By IVES GALARCEP
The month of December was a slow one on the U.S. Men’s National Team player depth chart front, with MLS winding to a close, and a lower number of Americans enjoying regular success overseas, but what the month has done is give us some time to reflect on how the U.S. team will shape up in the Gold Cup.
Terrence Boyd’s torn ACL did offer a shake-up at the forward position, and throws a bit more uncertainty into the forward picture.
The battle in midfield is shaping up to be a good one, both centrally and on the wings. With Brek Shea returning to MLS, and players like Teal Bunbury and Joe Corona also in the mix, the midfield picture may not really come into focus until the late spring.
As we get to the end of the year, here is a look at the latest SBI 23 for 2015:
Projected USMNT Gold Cup Roster (December 2014 Edition)
(New additions in BOLD)
GOALKEEPERS
Brad Guzan, Nick Rimando, Bill Hamid
Outlook- Guzan’s hold on the top spot only grows stronger, and not much else has changed among the cast of MLS contenders chasing him.
Missed the Cut– Sean Johnson, Steve Clark, Cody Cropper
——————
DEFENDERS
Jermaine Jones, Greg Garza, Fabian Johnson, Matt Besler, John Brooks, Omar Gonzalez, DeAndre Yedlin, Timmy Chandler.
Outlook-No budging in this group, though the situations surrounding some players will require close monitoring in the coming months. Yedlin’s move to Tottenham is now complete and his role on the Gold Cup team could be determined by just how much playing time he can garner with Spurs. Then you have Fabian Johnson, who has been struggling for minutes since making the move to Borussia Moenchengladbach.
DaMarcus Beasley’s national team retirement clears things up a bit at left back, with Garza remaining the frontrunner and someone like Robbie Rogers gaining momentum. Brooks has solidified his place with a strong run of performances since regaining a starting role with Hertha Berlin.
Missed the Cut– Tim Ream, Matt Hedges, Michael Orozco, Robbie Rogers, Chris Schuler, Eric Lichaj, A.J. Soares.
——————–
MIDFIELDERS
Michael Bradley, Alejandro Bedoya, Mix Diskerud, Kyle Beckerman, Lee Nguyen, Geoff Cameron, Graham Zusi, Julian Green.
Outlook– Klinsmann will have some interesting decisions to make as he finds himself with a wealth of options in midfield. That isn’t to say the pool is stacked with can’t-miss types, but rather that there are several candidates comparably rated vying for a handful of midfield slots.
Right now we’ll slot in Zusi and Green, even though Green is struggling for minutes on loan at Hamburg and Zusi had his share of struggles after the World Cup. They won’t hold on to those slots though unless they show something in the first half of 2015, and players like Joe Gyau and Harrison Shipp could break though.
Another wing option to consider is Brek Shea, who has secured a return to MLS, and some regular playing time that could see him climb back into Klinsmann’s good graces.
In central midfield, Joe Corona remains on the outside looking in as he recovers from the foot injury that cut short his 2014. His versatility in midfield can push him right back into the 23 if he regains his regular role at Club Tijuana.
Missed the Cut– Alfredo Morales, Joe Corona, Wil Trapp, Danny Williams, Joe Gyau, Perry Kitchen, Harrison Shipp, Luis Gil, Miguel Ibarra, Brek Shea, Teal Bunbury.
——————
FORWARDS
Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Aron Johannsson, Rubio Rubin.
Outlook- Terrence Boyd’s torn ACL essentially rules him out of the Gold Cup, leaving a precious vacancy at the forward position. Rubin may be the youngest forward in the mix, but he has enjoyed success with Dutch side FC Utrecht and we can see Klinsmann wanting to give the young forward as much high-level experience as possible.
Rubin will have some competition for that spot. LA Galaxy striker Gyasi Zardes is coming off an outstanding season and has a very good shot at playing himself onto the Gold Cup team if he can follow up his outstanding 2014 season with another
Missed the Cut– Gyasi Zardes, Chris Wondolowski, Bobby Wood, Jordan Morris, Charlie Davies, Andrew Wooten.
—–
What do you think of this group of 23 players? Who are you happy to see included in the squad? Who is missing that you feel should have made the cut?
Share your thoughts below.
Ibarra has the stats and skills to make the squad. He did so for three friendlies.
