With about a month to go before Jurgen Klinsmann settles on the 23 or so players he will call into pre-World Cup Qualifying training camp, it's time to consider his options and what the squad might look like.
There are some easy selections, such as Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan to name a few, but Klinsmann is going to have some tough decisions to make, particularly in midfield, where he has a plethora of options.
Here is my Fox Soccer piece taking a look at the projected 23-man roster he might take to training camp in Florida next month ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Antigua & Barbuda and Guatemala. Give the piece a read and let us know what you think of the selections.
Which players are you happy to see included? Which players do you feel should have been included that weren't?
Share your thoughts below.
I would love to see this happen
Duce is a forward in the whole, with freedom to go and get the ball in deeper positions. At Fullham he’s killing it and likely to be playing Champion’s League Football next year. I am no Josi fan, but I must say he is finally learning his craft. Finally! Given our midfield depth, I play Donovan up top with Duce and add Zucci or Jones depending on opposing match-up needs
Wondo would surely have gotten another look against Panama but Cameron’s red card threw a spanner into the mix.
Personally, Wondo should have started over Done-bury.
You must be one of those guys who spends his time away from SBI on neo-con political blogs blaming all the world’s problems on “lib’rals.”
The fact is, a majority (I can’t say how large) of the USMNT fanbase rate MB90 higher.
The MotM against Italy, who completed like 95% of his passes in that game is going to be starting, whether or not Jones is starting beside him.
Do you actually follow the national team?
Boyd’s played 18 minutes for the senior squad while they were in bunker mode and had zero service.
He is one of the youngest players on the senior squad of the best club team in Germany. Who exactly is he gonna bump for playing time (until the team has secured 1st place in the league)? That he’s been elevated from the 2nd team speaks volumes. That he led the 2nd team in scoring says more.
By the way… he put 2 goals in against El Salvador in the only game in which he went the distance during Olympic Qualifying. If Porter didn’t have a love connection going with Bunbury, we might not have lost to Canada, either.
Yeah… Let’s use last year’s form and Villa’s phenomenal ability to create a succesful roster for this season to judge each player’s current form.
As for last year’s form, Jones was such an obvious automatic starter at Schalke that his manager eventually refused to play him before attempting to dump him on a lower tier EPL team. Just look at the difference a year has made.
And Bradley… he clearly didn’t make much of an impression at Aston Villa, but he seems to be in much better form this year with his new team.
Does this mean that one player isn’t clearly better than the other? No, but I don’t know that their recent club history proves it either way. What I do know is that when it comes to their individual performances for the Nats, Bradley has seemed to fit in better with the team.
However, as long as Klinnsman can find a way to get them to play well together, I personally hope to see them both in the starting 11.
“I don’t really see Klinsmann starting Wondo Altidore and Dempsey as the front 3, but it might be effective.”
The biggest problem what that lineup is figuring out who does what since to some extent all three would be competing for the ball and for space, at least if you go by their club roles.
Then again it’s nice problem to have isn’t it?
Gee whiz, GW. Lighten up. I would be interested in knowing what specifically I said that you interpret as “trying to find ways to run down MB”? I am just giving my opinion on the USMNT like others on this board and my opinion is that Jones is ahead of MB on the depth chart. When others give opinions I disagree with, I do not attack the messenger. I am a USMNT fan and I want to see the best team possible. If MB helps make the team better and helps make Jurgen Klinsmann a successful USMNT coach, then I am 100% supportive.
LOL. Is everything ok Ives? You link the same piece twice and you didn’t put a list in the article.
Rasta Kyle, Maurice Edu, and Danny Williams over Jermaine Jones? Riiighhht. You wanna take a bet on that one?
I was mystified that Wondo got only two halves in the friendlies. In that time he did what he does well, he showed for the ball, made decent touches, forced good saves from the keeper. A mater of inches and he would have scored two goals. He continues to be the guy who has scored the most goals over the last 2+ seasons in the MLS. That is something that Gomez could not do, and that Donavon has come close to. Wondo does not have Donavon’s speed, but he is every bit as athletic as Gomez and a lot more consistent. He is not a hold-up player like Altidore strives to be and it is not clear that he would pair effectively with Dempsey in a 2-man front since both play best when paired with a good hold-up front man. I don’t really see Klinsmann starting Wondo Altidore and Dempsey as the front 3, but it might be effective.
Bradley fits better in the current US system than Jones. He’s developed a lot tactically playing at Chievo and his passing has improved significantly. Chievo plays a 4-3-3 similar to the system that Klinsmann wants the US to play in.
Plus, you have to face it, Jones is a much bigger card threat than Bradley and that matters more in international games and competitions, than it does in club play.
