Charlie Davies' quest to make the U.S. World Cup team appears over, but the dream is alive for 30 others.
Davies was not named to the U.S. team's 30-man provisional World Cup roster. Herculez Gomez and Edson Buddle did make the list, as did Eddie Johnson.
U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley stated that Davies was in consideration right up until Monday, and that club team Sochaux had yet to fully clear him, which played a part in the decision to leave Davies off the squad.
"He hadn't been given full medical clearance and therefore was not given a full release to join the camp," U.S. head coach Bob Bradley said of Davies. "So when we put that together with everything we just felt that right now it's in his best interests to continue his rehab so that he can continue to get back to the level he was playing last year before the accident.
Here it the 30-player provisional roster:
USA's 30-man Provisional World Cup Roster
Goalkeepers– Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, Brad Guzan
Defenders– Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Jonathan Spector, Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson, Jonathan Bornstein, Heath Pearce, Chad Marshall
Midfielders– Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Jose Francisco Torres, Alejandro Bedoya, DaMarcus Beasley, Sacha Kljestan, Robbie Rogers
Forwards– Jozy Altidore, Robbie Findley, Brian Ching, Edson Buddle, Eddie Johnson, Herculez Gomez
The following players did not make the squad: Freddy Adu, Conor Casey, Frankie Hejduk, Jermaine Jones, Kyle Beckerman, Jimmy Conrad.
The U.S. team will convene in Princeton, New Jersey next week for its pre-World Cup training camp. The final 23-man roster must be submitted by June 1st.
What do you think of this squad? Share your thoughts below.
Get real, with that bench, who did BB put out there to stop the bleeding? His number one fans, Sacha and Bornstein. Gee that really helped. Any international coach would have picked those 2 right?
So yeah the coach blew it, even if Brazil’s bench would overwhelm US starters most days.
Anyway, no question subs and in-game strategy changes are not Bob’s forte, other than the Dempsey move forward about the 60th minute gambit – which full credit, has been helpful
Good plan, sneak Findley into an England practice session
I think Bob Bradley did a fantastic job of picking the contenders and trust he will come up with the best 23 for the Cup.
Did I read somewhere that the final 23 do not necessarily have to come from the 30 he takes to camp or was it that if one of the final 23 becomes injured before the tournament starts he can be replaced with one of the 7 who did not make the final cut?
Oh, you didn’t offend me. I just pity you.
I swear if I hear one more self righteous finger wag I’m gonna throw up in my shoes. again.
I have been watching the Brazilian reaction for part of the day and I’m surprised at some of the comments. Sasha is a known entity for BB, he knows what he can do and if he sees him as a man who can fit a role thats a heads up on someone like Adu. Also similar to the Brazil situation, even though Rodgers had a less than awesome showing in the past it may/is still be better than what Adu provided.
Lastly and I think most importantly, as you can see across all the countries, the coaches will rather pick a player who played in the system and is familiar with than someone in good club form, club form doesnt translate into country form.
No real surprises for me personally
after what thinking about what couldve happened to him that night missing the world cup is not a tragedy.
If Ching, Findley, Rogers, or Kljestan go then it’s bullshit. I think Adu is not even close to making the 23-man squad but how can you pick Rogers over him for the 30-man roster?
It’s sickening the amount of “Well, I just want the boys to keep the same chemistry as I’ve been seeing during qualifying.” Instead, how about filling your last three slots with guys who are on fire for their clubs. God forbid we have actual substitutes with confidence and flare.
I think jozy should wear 9 for the tournament
Unfortunately, I’m not in USSF’s human resources department.
findley or gomez… it is up to YOU to fill those big shoes
“It sounds like you are saying the quality of the player who is coming in doesn’t make a difference. Are you serious? Brazil brings in Dani Alves and Elano in the Confederations Cup final. Who was on the US bench at the time?”
First of all, I never once said that. I was referring to the timing of the sub.
In addition to that, you brought that up in the first place. Thus, that is what YOU said…not me. I have faith in the are guysm…unlike YOU. In addition to that, you are still stuck on the personnel as opposed to the timing of the sub. Obviously, you are getting too emotional to actually stop and read my reply.
Read your initial reply to me…read my response…and then read yours again…repeat the cycle if needed…then ask the moderator to erase your’s. Then sign on with your real account and think about what it is you are trying to say.
Can Davies please kick Bornstein in the noots with his bionic leg before JB departs, that would make me feel better.
Adu is a benchwarmer and sometimes a late sub. Beaz on the other hand takes up space in the locker room and barely gets a chance to see the bench the difference is clear
And you are an idot for thinking a locker room warmer like beasley is good enough to put on a jersy for the nats
Words can’t describe how upset I am that Jonathan Bornstien made this roster. Frankly, I’ve never seen any USMNT defender play so poorly. Especially in the game against the Dutch.
