is still technically superior to ours. And it hurts to say that, I know.

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  21. lol, can’t think of what they are called off hand. The things that prevent spam bots, you know, squiggly alphabet/numbers, splotchy background, etc. Apparently SBI now uses them.

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  22. Ching does well on both levels imho. He isn’t flashy, but holds the ball well and distributes pretty well. Casey usually scores on PKs or defenseive breakdowns…in other words from around the 8 yard range. May sound unfair, but that’s the way I see them. Ching is by far superior in the air. Neither is running past anyone. anyone.

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  23. Donovan speaks Mexican Spanish…there’s a difference, and thats why all of Mexico wishes LD was on the Mexican national team.

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  24. All you guys saying Buddle over Gomez or MLS is better then Mexican league are on crack. I dont know the stats, but I’m betting that top scorers in the Mexican always seems to translate to National call-ups. Look at who is tied with Gomez as leading scorer, Hernandez and some Peruvian effer. Both the Inca and the little Pea dude are on their national teams. Being a leading assist or goal scorer in MLS has not always translated into national call ups. Doing so in Mexico has. This says alot about how the rest of the world and Latin America views the Mexican league. I’m not saying dont bring Buddle, I’m just saying jump at Gomez right away and consider Ed too.

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  25. good point! That counts for something, since LD will probably be our best playmaker during the World Cup. Donovan seems to have a good feel for Buddle, like he knows/sense where Ed will be. In fact, if you imagine Ed as white he even looks like LD. As for more important topics, the couger lady simply looks like a 43yr old fit white lady. You guys saying she’s scary must be like 21. For her age, she is very fit. You know how many American ladies who are white, black or hispanic are as fit as that lady at that age? Like 3percent. I leave out American Asian ladies since their percentage of obesity is much lower. Anyway, couger lady is not bad.

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  26. because the forward position is not Donovan strongest. he more of an impact player from the midfield position, he is too much of a finese player to play at top.

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  27. Well we’re not playing Pachuca or Houston Dynamo, but you want to call up Buddle and Gomez? That argument makes no sense.

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  28. I’ve posted this before but here’s my thought.

    I would honestly take Brian Ching over Buddle, Gomez, and Casey if he were to get back from injury on time for a spot on the roster. I understand that Ching hasn’t scored a lot for the USA, but he wasn’t exacly paired with a great striker to help him, or any striker at all for that matter. When Bradley played Donovan and Dempsey next to Ching it was actually making Ching a lone striker, when he’s a target striker, and, yes, there is a difference. A target man, normally, holds the ball up, wins aerial challenges, draws fouls, does most of the dirty work, latches onto crosses, gets the attention of the centerbacks, creates chances for others, provides the second striker with a shield to pass to and run off of. A lone striker combines the qualities of a second forward and a target man, which does not describe Ching. The question was this: If Ching was taking lumps and doing all the dirty work, and Donovan was running the USA’s midfield, who was going to actually score the goals? The USA provided temporary answers to this question with things like set piece ability, long balls, and it’s home crowd, but once it’s competition began to become tougher in the final round of Qualifying, it became pretty clear that the USA needed someone who would strictly score goals, while fitting the teams style. Lo and behold, as soon as said goalscorer Jozy Altidore comes off the bench and onto the field in San Salvador, Brian Ching is involved in his goal, bringing down a knockdown header from Dempsey and getting the ball wide to Frankie Hejduk, who played the ball across to Altidore for a goal. Ching and Altidore then combined again, with Jozy laying off a pass for Ching that he couldn’t quite direct home, as he was on his left foot. The next game, Ching and Donovan were again involved in another one of the young striker’s goals, with Brian flicking on a Carlos Bocanegra longball into the path of a streaking Landon Donovan, who volleyed a pass across to a free Jozy Altidore. The fact that the USA managed to score more goals(5) consecutively in those matches without getting scored on than they had that entire round surely says something for what an Altidore-Ching combination could have led to if Brian had been healthy. People talk about Ching’s lack of goals for club and country, but when he was paired with Dwayne DeRosario, one of the best attacking players in the league in 2008, he was among the top scorers. The point is that even if Ching wasn’t a goalscoring machine, he either wasn’t next to somebody who could help him, or he wasn’t next to anyone at all.

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  29. You can say what you want, but Altidore is the leading scorer at Hull if he takes his own penalty kicks. Bullard is the leading scorer for Hull because of Jozy’s penalties.

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  30. I agree that they probably won’t start….so what.

    Both of them will be competing to come on the field at the 60-70 minute mark in the not so impossible scenario of the offense needing a spark and we are trailing.

    The strikers are the most likely to be subbed when trailing. These guys are most definitely competing for world cup playing time.

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  31. I think Bradley is basically set and don’t see him bringing either to the show at this point. This is probably a mistake but he’ll do it anyway

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  32. It’s still wayyyyy to early to pencil in Bedoya as an automatic starter. What are his career minutes with the senior team? He should make the 23, but BB would go with Benny out wide before Bedoya (at least in the opening game).

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  33. According to Landon, both Buddle and Gomez should be called into camp because they’re playing and playing well, his criteria.

    Some commentators exclude Clark for not playing recently yet include Beasley who has played very little over 2 years. You see what you want, and I want neither.

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  34. It seems simply crazy *not* to invite them both to the camp. Bradley has seven “extra” spots before the final cut-down to 23. Can you name seven others (besides Gomez and Buddle) who should fill those slots in May?

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