That’s why Aston Villa which didn’t play Bradley, is rumored to be after Jones. Sure, whatever you say. Bradley is playing better for a mid-table team now in Serie A for sure, compared to the end of his own Bundesliga and EPL run last year.
But Jones is an automatic starter for a top 4 or 5 Bundesliga squad. In 2 or 3 years there might be a discussion as to who is rated better, right now it’s Jones.
What is the Rush about capping Boyd, does he have another realistic option option
that is what I want to see, Williams-Boca center defense. williams has good distribution from the back and has shown he can hack it in the Bundesliga at center back, that would be awesome to see. Klinsmann seems to be playing him on the right simply because he just wants him on the field. putting him at CB would free up some room for our stacked midfield and he could definitely bring a new dynamic to our defense
“Within the next 12-18 months Williams probably will surpass MB.”
Aren’t you tired of constantly trying to find ways to run down MB? Maybe he’ll get injured soon so you can stop obssessing about him.
Williams and MB are very different and if you pressed JK about it I’m pretty sure he has plans for both.
As for Donovan, he has to be healthy and in form.
If he is neither of those things then he’s not around. If he is, he’s in. JK made that pretty clear.
Wondo is an excellent scorer.
However it is interesting how you and so many others seem to rate forwards simply by the number of goals they score.
Those numbers do not necessarily translate directly to the USMNt and how they are set up.
A striker’s goal scoring exploits have to be put into a context.
Wondo and for example Dempsey, play for teams that have, for some time now , been set up for them to finish off the offensive moves. Fulham and the Quakes have sorted out their attacking schemes and both have discovered that Duece and Wondo are their best terminators.
So they set things up that way.
For a long time the US was set up for Donovan and more recently, Dempsey to be the hit men.
Now that JK is around I don’t think they have settled on a primary terminator yet, if JK will even set it up that way. So guys like Wondo, Gomez and anyone else who gets hot, still need to be worked in, if at all.
JK, who knows more than a little about scoring goals, certainly understands that part of it. It’s a cliche but just because you are a scoring machine for the Quakes or Santos Laguna or whoever, it does not mean you will be able to translate that to the national team. Different players, different schemes, different managers.
There is a lot of history to back me up on that.
How many goals does Wondo have to score to be considered the most “in-form” striker in the pool? The most amazing story in US Soccer is how low people rate a guy whose scoring pace over the last 2 1/2 seasons easily tops everyone else in the pool. Free Wondo!
I really want Zusi. He has been the best midfielder in the MLS thus far, and arguably last season as well. I think if he got his chance in the center, not on the wing, he would be great for us. I’d like to see him, Bradley, and maybe Edu as the midfield trio.(coming from a Houston fan)
BTW …is Shea really an automatic? He didnt show anything at U23. Why do all assume hes going to make the cut here?
Ives, I really hope you’re wrong on many of your projections. This will be the first real test for me to see where Klinsmann is at player selection wise.
I will be disappointed if he resorts to calling in favorites over others that can contribute. He also should not waste a spot on anybody that is/was injured and not 100% in shape.
This roster should be 100% made up of the best, healthiest, players available. Many in your projections do not fit that description for me and for this reason, once we get past the obvious, I will be watching very closely to see what he does.
I went to the web site named above and could not find the post mentioned by Jerome…
In any case, I agree with you. We never know for sure what Klinsmann is going to do, but in my mind, Jones has a lock on the starting Number Six slot. So this whole argument that Klinsmann might choose Beckerman over Jones does not seem to make much sense. Torres also seems to be a sure bet to be a midfielder starter. If that ends up being the case, then Beckerman, rather than competing with Jones for a slot, is going to be competing with Maurice Edu, Danny Williams and Michael Bradley. It could be that Klinsmann shifts Bradley to a wing position. I do think MB is currently better than Williams, but Williams is improving rapidly and is an imposing physical force (like Jones). Within the next 12-18 months Williams probably will surpass MB.
As for Landon Donovan actually playing in WCQ on the UMSNT, I will believe it when I see it. I like the guy and he is one of about three players whose presence on the field can substantially lift the level of the team and I hope the heck he is on the roster. But it seems that something has not been quite right under between him and the USMNT and/or JK and I am not going to be shocked if he is not with the team.
I agree. Beckerman and Wondo are great MLS guys but are not the right fit for international games. Bring in Sapong or a different young guy if it comes down to considering Wondo.
Based on the 4-3-3 line up
Bench:
GK – Guzan
D – Gooch,Dolo
M – Jones, Shea
F – Gomez, Boyd
Called in to camp:
GK – Rimando
D – D Williams
M – Torres
F – Adu (sleeper pick)
Beasley will probably get the nod over Adu. Would be shocked if Beckerman was called in over Jones. Wouldn’t be surprised if one of Ream/Cameron/Whitbread/MOF was called in. There are far too many midfielders for Corona or Diskerud to be called in but if we make it to Brazil, one of them may have snuck in.