I’m not making stuff up. oh boy,
I missed a PK. wow. Jozy is so out of form it’s just a terrible dicision not to give someone like Zardis a chance ahead of him. JK has done everything to help him, even names him captain. But over a year of bad form is enough. I dont care if he had even two or three goals-give me a break. Other players deserve a chance.
This
when you base your argument on some “He doesn’t score!” fallacy–conveniently ignoring the fact that not only has he scored, but that he’s been our top scorer for the last two years–you do a disservice to any valid points you might have made (e.g. other players should get a look).
Since he is the only one that ever gets to play forward (unless hes hurt) and we have a hard time scoring at all when he’s playing… being the team’s top scorer is a rather meaningless title.
I think that those of us that are tired of his game and the excuses his fans make for him when he produces nothing, want to see if someone else might not do better. Unfortunately JK doesn’t look like he’s ever going to let that happen. For what ever reason, he think’s No Score Altidore is some kind of answer. He really should be exploring other options at this point
well, i was going to write a thoughtful response, but, seeing that you’re *still* sticking to this “No Score Altidore” bit, i’m guessing it would fall on deaf ears.
+17
I’m surprised nobody’s discussed any “sleeper” picks. One to consider is Ventura Alvarado, CB for Club America. Playing for the Liga MX champ is nothing to sneeze at. I’d like to see if this guy has any shot of playing for us in the future.
I thought he played RB.
That’s a pretty safe prediction. Not really going out on any limbs there.
I think Klinsmann will take who he wants to take regardless of club form.
Some people might not agree with me, but I think Bill Hamid should be our starter from here on out. I think Howard might be done. And either way, we should prepare like Howard is done. That means Guzan vs. Hamid. To me they are about equal, except Hamid’s raw physicality I believe gives him the edge and more upside. Hamid had an unbelievable year this year and was a big reason why DC United had a historic year in going from historic worst to first. Hamid rightfully won MLS Keeper of the year. I think Hamid could be the starter at the next World Cup in Russia. All he needs now is the international game experience. He can get that in the next three years…
As a RSL fan, I am pleading for Klinnsman to leave Beckerman and Rimando home. Both can give way to younger players who can benefit from the experience (which in Rimando’s case is sitting on the sidelines watching Guzan), and RSL can avoid the two or three inevitable losses that will occur while they are gone for the third year running. With Wingert, Borchers and Salcedo moving on, RSL doesn’t have the depth to cover up for our best players missing games.
Our main problem is holding the ball & keep it.
Torres & Bradley as our main CM, and Bedoya as main #10 or interchange with Torres. I prefer Jones back in DM but as sub role. I was impress with Gyan, hopefully get fit soon, so Gyan be our left-winger, and I prefer Yedellin on right-wing, Yedellin is our best ball crosses with good pace and dribbling, instead wasting Yedellin as rightback.
Gyasi Zardes might choose Ghana’s national team so his inclusion is optimistic at best.
Jozy Altidore needs to be anywhere but at Sunderland and will surely move in January.
Geoff Cameron is still playing defense at Stoke while Jermaine Jones played in midfield for
the Revs. Will JK still play them out of position as he does with other players?
Julian Green and Fabian Johnson are both getting little or no playing time with their BL clubs,
so are in a similar bad situation to Altidore in the EPL. Maybe they will also move.
With Klinsmann’s attitude to MLS, let’s hope our yanks abroad show well in 2015.
Unfortunately I don’t see Altodore or Green doing any better next season. If Green can’t get playing time for a relegation bound team then you can’t expect him to move to a better side. As far as Altidore, most teams aren’t looking for a stationary forward that can’t score sitters.
Not that they have anything to worry about, their place in the NT is pretty much locked in. Short of breaking both legs those two will be called to the national team regardless of playing time.
It is actually harder to get playing for a new comer on a relegation team, they are in a dogfight to survive, they don’t have the time to train newbies. They want players that can produce right away.
If he thinks he can fit in Zardes should seriously consider playing for Ghana.
They are a team in transition and if he can break through and earn a regular spot then he will raise his profile for the big money Euro teams even more. It would be a very smart business move.