But BB loves Bornstien too much to disregard his mediocrity. If he starts…Lord have mercy.
I feel though that the 7 players that BB will cut will entirely be of MLS players. Maybe a few in Scandinavia, but primarily MLS.
I agree. I think Adu is a wild card and brings more upside potential than Rogers or Kjlestan. Even at Benfica, Adu had a pretty good record of goals to minutes, when he was being brought in at min 80 fairly frequently.
Given the Johnson reasonings for inclusion, I guess these past few games on the bench really hurt him.
Although Bedoya and Beasely are better wing options than both of them.
That the likes of Rogers, Kliejstan and Findley got a call up ahead of Adu is a joke. His solid play of late at Aris earned him a place among the 30 players named today. In the clip posted of his recent performance against Olympiakos he showed off the creativity and deceptiveness the U.S. team so badly needs and the other three can’t match. He looked good in picking off a couple of passes too. Hard to explain that decision.
I will say this as I said yesterday..
If you watch the Futbol Mundial special on Davies that I estimate was filmed around mid-April, he does look ginger just passing the ball. His footwork looked good, but watching him kick left me thinking.. oohh he only has 3+ weeks..I’m not so sure anymore.
I’m guessing at this point he goes to SA in a “beckham embassador” type role.. travelling with the team.
bottom line… girls are trouble and do not go out past curfew
Which means cut:
Marshall, Torres, Kljestan, Rogers, EJ, Gomez, Findley.
HOWEVER,
We should all wait and see the warm up games to see what the players and coaches do that could and should change our minds.
Cheers!
lol
you think the brits are scared of chad?
I felt the same way on the other thread when I found out, I barely managed to refrain from the all caps.
I feel ya brotha
what is it about my comments that keep getting deleted? I don’t use profanity all I that I say is constructive. I don’t use profanity. Send me an email for any clarification.
you know, there is not a soccer fan in the US that wasn’t hoping/praying/dreaming that Charlie would be called into camp -Bob Bradley saw the same CD as the rest of us did in WC qualifying – if there was even a microscopic chance the dude could play and contribute, BB would have called him in. However, the accident interceded and now the Nats need our support more than ever – get well Charlie, and HERE WE GO U.S. HERE WE GO!!!!
At first I thought that Beasley, Ching, and Kljestan were being given a nice gift by coach Bradley but only to the 30, not to SA. Then I remembered what coach Bradley said earlier about selections. Best of my memory, how players get along with one another (not on the field) can be more important than ability or form. Bradley is giving them more than a three day pass, he’s giving them the keys to the clubhouse. If they can walk and chew gum, and don’t step on Superman’s cape they’ll have a leg up on the competition and be going. I don’t know if this country club approach is good for USMNT but many swear it’s hurt the youth programs (Rongen, Sunil, Subotic, Ljget, Renken, etc. I have mixed feelings. I want the US team and Bradley to do well, but I want the Country Club structure to collapse completely.
Bedoya vs. Beasley is the competition of the camp. Only one of them is going to South Africa, and both know it. Rogers is there too to ramp up the pressure.
Once again i am puzzled with what Bob(the what are you trying to accomplish)Bradley is trying to accomplish. If you did not want 30 people and you felt confident with your 23 then just call them.
Really; Bornstein, Rogers, Findley, Beasley, Kljestan and Ching.
PLEASE PEOPLE STEP IT UP. PLAY THE GAMES WITH DOMINANCE AND CONFIDENCE. WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE…. SO LETS WIN THE CUP. GO USA
Poooorrrrrrrrrr Freddyy……hes been working so hard. f u bb
Well, for one thing when Bob started doing that with Jozy there weren’t a lot of alternatives. Adu has always had lots of competition. Adu’s best role on the club would be replacing, well, either Donovan or Dempsey and I don’t see any sane person letting that happen.
For another thing, if you go back, you’ll see that when Bob brought him along, Jozy produced, he scored goals, played well at least in the earlier part of 2009. Adu has never played well in a meaningful match for the SENIOR team. Going forward I still see Adu’s biggest problem is his lack of strength and fitness, a testament ot his lack of total commitment and professionalism. You can’t make coaches play you but you can hire personal strength, fitness and martial arts coaches. For his sake I hope Adu takes this as a wake up call.
