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The U.S. men's national team is set to begin a new year, and a new World Cup cycle, on Saturday in its kickoff friendly against Chile, and while there won't be any first-team regulars in action, the match will offer us the first glimpses of what the new year might be like.
The new year brings with it new challenges, and Bob Bradley will certainly be faced with different tests as he begins his second World Cup cycle. My latest Fox Soccer column focuses on Five Key Questions facing Bradley and the national team heading into 2011.
No, they aren't the only questions. We still don't know who will emerge as the next left back, and we also don't know if Oguchi Onyewu will return to the dominant form he enjoyed before his 2009 knee injury. There are lots of questions, and the U.S. national team will have plenty of time in the coming months to answer them.
Give my Fox Soccer piece a read and feel free to share your own thoughts on the coming year for the national team. What questions are most pressing about the national team in your mind? Feeling good about the new year?
Share your thoughts below.
Williams has an American father and is eligible to get a US passport but, for some reason hasn’t yet. Until he does that, no way Jose.
More importantly in regards to your question this guy is a bit player, is an emergency fill at left back, with only 8 appearances (usually 10-20 minutes late in the game)to date for Frieburg.
I’m sure he is promising but, passport issue aside, don’t you think merit should have something to do with being called into camp? This guy isn’t exactly reminding anyone of Ashley Cole yet.
Drew,
Edu has played CB for the Olympic team. He is also about 6 feet tall, 180 pounds or so and is a very skilled, very athletic player.
He has the physical tools. It’s not as if you are trying to turn Leo Messi into a CB.
Edu has played defensive midfield for Rangers and played in the World Cup for the US. He is a young, experienced pro. I can’t think of one reason why him moving to center back should be as insane as everyone seems to think it is. I’ve played both positions some and you have to tackle and mark men in both positions. I would say it would be much harder to move from CB to DM than the other way around.
Everyone talks about moving Edu to CB was as bad an idea as moving Kobe Bryant to center or moving Dionne Branch to QB in place of Tom Brady.
The only reason Edu can’t play CB is if he truly does not want to. And if BB thinks this idea has merit, now is the time to experiment, when we do not have a meaningful game for some time.
What is it about Edu that makes you think he is a defensive liability? If that’s true why is he playing at defensive midfield? Why do you think Edu can’t play CB?
Didn’t Specs start his career as a forward? The way he maneuvered and poached in that ManU cup game, I’d possibly like to see him up top a bit to see how he performs.
No, he plays (and scores) in reserve games.
Everyone in Team USA seems to like him. I think he just had a problem with that manager.
+1 I’m in BR too, and Houston has the semis and the final, so I’m definitely planning on making the trip.
I would bet on Clark replacing Shea, but that’s just me.
Personally I would love to see a Jozy Dempsey pairing.
Davies cannot even get into reserve games at the club level. No reason to believe he is in the immediate plans. Even when he is finally ready to go there is no guarantee he’ll get back to the level he was at prior to his accident. I don’t think there is any chance he makes the Gold Cup roster. He’s just not ready. And to think some here screamed for him to go to South Africa! That’s just laughable.
You can say that Jones is subjectively better than Edu but he’s not getting any younger, appears to be a lockerroom problem and has barely been on a field for almost two years. YOU may think he is better but I don’t think that is a definite by any stretch.
Williams does not hold an American passport. As of now he is not eligible to play for the United States as of right now.