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Gomez, Wondolowski among second round of call-ups for USMNT camp in Orlando

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photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

U.S. men's national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has added 11 players to the group currently partaking in a camp in Orlando, Fla., and he has summoned a mix of veteran and inexperienced players to round out the roster.

Landon Donovan and Oguchi Onyewu are some of the more seasoned players added by Klinsmann to the 16-man roster he announced earlier this week, while Graham Zusi, Geoff Cameron and Terrence Boyd were among the more inexperienced guys included. Forwards Chris Wondolowski and Herculez Gomez were also summoned by Klinsmann, who will trim the roster on May 25 to 23 players.

Here is the full 27-man roster with the latest additions in bold:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting CP), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland), Clarence Goodson (Brondby IF)

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Jose Torres (Pachuca), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Forwards: Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA), Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund), Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar)

Among the more surprising players not called into camp are Brek Shea, Eric Lichaj, DaMarcus Beasley, Sacha Kljestan and Tim Ream. Klinsmann specifically addressed Shea's absence, saying several factors resulted in the the winger (who has played in every U.S. game since Klinsmann took over as head coach) being left off.

"We have watched Brek during the last few months, and given his performances and some of the other issues we felt he should be on the standby list," Klinsmann told ussoccer.com. "He’s still a young player with a lot of talent, and also a lot to learn."

Klinsmann did bring in six forwards to the roster in Donovan, Boyd, Juan Agudelo, Chris Wondolowski, Jozy Altidore and Herculez Gomez. Agudelo's inclusion may be surprising to some given his recent trade to from the New York Red Bulls to Chivas USA, but Klinsmann touched on Agudelo's current situation.

"We have Juan Agudelo coming in after a difficult first part of the season for him." said Klinsmann. "Not qualifying for the Olympics, struggling with an injury, and now with the trade to Chivas USA that we hope gives him a lift because he couldn’t pass by Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper at the Red Bulls. He has an opportunity now, and we want him to grab it and make clear to everyone that he deserves to be a starter no matter where he plays.”

Agudelo being called into camp means he will miss a chance to take on his former club on Wendesday, when Chivas USA visits Red Bull Arena.

Other MLS players added to the roster include Cameron, Zusi, Wondolowski. Klinsmann was impressed by the former two's performances during January's month-long camp, while Wondolowski's torrid scoring pace was part of the reason he was included.

"Graham Zusi left a very strong impression in the January camp," said Klinsmann. "Geoff Cameron is a guy that is really knocking at the door, with a very strong January camp but also very strong performances for Houston. You have Chris Wondolowski who is scoring and scoring. This is what he loves to do and his attitude and his spirit is just great for a team to have."

Klinsmann will cut four guys before the Americans play in their first friendly this summer against Scotland at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. on May 26. The U.S. head coach admits that part of the process is not fun, but necessary.

"There is the displeasure obviously of having to tell players that it was great to bring them and they brought everything to the table that they could, but now we have to choose the final 23 for the games," said Klinsmann. "Those are very honest and straight forward discussions. Still, it’s important for the guys that don’t make the cut that they still feel a part of this process. They are knocking at the door to become part of the roster.

"Similar things will happen two years down the road. You start with a bigger group and step by step you cut it down, and basically on the last day you have to name the final 23. Now we have the advantage going into these four weeks that even if a player doesn’t make the cut, he’s still on the standby list in case something happens."

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What do you think of the roster? Surprised by anyone's inclusion or omission? Which four players do you see getting cut from the final roster?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. You are right Josh but to be fair Klinsmann has spent a lot more time with Agudelo.

    Actually he hasn’t spent any time with Lichaj.

    So if he cuts Juan a little slack I’ll give him a pass though I think he should not have called him up.

    While I think Lichaj will be a fine USMNT player, it’s clear to me Agudelo has much more upside, especially in the long haul.

    Marauding fullback or goal scoring attacker? That’s easy.

    And Klinsmann was a striker after all so it’s understandable that he seems to view Juan as some sort of pet project.

    I just hope Juan does not turn out to be a bust.

    Isn’t it amazing how all of a sudden the forward positions could be ( emphasis on COULD BE) overcrowded in a year or two?

