Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By IVES GALARCEP
With a record 12-match winning streak, and a plethora of options to choose from, Jurgen Klinsmann is sitting pretty as he and the U.S. Men’s National Team head into September’s World Cup qualifiers.
Costa Rica and Mexico should both provide stiff tests next month, but given the wave of confidence the U.S. team is riding right now it seems inevitable that the Americans will earn the necessary results to secure a ticket to the 2014 World Cup.
And who will Klinsmann turn to in order to get that job done? He has a multitude of options, and the team’s recent win vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina only gave him more players to consider for the task.
Here are the 24 players we see getting the call for the USMNT World Cup qualifiers in September:
PROJECTED USMNT ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS- Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Nick Rimando
DEFENDERS– Brad Evans, Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez, John Brooks, Clarence Goodson, Geoff Cameron, Fabian Johnson, DaMarcus Beasley
MIDFIELDERS– Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Landon Donovan, Alejandro Bedoya, Joe Corona, Mix Diskerud, Graham Zusi, Kyle Beckerman, Sacha Kljestan
FORWARDS– Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Eddie Johnson, Aron Johannsson
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Some thoughts on the projected roster:
The goalkeepers are set. Not much debating this trio.
Defensively, this group excludes Timmy Chandler, who seems to be persona non grata at this point, as well as Michael Orozco Fiscal, who misses out due to the number of quality centerback options. John Brooks showed well in his USMNT debut against Bosnia & Herzegovina, and should get a call. The real question is whether he is ready to accept it and the potential cap-tying appearance that could come with it.
In midfield, there are no real surprises in this group. Sacha Kljestan misses out, but it wouldn’t really be a shock if he made his way onto the squad ahead of Mix Diskerud, who didn’t exactly shine against Bosnia. Kyle Beckerman and Graham Zusi make their way back to the squad, while Jose Torres falls just short.
Forward is where things could really get tricky. We list five fowards, though both Dempsey and Eddie Johnson can play in midfield roles. The emergence of Aron Johannsson could cause problems for someone like Terrance Boyd, who could wind up being the odd man out of Klinsmann decides to bring an extra central midfielder.
UPDATE– With Terrence Boyd sidelined with a dislocated shoulder, he won’t be back in time for the upcoming qualifiers. We have replaced him with Sacha Kljestan.
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What do you think of the projected squad? Who missed the cut that you feel should be on the team? Who made our projected squad that you are happy to see on the team?
Share your thoughts below.