Would rather have a healthy Gooch over Goodson but we will be fine either way. We beat Italy will Goodson playing back there.
4-3-3
Johnson——Altidore———Donovan
————-Dempsey————-
———-Edu——–Bradley
Lichaj—–Goodson—–Bocanegra—Chandler
————–Howard—————–
4-4-2
——-Altidore——-Donovan——–
————-Dempsey—————
Johnson——Bradley——–Chandler
Lichaj—–Goodson—–Bocanegra—Dolo
————–Howard—————–
It hasn’t been talked about b/c JK loves the 4-3-3. If we play a 4-4-2 then it is absolutely perfect until father time catches up with the back line. Although I would rather see a healthy Gooch instead of Goodson but that doesn’t seem likely.
What evidence is there to point to the contrary. Wondo is not made for anything but the MLS. Not a chance in the world he should be called up.
While I agree with you about Jozy, I am going to disagree with you about Boyd. Boyd is a monster. His club situation is tricky b/c he is sitting behind a few of the best players in the world. He is going to be great for the nats. Plus we need to cap tie him ASAP.
Torres should only see the field against poor teams. He gets destroyed against solid teams.
My favorite part is how you say Jozy is a waste of space then suggest no replacement for him. Lets run through the list. Agudelo? Getting no play time with his club team. Boyd? absolutely useless in his debut with the nats, cant even sniff first team action for his club. Dempsey? FAAAAAAAAR more effective in a reserved midfield role where he ACTUALLY TOUCHES THE BALL. I dare you to suggest someone better than Jozy at actually holding the ball when he needs to, which is exactly what a lone forward needs to do. Learn to watch the game, please. Fans like you embarrass me.
Let’s see….
Bradley is significantly younger
Not a constant threat to get carded, be it red or yellow.
A equal, if not slightly better player. Don’t be fooled by the fact Jones plays on a better team, using that logic Whitbread should start over Boca. Landon Donovan should never play. Jones should definitely make the 18, maybe even start with Bradley. But come on.
Oh also, if you think MB needs ‘media boys like Ives’ are necessary to make MB seem good, you’re delusional. He’s one of our 5 best players.
good 23, but i would replace:
Hamid for Rimando
Jones for Williams
Diskerud for Boyd
————Altidore————-
—-Dempsey—
Donavon——Bradley——–Shea
Jones
Lichaj—Goodson–Bocanegra—Dolo
————–Howard—————–
im not gonna lie i saw a thread on bigsoccer that someone was saying the same thing about Jones ignorance/ Bradley promotion and then i saw it today for fact on this site and i realized it and just want to say it. LOL. for some reason its funny to me. its like Michael bradley or Bob hired the media or maybe Michael is friends with everybody lol.
No club thinks Bradley is better than Jones except the ussoccer media like our boy Ives who help train people to hype Michael bradley because Bradley and Ives are probably friends lol from the Metro days.
Apparently, you haven’t seen him with Villa this season. He’s a Premier League-standard keeper, and he’s still learning.
Have an agenda much?
Jozy is a waste of space? Have you been watching his season? I really don’t know where some people get their ideas.
Please, please, please no Kyle Beckerman over Jermaine Jones. How could Klinsmann choose an MLS player over a mainstay on a top-tier Bundesliga team? I really hope it doesn’t happen
Someone had to break (Wooten) spades.
MH might have been better than Rimando in like 2006 but you might want to hit fast forward until the DVR catches up to 2012. MH is a clipboard carrier these days who has not looked good when used. I’d take Rimando, Hall, Hamid, or a few others first.
There is no way Jones misses the 18 much less the 23.
Castillo and Orozco getting a second look this soon should trigger an immediate coaching search. Ditto Wondo, though he has been less an embarrassment and more just kind of absent.
I’m not a Guzan fan so I am eager for someone to take the #2 slot.
Beckerman’s supposed favorite status has to be balanced against the Camp Cupcake nature of the callins. Maybe maybe maybe in the 23 but he might not even dress in the 18.
Drafting Wondo in for Gold Cup and relying on him is part of the reason Bob is coaching in Egypt.
He is the Twellman of this era, destined to fight for plenty MLS goals but lacking internationally.
So he should be no more than on the bench for us….
Jozy is a waste of space, Shea LW Donovan RW, Chandler RB, Lichaj LB, Dolo to the retirement home, Gooch no way he’s not been healthy. I don’t expect a ton of turnover in the 11 for qualifiers. Maybe some new guys sneak in as subs.
No way in heck Beckerman over Jones.