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  2. No.

    Villa spent at least the latter half of the season very much more defensively oriented than Newcastle or Fulham. Hangeland or Fabricio Coloccini are fine defenders but they are also proven regulars over the length of the season.

    In comparison, Lichaj is just returning from a major injury, apparently got in because of someone else’s injury and only played a handful (about 10?) of games. And Villa did not look great in those games but just managed to do enough to stay up.

    The fact that he played at all is better than sitting but did he keep playing because the alternatives were worse? Sometimes, especially in a relegation battle, if the unit is working well enough together, you don’t fix what ain’t broke. Or did he come in and lead a demoralized Villa team to safety by force of his world class play?

    If he had played an entire season all the variables that you use to rate a player even out over time and give a better picture of what kind of player Lichaj really is.

    I did not see him play in those games but his exclusion tells me the USMNT staff who monitored him (while I did not) were not sufficiently impressed with whatever he did.

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  3. Kaiser,

    You are being very unkind to matt. Don’t you realize bullying is uncool these days?

    I admit I have never heard that train bit, which makes very little sense since if matt had no brains he would not have the wherewithal to refuse the brains on those grounds.

    Given the state of the rail industry in this country such a refusal might not have been such a bad idea

    Yes, Boyd has really only played for the Dortmund reserve team. However, his manager, the highly rated Klopp, speaks very well of him, Dortmund has a great reputation for developing youngsters, and Boyd has spent more time in the US setup so JK and his staff have had a closer, more in depth look at him than Wooten. More to the point, Boyd seems to have done very well for the US. So for a variety of reasons, the US has already invested quite a bit of time, effort and energy in Boyd. I’m sure Wooten will get his chance if he continues to play well but right now in terms of the USMNT, Boyd is ahead of him.

    I would not have capped either Wooten or Boyd ( or Agudelo for that matter) until they established themselves with their respective first teams but it seems beggars cannot be choosers and the key thing is that both Boyd and Wooten are playing regularly, even if it is in less competitive circumstances than would be ideal. Most of all Klinsmann seems to really like what the Euro’s call Boyd’s “mentality”.

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  4. It is unfortunate, beachbum, that you feel the need to resort to ” because I said so ” answers when someone questions your points of view.

    I’m not defending Klinsmann; why would I ?

    Tell you what I’ll throw you a crumb. I don’t think JK should have called up Agudelo and I would not have been against him leaving out Donovan just to make a point (Donovan is not playing well). However, apparently Donovan and JK are fairly close and leaving Landon off the roster as a motivational tool is probably unnecessary, given their alleged relationship.

    You see, beachbum, this is more about questioning your illogical claim that the exclusion of Sacha from this camp roster is unjustified or some sort of heinous crime.

    Your claim makes no sense. The exclusion is really not a big deal.

    In fact, you should be glad that the USMNT is to the point it can afford to exclude a player as good as him though I doubt you will find much support for the idea that Sacha is vital to the US WC qualifying campaign.

    Not only that guys like you ( in the sense that you are illogical) about two-three years ago wanted Bradley fired for being so supportive of Sacha ( one of Bradley’s “boys”) and were screaming that he should be banned from ever wearing the US shirt again. Maybe you forget that Sacha, along with Conor Casey, used to be just one level behind Bornstein and Rico as the USMNT whipping boys. So forgive me if I don’t jump right on your pitchfork and torch wielding bandwagon demanding justice for Sacha.

    Go back to the Italy game.
    When Italy was piling all that pressure on the US defense more often than not the US defenders would clear the ball to Williams and he held onto it long enough to relieve pressure on the defense. This beats just clearing up field and then having the ball come right back. Also, JK knew very well that Italy was going to come at us and Williams was there to help insure the midfield did not get too overrun. The US won the game so the strategy proved sound.

    At the moment, Williams seems to be JK’s Swiss army knife largely because he is a versatile, fundamentally sound player. I would not have a problem with Sacha being included in this mix but I see no reason to think he can do anything so much better than any of the others that his inclusion is mandatory. My guess is he will have to keep up his level of play and either wait for injuries or move to a bigger club and maintain his consistency.

