After the mediocre showing against Slovakia this weekend, some of us USA fans are asking ourselves: Do we have any better of an idea of who will make up the US team that will go South Africa in 2010 than we did before qualifying ever began?
Of course we know that Donovan and Howard are important and integral (although we do have some good goalies overall and Guzan did decently in Howard’s place)… but who else can we nail down as definites? Dempsey, Bradley and Altidore can most likely be thrown into the best guesses at a starting lineup too.
But with Davies and Onyewu hurt and lackluster or spotty performances by most everyone else, who can say who will start for USA in 2010?
Our personal favorite has been Torres, but Bradley doesn’t seem to care to play him much (can someone tell us why?). Feilhaber can be exciting or unremarkable, depending on the day… and the rest of the team can be downright sloppy for large parts of the game. And most importantly, they all seem to be equally interchangeable with little to no major effect…
So we ask: What happened at those two and a half games we saw at the Confederations Cup? Were those simply anomalies? Freak accidents when we actually played world class soccer?
What mysterious combination of players can recapture that same magic dear ‘hooligans?
I think it has to do with the fact that we are a team that likes playing with our backs against the wall. I am happy that we’ve drawn England in the first match b/c a loss in that game could coax the fighting spirit out of us.
I would say that other then Donovan, Howard and Guzan locks would be Dempsey, Spector, Boca, Bradley, Altidore and (sadly) Bornstein. Players that I would love to see in the mix or are making a comeback – Edu, DeMerit, Torres, Gooch, Davies. Alot of spots are up for grabs and these could be filled by some wildcard type players. Here are my wildcards that could be game changers –
Beasley – He’s come back from injury for Rangers (ugghh) and has set the team on fire. If he can get strong and fit his pace and crossing ability could make him the blistering left wingback we need. Think Bastian Schweinsteiger on speed.
Clark – Bradley really needs a partner in the middle of the park to shut things down. If Edu isn’t fit I’ve seen Ricardo Clark partner with Bradley and absolutely terrorize teams in the midfield.
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Adu – So Freddy Adu is always the wildcard right? This kid has to see playing time somewhere. It doesn’t really matter as long as he’s making an impact. Why put him on here? Because he shows up at big matches. Need proof? Go watch the US Brazil match from the U20 World Cup a few years back. On a good day he can unleash like only a handful of players can.
chrisbhoy – I think you’re right on Beasley, Clark, Adu, and Bornstein too : ( but I think Bocanegra, Ching and Onyewu get far more credit than they deserve. Of the 30 called to training camp in January, I notice Adu, Edu, Beasley, Clark, DeMerit and Torres are all not listed.
I am with you on Ching and Bocanegra. I think both are given a pass because of their experience. Gooch on the other hand I would have to disagree with you on. He is known to make a few blunders from time to time but when he is on he is viscous. Take for instance his play for Liege against a top form Liverpool last year in the Champions League qualifiers. He was a beast. Also, he is strong in the air, good with set pieces and his long throws can be as effective as a corner kick.
Yeah, but Howard is not on the training camp list either… and surely he’s on the team. So what is the camp for — folks they haven’t seen much of? or what?
Paul, the Camp Cupcake (as it’s sometimes called) in January is just for BB and the coaching staff to check out younger and domestically based players for selection in some of the upcoming friendlies.
After this past weekend, I am hoping we can put a full starting 11 of regular players in the squad during the World Cup. Supposedly Dempsey is now a risk for the Cup after his injury yesterday. That would put Dempsey and Davies at risk and even if Gooch recovers before the summer he would be out of form. Sheesh, what a game!