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USMNT Daily Update: Who should Klinsmann call in for the qualifiers?

USMNTvsJamaica911 (ISIPhotos.com)

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

The U.S. Men's National Team will convene in Miami on Monday ahead of the crucial pair of World Cup qualifiers against Antigua & Barbuda and Guatemala, and while we aren't going to find out the names of the 23 players Jurgen Klinsmann has selected until Monday, it isn't tough to figure out we'll be seeing many of the same faces.

Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley are expected to be back in the fold for the upcoming qualifiers so the U.S. team will be stronger than the squad that split games against Jamaica last month, but the rest of the team should be pretty much most of the same players.

Among those players is Graham Zusi, who is playing some of the best soccer in MLS at the moment, and who is riding the confidence gained from his outstanding performance against Jamaica last month. Another player enjoying a good run of form is Danny Williams, who is not only a lock to be on the squad, but will seriously challenge 

PROJECTED USMNT WORLD CUP QUALIFYING ROSTER

GOALKEEPERS– Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Sean Johnson

DEFENDERS– Steve Cherundolo, Carlos Bocanegra, Geoff Cameron, Fabian Johnson, Michael Parkhurst, Clarence Goodson, Michael Orozco Fiscal, Edgar Castillo

MIDFIELDERS– Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan, Jermaine Jones, Graham Zusi, Brek Shea, Jose Torres, Danny Williams, Maurice Edu

FORWARDS– Clint Dempsey, Herculez Gomez, Jozy Altidore, Terrence Boyd

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Some thoughts:

If you were hoping to see some new faces, don't hold your breath. It's crunch time in qualifying and just not the time to bring in new faces. Klinsmann hs stated several times that he was unlikely to bring in players he hadn't had in before, so don't expect any surprises on Monday.

The third goalkeeper spot is an interesting one. Do you go with the youngsters in Sean Johnson or the veteran in Nick Rimando. With Real Salt Lake scheduled to play a game the day after the Guatemala qualifier in Kansas City, we see Johnson getting the nod (though you wonder if/when Bill Hamid gets another look).

No surprises among the defenders. Eric Lichaj wasn't a likely option even before his recent benching at Aston Villa, while the same centerback options are expected to return. Folks clamoring for the likes of Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez can think about January call-ups for both of them.

The midfield features three wide options in Donovan, Zusi and Shea, while five central midfield options battle it out for minutes. Kyle Beckerman is left off the list, but with the emergence of Williams, there is less of a need for Beckerman and Klinsmann can allow him to focus on the Real Salt Lake game on Oct. 17th (obviously if the USMNT needed Beckerman to play, he would be missing that RSL match, but since he's unlikely to see the field there is no point bringing him in this time.

The forwards stay the same, though you wonder if Chris Wondolowski gets a look.

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What do you think of the squad? Which players are on the team that you are happy to see on it? Who is missing that you think deserves a place? Think this team is strong enough to secure the necessary results to qualify?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Ireland’s GK is on the downside of his EPL career and France’s GK is just beginning his EPL career. So for Guzan and Friedel, timing is everything.

    I don’t think JK likes alternating keepers so Howard is probably as automatic as it gets but Guzan needs to be playing lights out. Real competition makes Howard play better and he will need to be at his all time best for the US to make noise in the World Cup, assuming we make it.

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  2. Saucedo was born in Mexico City. He is not a US citizen.

    His mother is American citizen but it is not clear if she was a citizen when he was born.

    If he was, then she can file for a green card and that would, as you say, only take a few months but citizenship would then take a further five years.

    If she was not a US citizen at the time of his birth then it gets complicated.

    Any of you who are immigration experts feel free to correct me but that is my understanding.

    The quotes:

    “The possibility of Saucedo suiting up for the Americans stemmed from reports out of Mexico earlier in the week that indicated that the Xolos goalkeeper was lobbying for a spot on the U.S. team, while leaving the issue of his eligibility via citizenship in the air. The process of becoming a citizen would take at least five years, meaning he’d be nearly 36 by the time he’d be able to suit up for the U.S.

    “First, I’d like to clear up that an article was published recently by a newspaper that put words in my mouth that I never said. I’m going to analyze the situation when it becomes a possibility. My mother’s American, I don’t have [citizenship] yet,” Saucedo said….”We’re talking about a hypothetical. I have the chance to play for the United States if I’m a citizen, not if the Mexican national team doesn’t call me up. It’s a complicated issue,” the former Tigres and Indios player noted. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen yet. I would want to do it because of my family, for my child’s education. For that to happen my mother and I have to undergo the process.”