My 23 from this list
3 GK: Howard, Guzan, Hahneman
8 Def: Boca, Gooch, Demeritt, Spector, Dolo, Bornstein, Pearce, Goodson
9 Mid: Bradley, Edu, Clark, Feilhaber, Dempsey, Donovan, Holden, Beasley, Bedoya
3 Striker: Ching, Buddle, Altidore
I’d bring Bedoya, Feilhaber, Beasley, and Pearce over Torres…not sure if that is right or not, it is debatable for sure. If Pearce can look better than Bornstein, I’d like to see Torres stay in place of Bornstein, especially with the added cover of Beasley as 4th choice left back. I’d post an expected starting line-up, but I am pretty sure even the average fan could pick out the starters in this group.
As far as the 30 man roster, would have preferred Adu to Kljestan or Rogers. Adu has shown well for Aris of late. However, not in the USMNT, so don’t know what he brings as far as attitude, don’t expect kljestan to be a real moral leader either though. It shouldn’t matter, as all three should not be on the field in S.A.
I would have been happy to see Davies for Buddle, but Buddle has earned it, and obviously Davies wasn’t fit. I’m sure it was not an easy decision for Bradley to make, but I’m sure he made the right one. Thoughts are with Davies at this moment.
I agree with Al_OC. Barring Injury, Onyewu and Demerit are going to play every minute at center back, so why bring 6 guys for two other spots? Granted Goodson is probably in there as a back-up if one of those two does get hurt, but Boca and Edu can play CB if need be.
Conversely, there are tons of advantages to bringing an extra midfielder. Most tactical changes for us are going to come in midfield, so its good to have a variety of guys who bring different skills to the table that might help in certain situations. Also, over the course of three (and I’m hoping more) games so close together, our mids are going to be doing a lot more work than our defenders, so it is a great asset to have some extra fresh legs off the bench to insert for a burst of energy when fatigue might be setting in.
I like the choice of Feilhaber, too. Benny showed some flashes of creativity in the confed cup and basically set up our second goal against Spain. He certainly brings more potential to the table than does Pearce. Pearce would be there solely as a backup I would hope, but Benny can really play some quality minutes for us.
can’t see the USA making it out of the first round anyways!
I’ma go and take out Sacha and Bradley myself!!!!!!!!!! I am confessing to my future double murder!!! ok maybe not but God DARN IT! Rogers Sacha? C’mon BB!
Maybe it’s the “if you don’t give a damn about your career, then why should anyone else?” scenario.
Bob is so dumb, he takes Sacha instead of Davies or/and Jermaine, oh my God, I just can´t take this… Two of our best guys missing the WC on technicalities, just plain and simple, hes dumb
I happen to think Freddy didn’t get called up for other reasons. From quite a few reporters, it seemed that Bradley didn’t like the kid’s work rate and attitude. I can recall long time ago, a reporter from GolTV asked Bob about Freddy and he was mad to speak about him. Did that play a part in selecting other players? It probably did this probably wasn’t a hard decision to make as charlie was.
Good Luck to the Boys in SA.
Why is Robbie Findley on the roster? anyone?
I guess he set the world on fire with his exceptional play in the MLS this year, and his performances against El Salvador, Honduras, and Netherlands where he looked like a strong striker who could actually help against the world’s best basically made him a lock for this camp. Yeah, that must be it…….
SMH being a USA fan hurts sometimes
A man who has shown absolutely nothing that would indicate he would be helpful in the WORLD CUP, against El Salvador is at camp. Incredible.
He’s the true speed option. Plus, at least his speed might be able to get us ready for Lennon’s speed. He may not be playing well right now, but his speed is incredible.
who would you have taken instead?
+1
FYI
Two things, A USMNT trainer went to Sochuax a week ago and say davies first hand and Diskard would have been perfect instead of Kljestan…. it could have been the thing that made him commit to us
Torres will probably get dropped in favor of one of Bedoya or Beas
I beg to differ…. Johnson might have the upper hand over Gomez/Buddle because of the amount of international experience he has but at this point I would have to say that none of the forwards are out of contention
I would’ve brought Charlie to South Africa to sit on the bench. You know the big speech Pacino gives in Any Given Sunday. That’s Charlie. F-ing inspirational. Ok, I’m done.
Again with the name calling
-1000
———–Howard———
Dolo—-Boca-Gooch—Spector
Holden-Bradley-Donovan-Beasley
——-Dempsey-Altidore—-
——–Rooney–Defoe——-
J.Cole-Gerrard–Lampard–Walcott
Johnson-Ferdinand-Terry-A.Cole
———–James————
I can live with this lineup
The only thing I find truly baffling, is Robbie Rogers.
I don’t like the fact that Charlie was left off. I think they should’ve sorted it out in the next month. His rate of recovery has been amazing (that’s not disputable). “What if” is the question after that? What if he had a breakthrough mid-month? I think it’s crap – I’ll get over it and move on. Glad Gooch is on the squad.