In just about 24 hours we could find out the final 23-man roster for the U.S. World Cup team. There are plenty of unanswered questions heading into tonight's friendly vs. the Czech Republic. Answers U.S. coach Bob Bradley is hoping will be found tonight.
While plenty could change with some strong (or weak) performances tonight, I offer up my final projection for the World Cup roster. Here is the final version of SBI's 23 for 2010:
SBI Projected USA World Cup squad
GOALKEEPERS– Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, Brad Guzan
DEFENDERS– Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, Jay DeMerit, Steve Cherundolo, Jonathan Spector, Clarence Goodson, Jonathan Bornstein, Heath Pearce
MIDFIELDERS– Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Maurice Edu, Stuart Holden, DaMarcus Beasley, Jose Torres, Benny Feilhaber.
FORWARDS– Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Brian Ching, Herculez Gomez
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Some quick thoughts:
The last cut was Alejandro Bedoya, who was edged out by Heath Pearce. Why? The injury concerns surrounding the defender pool makes it tough to imagine Bob Bradley bringing just seven defenders to South Africa. If he has confidence in his defenders being healthy, then he could definitely bring Bedoya.
Another possibility for Bedoya's inclusion would be if Bradley decides to leave behind one of his many central midfielders. As it stands, this roster has five central midfielders, which Bradley could decide is one too many.
Edson Buddle gets edged out by Gomez, who has had a good camp and is better suited for a super sub role. Tonight's performances by the forwards could definitely shake up the forward selections.
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What do you think of this group? Which selections do you disagree with? Whose name do you like seeing on the roster?
Share your thoughts below.