    Although he is three years younger than the United States’ current first-choice goalkeeper, Howard, a mindful Saucedo said he was aware that the legal process behind becoming eligible might take several years.

    “It’s not a process that takes a day. That’s the reality,” he continued. “We’ve looked at ways for us to do this. There are legal questions that need to be answered.”

    Even then, Saucedo would not completely dismiss the chance of suiting up for Mexico’s biggest rival.

    “If, in the future, there is a possibility to play for the United States, we’ll analyze that. I mean, would I love to play in a World Cup? Yes, definitely. But right now, I’m focused on my club,” he said.”.

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  3. I see nothing in the previous two comments that suggest either ignorance or bigotry. Multiple German newspapers have reported that he’s still hoping to catch Low’s eye, he’s clearly used the US as a showcase to the German team (as he’s pulled out of every cap-tying possibility that Klinsi has given him), and he’s really weird looking.

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  4. Great point with regards to crunch time. US definitely needs to secure passage to the next round so experimentation should not be a focus so no sense in naming players fit for january callups. Having said that, I do feel that some of the players that have not seen much playing time such as: Castillo, Goochi man, Beasly, Fiscal, Spector, williams and Corona should be able to iether get a start in one of the games or get meaningfull minutes somewhere. I think that it would be a benifit to be able to have players that have played within JKs tactics/positions.

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  5. I wish I had that hunch. 20 bucks says JK plays Bradley jones and Williams in the midfield, which will stagnate the attack and lead to a lackluster victory in Antigua

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  6. I think Brad Guzan should start a game before the year ends. He is playing well for Aston Villa.
    I aslo think that it is funny that Guzan starts above Ireland’s starting GK and Brad Friedel starts above France’s captain, starting GK.

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  7. —————-Jozy—————–
    ————-Clint——————-
    Donovan——-Bradley———–Zusi
    ————–Williams—————
    Fabian——Boca—Cameron——Dolo
    —————Howard—————

    Want players who can cross. And Why would we break up a very successful partnership between Zusi and Dolo, when both are in top form right now?

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  8. Well then why call in Bradley then as well. he just came off of a thigh tear, adn hasn’t seen the field yet, but might this weekend.

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  9. —————Jozy—————-
    —-Clint——————–LD—-
    ———–JJ———MB/Zusi——
    ————–Williams————-
    –Fabian—Boca—-Cameron—Dolo–
    ————–Howard—————

    Hope MB is fit, if not then Zusi
    Hope JJ is fit, if not then MB there with Zusi right
    And perhaps JJ destroys with MB and Zusi above him, if all fit

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  10. This, except swap Dempsey and Donovan. Donovan gets back on d better and attacks better when he has some space to run at guys. Dempsey can find the game and create from the center.

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  11. If he is on the announced roster for their games, that mean he has accepted. The question is (looks likely) he’ll get a cap in one of their two upcoming games and he’ll be cap-tied to Iceland. He’s as good as gone.

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  12. He came on as a late sub. Not sure he is in any way match fit but I’d like to see him called in even if it’s just as a late sub possibility over another call up for Edu.

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  13. Go with the boys that are in form less Donovan

    ———Jozy———–
    Landy———–Demps—
    ———Zusi———–
    —-Jones—-Williams—
    Johnson————-Dolo
    —-Orozco—Cameron—-
    ——–Who.else——–

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  14. It will be very, very interesting to see whether Clarence Goodson is on the roster with all the confusion about whether or not he really received a yellow card in the September 7 game against Jamaica in Kingston. If the official Concacaf match report, which does not show Goodson getting a yellow card in the September 7 game, is correct, then my guess is we don’t see him next week.

    http://tinyurl.com/9bb2ceu

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  15. I want to see Pointius next week also and I think Klinsmann is finally going to grow some big ones and do it and field a true attacking line-up. Just a hunch I have.

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  16. Not so sure that Jermaine Jones will be fit for a call-up. He missed this week’s Champions League game because of injury. And there are press reports out of Italy today that Michael Bradley’s status for the Atalanta match this weekend is still questionable. And, in any case, he has not played for over a month meaning he cannot be in top form and Klinsmann was quoted today on the the US Soccer web site saying: ”It is really crucial when it gets down to World Cup Qualifiers when you put your roster together that you look at their individual schedule; who is in full swing, who is struggling getting games in, who is spending too much time on the bench. Going into these two decisive games we need to make sure they are all at 100 percent.”