“With Klinsmann’s attitude to MLS, let’s hope our yanks abroad show well in 2015”
What attitude? How many MLS players did he take to Brazil? 9 or 10 more than anyone else previously had?
the attitude he reminds us all about plenty often GW, come on man. He took MLS guys, yes ‘the sky is blue’, and then let us all know it’s a main reason we only got so far. you don’t recall these things?
So you don’t think there is a higher level of play than MLS?
And you don’t think actually trusting 10 MLS guys by actually taking them to the World Cup means more than anything JK has actualy said?
I was under the impression that Zardes’ parents are from Brazil.
I don’t know where Zardes’ parent’s are from but wherever they are from he is eiigible to play for Ghana.
Avram Grant, former Chelsea manager and the new manager of Ghana has expressed an interest in Zardes.
Zardes parents won an updated version of the Freddy Adu lottery, entitling them to emigrate from the US to a more economically viable country of their choosing.
Aren’t you thinking of Kofi Opare?
Zardes has a Swahili first name, but Zardes comes from his Brazilian great grandfather, who emigrated to the USA from Brazil. I would be surprised if his great grandfather went to Ghana to raise his family, or why the grandson of a US citizen would have to win a lottery to come to America.
I do know Kofi Opare’s parents moved from Ghana to South Africa and then to Canada and eventually into the USA.
” I would be surprised if his great grandfather went to Ghana to raise his family,”
Why is that surprising?
cameron’s been playing mid at stoke.
His most recent game he was listed at right back.
ah, didn’t see that one. before that game, he’d been consistently playing in midfield.
Where do people here these things?
There were some rumors Ghana’s manager went to speak with him. However he grew up in LA and as long as he’s called into the January camp and given a shot I doubt there’s an issue.
The internet
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/SportsArchive/artikel.php?ID=339248
That’s extremely dubious. Zardes’s great grandfather was Brazilian and emigrated to the USA. He’s have to have a link to Ghana somehow, but his parents aren’t Ghanaian.
The article, which has been reprised at GOAL.com, does not go into great detail on Zardes’ family history but he would need a Ghanaian grandparent, or parent to be eligible for Ghana.
Therefore having a Brazilian great grandparent does not, by itself, eliminate him from possibly having Ghanaian eligibility.
Odds are he would want to play for the US but if I were him and the Grant really is interested in him, then checking out his options would seem like a smart thing to do.
over one year and Jozy still hasn’t scored a goal yet he’s our best striker? bs. it’s time to give our younger strikers a chance. let Jozy find his form then bring him back – until then no thanks.
he scored just a month ago, and has scored in 2 of our last 3 games. it never ceases to amaze how people just make up stuff.
Are you counting the penalty he took? Lol
Last time I checked PKs count 1 just like the most beautiful goal from the run of play.
yep, me and the rest of the world. keep fighting the good fight, though.
He drawn his fair share of PK s but has not taken them so itsotra evens out
It astounds ne how ignorant people are . Rubin is an excellent player but more of a 10 and raw. He plays well with Jozy who needs a interactino 10/attacking midfielder to be at his best. Jozy us not great , but he he just turned 25 a month ago. He is better than all the your forwards in the squad because WE DON’T HAVE great forwards. People keep talking about Johansson, but Jozy accomplished more and was more prolific at younger age on the same team. Johansson is roughly 6 months younger than Jozy. Hell Shea is 3 months younger. Jozy landed in bad situation and did not extricate himself over the summer (but should have), and his confidence is shot. He is not a hold up, back to the goal forward like McBride.
I like Mcbride, but he was not a prolific scorer in the EPL as well. He scored like 6/7 goals in the league a season and did not arrive until his 30’s.
McBride was competing in EPL, which is a lot tougher than Eredivisie, and did have a 12 goal season, leading his team for the campaign.
When Jozy puts on the the USMNT uniform, he scores, he occupies defenders, and he provides assists to his teammates. End of discussion, until someone better comes along.
He will never be a BPL scorer like McBride or Dempsey…or even Joe Max Moore. Oh well. He’ll find a different club/league and do just fine.
He and Freddy should market themselves as a package deal. Both haven’t had a good gig in a long time. Kind of a 2 for 1 deal or something lol
Order now and receive this complimentary Juan Agudelo as our gift to you!*
*Work Permit Not Included
Funny thing is Juan Agudelo is good enough to be in the mix, maybe our best forward, but JK will not give him a call
Give him a call? Does he even own a phone at this point?