    And if you want to pull out that line about his great year for Anderlecht, well that just raises the bar for everyone else doesn’t it? JK is making a point with a player he probably wouldn’t use anyway to make a point about ruthlessness. And it seems to be working.

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  5. a ‘Certain number’ of national team call ups? no if foreign managers rate him then they will bid for him.

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  6. “Klinsmann has made it clear that if you want “a look” you have to excel at the club level before he calls you in”

    Yeah… sort of. He has certainly said that. But that really cannot be said about Juan Agudelo. (Who I am glad to see called). But certainly that rule of his can bend. Not arguing for Lichaj’s call up, just pointing out that JK is willing to bend that rule for those players he really believes in. Which sort of says something…

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  7. Adu has been raising the bar and producing for USMNT and the U23s. Wondo wishes they’d just raise the bar.

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  8. Interesting stuff for sure. I still think Lichaj should have been included in the initial camp, along with Beasley. I’m willing to bet there is a reason Lichaj was left out (other than JK not rating him). Beasley on the other hand, I can’t tell. JK has mentioned him as a player doing well but then doesn’t call him. Kind of strange. As for Kjlestan, I still think he deserves to be here but it is what it is, he was nothing more than a depth option anyway.

    Love seeing Gooch back! If cuts were today, I would say Beckerman, Zusi, Agudelo and Wondo/Gomez. I like Beckerman, but with the depth at CM, he loses out. Zusi is a solid player, but I don’t think he will stay with the team for qualifying. Our other midfield options are better. Agudelo likely wasn’t brought in as a serious option to stay with the team, so I doubt he does. And given we have 7 forwards right now, I think we can assume two will get bounced. And the second will be Wondo or Gomez. 50/50 for me.

    Looking forward to watching Castillo to see if he can carry over his club form. Hoping Morales, Corona and Boyd are all cap tied too. I think the A&B game will be the one we could see them capped tied.

    One thing is for certain, Jozy is obviously going to be in the 23 since he arrives on the 28th.

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  9. the obvious answer is we won’t play a formation with a ton of midfield width. in a 4-4-2 he’ll likely play a box midfield as opposed to playing it with “wingers”. if we play a 4-3-3, then we have forwards who can play out wide and there will be three central mids.

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  10. I think Castillo fully deserves to be not only in the 29 (well, 27) camp, but also the 23. as fans, we cannot just give up on a player if they have a few bad appearances. Castillo did not play great the past few times, but he was also hardly playing with his club. now he has had a fantastic season and is probably very confident. my guess is he’ll show better.

    as for the other three, i am fine with Parkhurst and Beckerman making the 29 (27) camp. Agudelo i would have left off in place of someone like Beasley or Lichaj though. i like Juan but I’m not sure so sure he deserves to even be in the camp.

    in the end, i think Castillo should be the only one to make it. it’ll be interesting to see what happens.

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  11. dude, ok, you’re just annoying now. you have literally posted on EVERY SINGLE post about people being surprised Lichaj was not called in. WE GET YOUR POINT. now LISTEN to the other points being made for while he deserves to be in the 29. especially when there are TWO SPOTS left without any word on why he was left off.

    no, cameron has been decent with houston, not great. but he’s still a good depth option. at 26/27, he’ll be nothing more than that in the long term. which is why i said im fine with him getting a call up. parkhurst has been good for his club, yes. just because i think Lichaj should be there does NOT mean i think they shouldn’t.

    and why would you be surprised to see him play again? he got good reviews once again when asked to cover for an injured player. AV needs to change something and unless you know something we all don’t, Lichaj could be a change they make.

    also, AV did not leak goals. the ended with 53 goals against, which is middle of the pack (7 other clubs had worse or the same GA). AV’s problem was scoring.

    lastly, i find it funny you say chris was taking it personal. you have made it point to say the same thing on just about every post mentioning Lichaj. THAT seems like someone taking it personal.

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  12. I wonder if Parkhurst would have won that award if he hadn’t been manning a 3-man back line. The guys is genetically suited for it. Props to him for succeeding on a 4-man line. Took awhile though.

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