    It would be crazy to put Jones or Bradley on the field in these next two crucial games if they are not 100% fit and I don’t see Klinsmann risking his job doing something that stupid. We cannot afford to sub out a reinjured player in the 20th minute. We have other good defensive midfielders playing regularly and 100% fit.

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  17. Apparently there’s these two guys named Gatt and Diskerud. They’ve never been called in, and no one can even be sure that they even exist. And yet every one of these rumor blogs that SBI starts, people are calling out those two names.

    Meanwhile, there’s this guy named Chandler, doesn’t speak English, has never made a significant contribution to the USMNT, and has made it openly clear to anyone who will listen that he really, really doesn’t want to play for the USA. Nevertheless, SBI commenters keep begging for him like he’s like the second coming of …. who? I don’t know, name me whoever you think is the greatest RB in the history of the game.

    USMNT needs some attacking punch to take pressure off their ever-beleaguered back line. Bring in Altidore, Donovan, Dempsey, Kljestan, Gomez, Wondolowski… anybody that can hold up the ball in the attacking third and shoot.

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  18. I realize it’s qualifying, and it’s not really time to bring in new guys, but who exactly does Chris Pontius have to bone to get called in? What dastardly deed has he done to find himself out in the hinterlands of the MNT picture? I mean, I’m a DC fan, and so I’m excited that he will get to stay with the club team and not risk injury in camp or in a game, but good grief, Klinsi.

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  19. According to Saucedo himself, he can’t become a US citizen in time for the 2014 WC. By the time he is eligible he will be about 34-35.

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  20. Do you ever think Freidel regrets retiring way before the end of his club career?

    I would love to know what goes on in his head when he thinks about those things…

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  21. Really? He might be an interesting player but if I callup a sub, I probably don’t want a player so closely off a muscle pull that he’s not played longer than 12 minutes, where I could throw him out there as a sub, and potentially either need a sub for the sub, or be stuck playing with 10, in qualifying.

    You’re saying in line to start like we could scout that, but the reality is the decisions are probably largely made and we’re monitoring the players for health over the weekend, eg, Gatt last time.

    So, Camp Cupcake maybe.

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  22. Give me a break I had the flu…all of the games have melted together in my mind at this point. But thanks for the correction. Regardless he looked good.

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  23. I think we really need not just a win, but a comanding dominant performance against A&B. Would love to see either:
    ——jozy——
    —-Donovan—
    Dempsey-bradley-zusi
    ——–jones——-
    johnson-boca-cameron-dolo.

    or play brek on the left and move dempsey to the withdrawn
    striker and donovan to the right.

    Gimme goals!!!! Lots of goals!!!!!!

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  24. Agreed…and all of his previous lineups put Williams as a right mid, until last game. So it was nice to hear that he does know where his players would fit best. He just has a lot of central midfielders and not a lot of wingers. At the time he was trying to put his best players out there.

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  25. That’s awesome.

    I think most of us prefer Williams at that #6 and his last showing perhaps proved to JK he’s capable.

    I hadn’t read that interview, so, my second line-up was based on previous placements.

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  26. Id call:
    GKP: Howard, Guzan, Rimando/Johnson
    CB: Boca, Cameron, Goodson, Gonzalez
    FB: Dolo, Castillo, Johnson, Parkhurst
    C-MID: Bradley, Jones, Williams, Corona/Kljestian/Edu
    W-MID: Gaat/Pontius, Shea, Zusi, Donovan
    FWD: Altidore, Dempsey, Gomez, Boyd/EJ

    @ A&B
    ———–Jozy——Dempsey———-
    -Donovan———————–Zusi—
    ————–JJ—Williams————
    -Johnson–Goodson—Cameron–Parkhurst-
    —————-Howard—————–
    subs: Bradley, Shea, Castillo, Guzan, Gomez, Bocanegra

    vs. GUAT
    ———–Jozy—-Dempsey————-
    -Donovan———————Zusi——
    ———–JJ——–Bradley———–
    -Johnson–Boca—–Cameron—Churundolo-
    —————-Howard—————–
    subs: Williams, Shea, Castillo, Guzan, Gomez, Goodson

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  27. that line up will get the job done. however the #17-23 are important because there are 2 games; wins and goal differential is vital!

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