No way on earth the guy is close to match-fit, let alone our best forward. Potential doesn’t realize itself, and he really has not played many matches in his entire professional career for a guy his age.
I’m all in favor of bringing Juan back into the fold one day but he has to iron his career out, and it has turned into a serious salvage project. He could be a painter now for all we know.
Brek Shea is a painter
Kind of hard to have someone else better come along when Altidore always starts for the USMNT. It’s time to give ArJo and Zardes minutes.
ANYBODY else. Altidore has had his chance and done very little with it. Too slow, too little skill and a giant lack of cojones when it comes to going 1v1 and trying to score
when arewe going to rid our selfs of altidore. Rubio, AJ and dempsey are better Zardes maybe
it’s so funny to hear the hyperbole of people like this guy. “rid ourselves”??? why should Jozy be banished? top 5 US scorer (76 caps, 25 goals; that’s about 1 goal every 3 games. not a bad strike rate) he’s only 24. should he be “locked in” to a starting spot, perhaps not but he’s not less than our second best striker (not including Dempsey). So perhaps we start dempsey and rotate AJ, Rubin and Jozy depending on matchup, i could live with that. But the idea of ridding ourselves of him is extremely silly.
Shawn, you’re just, plain wrong. Altidore is still our best forward and it’s not even that close. If AJ keeps developing rapidly he may come to rival Jozy soon but he can’t do the hold up work that you’d like to have at that spot that Jozy gives you. Not yet anyway.
Who I’d really be watching for is Rubin. When AZ and Utrecht played each other, I thought Rubin was clearly the better player on the field and he’s 6 years younger. How Rubin drops into the midfield and can create, I see as being more useful to the US anyway.
“How Rubin drops into the midfield and can create, I see as being more useful to the US anyway.”
What proof do you have that Rubin can do that at the international level?
Yes he looks good in Holland but how tough can that league be? Jozy was a f++king star in the same league for two seasons.
I didn’t say Rubin should be starting over Altidore. My point was if were looking at a player to “keep developing rapidly” I see far up side in Rubin then Johannsson. AJ’s not much younger then Altidore while Rubin is only 18.
The USMNT will not develop Rubin.
That will happen , or it won’t, at the club level. The USMNT will hope to take advantage of what advances Rubin may or may not make in his game.
Players spend far too little time with a national team, any national team , to develop there.
+1
All I said was if you’e looking at the up side in a player I think Rubin has more potential then Johannsson. That’s really just in the long run. Hopefully both play a role in the Gold Cup.
GW, your defense of Jozy is bringing up his past record for a present form. RR doesn’t have the record to talk about so bring that up is a mute point. I would like to talk about them both playing against a tough international foe like in the Colombia game. There you have a better gauge for reference. Was RR better than JA in that game? to me he was but not by much but then, of course they didn’t play the same position.
it’s “moot” not “mute” …… wow……
I thought it didn’t look right, thanks for bringing it up.
Mr.Z.,
“GW, your defense of Jozy is bringing up his past record for a present form. “
Jozy does not need defending from me, his record speaks for itself. As for form, are you talking present form for the US or present form for Sunderland? Don’t confuse the two.
Jozy with the US not Sunderland:
2013 14 games 8 goals
2014 10 games 4 goals
4 of those goals were in WC qualifiers
While his situation at Sunderland is less than optimal, other than Dempsey, who else will you get to score important goals for the USMNT?
Rubin has played how many games for the US? How many goals has he scored for the US?
I love Rubin and he has great potential but we have all seen this many, many times before where you get this massive overhyping based on very little data. Rubio R’s resume consists of 10 games and 2 goals for Utrecht and 2 games for the senior USMNT.
In general that is just SOP but no sane manager would be discarding Jozy anytime soon and be counting on Rubin to replace him, especially when they don’t play the same position.
I like RR a lot but, building on GW’s reasoning, we don’t even know if he can score goals yet. Jozy had a 30+ season in Holland, AJ had a 20+ season, RR has, what? One or two? we aren’t even sure he is a striker, are we?
I think all 3 will have a role in the Gold Cup, and hopefully Jozy gets a move and starts knocking them in soon. All I was really saying is at 18 I think Rubin has the higher ceiling. Doesn’t mean he needs to be a starter, I just think he’s the one to keep an eye on.
He has 2 goals, and 5 assists so far this season.
Jack,
The US is very obviously keeping an eye on Rubin.
Or did you think his recent caps were an accident? Or that somebody made a mistake and that JK meant to call in Robbie Rogers when he asked for RR and got Rubio instead?.
I do not think Jozy is our best option AND he has had plenty of chances to produce something but rarely does. The minute someone suggests he sit, his defenders come out and start with the bullsh*t stats about him being our best forward. It’s crap. We cannot ever move to a higher level as long as he is starting and I for one, want to see JK try someone else. Hopefully someone that actually can score
Who then?
Hashis club form been poor? Of coarse but ignore the fact he’s playing at a higher level then everyone else is also pretty silly. Even more so when the national team’s manager message is to push yourself to that highest level.
If you then turn around and punish the player trying it and reward a player not even doing as much as you once did at a lower level it could damage Klinsmann’s message as a whole. So until some is scoring in a top 4 league on the regular Jozy is probably our starter.
Does anybody even know what Klinsmann’s message is anymore? I’m thinking that he says anything that sounds good at the moment and has many, many different messages. Bottom line is … there is no message and he makes a different case for different players.
There’s the “getting playing time for the club and in form message.” Then he will bring in Green who is on a downward spiral and not playing at each lower level. He’ll get called in Jan, I guess Altidore is in that camp too though he does play a little. There’s the challenge yourself by playing at a higher level message. Then he shuns players that try that but can’t get minutes.
I don’t think Klinsmann is a good fit for US Soccer. He is too Euro biased and does not believe in American’s ability to play at the International level. He keeps packing the team with players that are technically eligible to play for the US but have little if any connection to this country. I for one have had enough of that and want a coach that is willing to develop American players to play an American brand of soccer. That guy is not Klinsmann
Yes, and it’s not complicated. He wants our key players, in their prime, battling in Europe…ideally a CL club. As with any coach in any sport, there will be some contradictions for key players like Jozy. Only in fantasy land do we have a better striker. Is that sad? Yes. But it’s the reality. Personally, JK does things that bug me (I.e bringing Wondo over LD) but he’s exactly what our program needed. And your idea that JK is developing players is not fair. They do that at their clubs and if they perform well enough, and fit the system, they will likely get called up.
Also, Green won’t be in the January camp given he plays in Europe.
Is Jurgen wants a player who is competing in UCL, why did he only give Sacha one cap in 2014?
Steve,
UCL competition is just one part of the equation.
One of the other parts is you have to be a better player and fit the system better than whoever you are competing against.
Sacha is not better than Mikey and JJ who were his main competition .
Also Sacha is playing a lot recently but, overall he has not had a good 2014.
i think GW summed it up well, but i think i addressed this when i said:
“As with any coach in any sport, there will be some contradictions.”
even though Sasha was playing for a UCL team (not consistently) he played a position with demonstratively better players. Specifically, Jones and Bradley as well as Beckerman even.
“He is too euro biased.” Demonstrably false. Brad Davis ffs.
“Little if any connection to this country.” Wildly speculative.
Has his*
I think Ream as LB depth and Gyau make the cut.
Ream can’t play the type of left back that Klinsmann wants. In his system, while in possession the defensive midfielder drops in while the outside backs push up to almost create a 3-4-3, and for that to work the outside backs need to be very good going forward. If Ream does play, it will be as a center back.
Yeah, more wishful thinking on my part. I like Garza a lot, but we’re thin on natural lefties at LB. If Garza is out or injured, I’d rather see JK give Ream a chance to put that accurate left boot to work overlapping and putting crosses in than plugging Chandler or some other natural righty in at LB. It also might be interesting to see Ream at Dmid.
Mr Spector NB4
What you are describing is a left footed Parkhurst. And here I thought everyone on SBI despised Parkhurst.
Aw c’mon G, Ream’s passing/crossing accuracy has to be a step up over Parkhurst at a minimum…he might even be half way to Eddie Lewis..haha.
Just to be clear, I happen to like Parkhurst and no one in the current pool is close to the “American Beckham” as Eddie was once called, when it comes to dead ball skills.
I haven’t seen Ream play very much since he went to Bolton.
But I am assuming the USMNT scouts ( or whoever they have do this in England ) have kept an eye on the man and would not recommend him for call up if he was going to be the next Ramiro Corrales.
Every time Brek Shea is mentioned as a candidate for the USMNT, someone kills a puppy. Please, make it stop!
Adopt a puppy and take at least one death off of your conscience.
If Shea gets back to his best, and I see no reason why he can’t, he will be mentioned as a candidate for the USMNT and your curse on puppies will come true.
So instead of crying about it, step away from your keyboard, take some positive action
“Brek Shea at his best”…hahahaha, that’s a good one. At the international level, he’s never going to be better than a 10 minute super sub vs. CONCACAF minnows.
“At the international level, he’s never going to be better than a 10 minute super sub vs. CONCACAF minnows.”
Maybe, but if he gets to do that at all then he has a platform to go on to bigger things. And I would not call Mexico a minnow.
He had a good 15 min in a meaningless friendly against Mexico what seems like many years ago. Shea is constantly given “platforms” by JK and has failed to produce while failing to succeed in The Championship. Most of his performances in the last Gold Cup were nightmares. Shea has tremendous potential, but he hasn’t done anything with it.
Personally, I’d rather see Castillo at left midfield which is his natural position. No player in our pool can beat a defender off the dribble the way he can. I don’t understand why coaches keep playing him as a defender.
Mr. Josh,
There is no such thing as a meaningless friendly.
I’m not sure why you want to compare Edgar to Shea.
They are similar in that I have seen both have a number of putrid performances for the USMNT.
The difference is that at his best Shea is big, strong and fast, a loose cannon wrecking ball type that defenders hate and can score a goal every once in a while. He has been one of the few US players I have seen attack a defense directly.
Edgar might be great beating guys one on one but his “final ball” after he beats everyone is not usually very good. And he could not hit the side of a barn with his shot. If he ever got those two aspects of his game working he’d be a poor man’s Di Maria. As it is he does a lot of work that often amounts to nothing.
I like both but if you could only have one back in form for the US I’d take Shea.
The likely truth is that both have a lot of obstacles to overcome before they get back to serious consideration not the least of which is the emergence of of serious competition in the form of of guys like Gyau, Green or even Zardes and Bunbury who have performed credibly on the wing.
Brad Davis went to a World Cup, this is just the situation we are in.
I still can’t believe he went. Im not really trying to say “oh LD is the greatest” etc but people complained about Green “taking LD’s spot in Brazil” but really id say we would have been better off without Brad Davis (and of course Wondo….)
In theory, Wondo took LD’s spot.
Green and Davis were listed as midfielders and Wondo listed as a forward which is what LD was listed as.
I am not wild about the Davis selection, either, but the post-mortem of his performance at the World Cup has mushroomed into a tale of legendary, over-the-top ineptitude … It wasn’t a very good showing but it scarcely qualified as a cameo and it was not like he was dropped into a particularly attractive set of circumstances.
The guy played 45 minutes in a single group-stage game against the best team at the tournament, on a nightmarishly waterlogged pitch that continued to degrade from the massive storm that had arrived in the days before the match.. Davis was one of many players on both teams who struggled to control the ball and play consistently accurate passes, and the result was an ugly affair that ultimately benefitted both teams pragmatically but otherwise set humanity back at least a century. Tough to shine in that sort of game, not that Davis did.
But really… Davis didn’t take LD’s spot…. Nor did Green. Like a number of other WC first-timers, these guys were given jobs in the mail room and a couple of situational opportunities to contribute something while providing cover for Bedoya and Zusi (the actual guys who displaced Donovan).
Blaming role-players and backups ignores the real problem…. he shouldn’t even be competing with these kinds of players for bit-part jobs in the first place. Expensive vacation
What? 2014 World Cup starter Brad Davis did not even make the “missed the cut” list? How can that be? That no talent ass clown has been the biggest detriment to our national team in recent memory. Do us all a favor and retire dumbo.
….” Say BW as he sits on his couch, second bag of potato chips lying dead by his side, he go on to shout “mommy, please go check the mail box for my welfare check, it is due today I think”.
The US needs to schedule more “meaningless friendlies” because unlike most other countries with a halfway decent team our players are scattered all over the place and it is hard to make an apples to apples comparison. JK needs to see them playing on the same field.
But other than during January, there isn’t really time to schedule these if they aren’t on FIFA dates. We can get MLS players together, but that’s it…
JK needs a top 1st team coach to help with these selections. I know what mine are.
Do You?
I hope Josh Gatt and Stuart Holden make come backs.
Stuart Holden is 29 going on 30 with two bum knees. He isn’t going to make a comeback.
Cmon no gyasi zardes it would be a better team
Im sorry. But I laugh every time i see that kid in that photo. Hahah.
Yep, I hope this photo lasts a long long time.
Why? would you still be laughing if you knew he was a “special” child?
Oh god give me a break.
You’re pathetic.
Would be great to see Robbie Rogers with red white and blue again. Seems like his experience playing as a mf at a high level could help his transition to D at the international level. He certainly has the pace, maybe even more than Chandler.
he got the call early in Klinsi’s tenure, they knew each other before right? and now he’s been playing well, won a championship, was a huge reason the Galaxy went on their roll with he and LD dominating the left side. I hope he gets the call too
apparently Klinnsman and Rogers played in some rec league in the LA area. Klinnsman went by another name
Jay Goppingen.
i think Torres has to be mentioned in here, at least in the “missed the cut” category. the guy just played a major part in the Tigres team that made it to the final. and for the most part, he actually played very well. on top of that, he seemed to play on the left side of midfield, where JK loves to use him, so i would not be surprised to see him.
on another note, i would like to see Williams, Morales, Kitchen, or Trapp over Beckerman. seems like a good time to do it. especially if Cameron continues to play that #6 role for Stoke and with Jones in the roster. and to a lesser extent than Torres, i think Edu should be mentioned in “missed the cup” list.
lastly, and probably to the dismay of many US fans, Castillo should be in the “missed the cut” category if that is supposed to be a list of players who will absolutely be in the mix. the guy played 90 minutes for Atlas just about every week. i see no reason not to consider him.
other than that, i think this is pretty spot on based on what we know as of now. it’s a lineup that is capable of winning it.
I’m really amazed at the lack of love for Torres and Castillo. Both played well on two of liga mx’s best teams, arguably better than what mls has right now. I believe Castillo played the most minutes of any player in the league. Both have weaknesses like everyone else on these lists but both offer a lot in terms of attacking and creativity. Frankly we’re missing that in bucket loads at the moment
too bad neither have impressed in their years of chances.. i would like to see them get another shot while they are in form.
i think that’s the thing. we all know why they haven’t really been in the conversation, but given their current form, why not? like i said, i just think they should be in the conversation.
Your amazement is not really warranted. Where have you been for the last 5 years?
Paco and Edgar have been given numerous chances by two USMNT managers to make their case
I agree with you about the talent and ability that they have shown in Liga MX but, in spite of more than a few chances, they have rarely managed to reproduce that form for the US.
You can argue that they have not been played in their best positions while in a US shirt and I would argue that there have been players in those positions who have been more productive for the US than the Dynamic duo. In Edgar’s case, for example, the guys who kept him away from Brazil were DMB and Fabian.
Edgar and Paco have zero legitimate reason to complain about not being given a chance to earn a regular slot with the USMNT.
If they excel going forward should they be considered? Sure, but lets not make it sound as if they never got their shot or that some massive injustice is being committed with their exclusion.
They both got a lot more of a chance than most and if neither one ever wears the USMNT shirt again they need only look in a mirror if they want to know why.
maybe i read his comment differently, but the lack of love is in regards to their current consideration. right now, both deserve to be in the conversation.
like you said, they have had many chances to impress and haven’t done it consistently enough. so i get why they haven’t been involved over the last couple of months. but both are currently in good form and should be considered as options for the Gold Cup.
“both are currently in good form and should be considered as options for the Gold Cup.”
What evidence is there that Paco and Edgar are NOT under consideration for the Gold Cup?
Ive’s theoretical listings are not, to the best of my knowledge, dictated to him by JK himself.
And yes, they are in good form today, but neither one will be in the January camp and let us see how they are playing as we head into the summer.
It’s not as if JK has never made an unconventional and unexpected selection.
GW I am aware of that. I am responding to Ives’ list. Those two are not mentioned in this article hence my comment. It’s that simple.
Klinsmann’s job is honestly pretty difficult, as few players are really separating them self at a high level. What really means more, getting minutes in LigaMX or winning an MLS cup. Is it harder scoring goals in MLS, the Eredivisie or not scoring them in the EPL. Not getting minutes in the Bundesliga or playing every week in MLS. At a certain point you just have to trust his judgement when he gets these guys into camp.
However I will say I’m sold on Rubin and I’m not usually into the hype of young players. To me he’s already passed Johannsson in the US pool and he is 6 years younger. Post Donovan, we need more players who can score as well as create.
Depends how much you value training. MLS is one of the most open leagues in the world (partially because most the DPs are attackers and the defenders are scrubs and no one seems to care about losing the ball) so playing well there doesn’t always translate to international play or other leagues.
I personally expect Joe to get in the last 23 and a bold prediction of mine is that Brek Shea makes it too. The move to the MLS will help in wonders. Just watch.
I can see it happening with Brek, left midfield is a problem for the US. I watched him at Birmingham and didn’t think he look all that out of place. I think with a good run of minutes he can show he’s at least worth that super sub role, he’s done well with in the past for the US.
I would rather see Gyasi Zardes playing LW, he does one thing way better than Shea or Green, and that is DEFEND. His attack game is not too shabby either.
not sure where shea’s rep for bad defending came from. he actually plays very solid defense for an attacker.
Where? his games. He just doesn’t know how to defend, to him defending is just getting 5-10 yards in front of the opponent and waiting, that is called containing. he has no clue what the opponent wants to do, he just reacts after the play.
guess we’ve watched different games, then.
I watched a match this year at Birmingham City where he made a 60 yard run to track a guy down and make a perfect tackle.
At FC Dallas he had a run at left back.
This was earlier on and I believe the idea was that playing fullback and marking the opposite winger would give him a better insight on wing play. This is a fairly standard teaching tactic and was just before he took off and had a nice run at Dallas.
Shea is not as stupid as he looks. Besides, he’s getting paid very well to do something most of us would kill to be doing so how dumb can he be?
Can you call it a bold prediction if the possibility is specifically mentioned in the article?
Can we stop putting Wondo anywhere near these teams. No player I remember has gone from underrated to overrated so incredibly fast. He’s really not that good. This was true 7 months ago. Still can’t believe he made it to Brazil. He had his chance and scuffed it high and wide.
I wish but Klinsmann keeps calling him in. Maybe he feels bad for him and wants to give him a chance to make it right, I don’t know but everyone needs to move on.
And yet, Wondo has been the most productive forward in MLS over the last 5 years. And he did it on a team that was woeful and also then won the supporters shield. I tend to like results, kinda anti-Jozy in that regard.
the problem with Wondo is that he has a low ceiling. sure he can “dominate” (lol) the MLS but on an international level he doesn’t cut it. Sure against S. Korea B team or Belize….. but against any formidable opponent he is outclassed. AND…. he’ll be 32 in a month…. there are plenty of Fwds with equal or more talent who are younger. (AJ, Rubin, Gyau, Green, Wooten, obviously Jozy, etc)
Wondo is a better option than some of the other guys who “missed the cut”, so he’s right where he belongs.
He trains well and is very clever. He sets a great example for young forwards to learn from even if he has no chance at 2018.
Truly hoping Seth Sinovic makes a return to January camp and makes the Gold Cup roster. He is a 90min player that offers better defense than Garza.
No.
+1. No. Garza is an excellent defender from everything I’ve seen thus far. Compact and quick, but very strong, with a low center of gravity. He has good instincts and knows when to get forward and when to stay back. I like Seth but Garza is a better player in all aspects IMO.
I kind of want to see FJ slotted up to midfield on the left, and have Yedlin on the RWB position with Garza in the LWB position — Since the 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 looks like it is coming en vogue lets see (something) like this….
Dempsey-Rubin
Johnson–Bradley–Bedoya
Garza Yedlin
Brooks——-Jones—–Gonzalez
Guzan
-_-
Ha, no.
i like sinovic, he is solid as can be, but i’d rather see them give minutes to someone with a higher ceiling.