Qualifying is over and the January training camp is behind us. The pool of players has shrunk considerably over the last 6-8 months. Every player is working very hard to make this roster and there are plenty of skilled players that won’t get the call. With less than 6 months until the World Cup, Bradley has some tough choices to make.  For some of these players, making the World Cup roster will depend more on luck than actual skill. Injuries, lack of playing time, and tactical decisions (taking 4 forwards instead of 3, etc) will determine many players fate.

Below I take a look at the players who are in the picture for a spot on the World Cup roster. I changed the format of the list from previous editions. The first group consists of players who would be on a plane to South Africa if the World Cup started next week.  The second list consists of players who are at the gate hoping they get called to board. Why did I do it this way? If I just picked the best 23 players who are very likely to be at the World Cup, then I wouldn’t have much to write about.  By doing it this way I can analyze the evolution of the roster.

23 Tickets:

Goalkeepers (3):

Tim Howard: Playing well and the best America goalkeeper.

Brad Guzan: I think it will be safe to say that he is the second best keeper in the US.

Troy Perkins: Right now it’s his spot to lose. I’d like to see Kasey Keller here though.

Defenders (8):

Carlos Bocanegra: The captain, but is struggling to get minutes at the moment.

Steve Cherundolo: A veteran and is playing again for Hannover.

Jonathan Spector: In competition with Cherundolo for starting right back.

Frankie Hejduk: He’s reliable but might make way when players get healthy.

Jonathan Bornstein: A step above the other options at left back, but still needs to step up his game a little

Jay Demerit: Fully fit again and playing well for Watford.

Chad Marshall: When Gooch went down, Marshall’s stock went up

Clarence Goodson: Once everyone is healthy, it will be between Marshall and Goodson for the last centerback spot.

Midfielders (8):

Michael Bradley: Tireless player, and should wear the captain’s armband some day.

Benny Feilhaber: A good utility player that doesn’t look like a starter at any position. If everyone gets healthy he might be the odd man out.

Ricardo Clark: Signed in Germany and will likely come off the bench in South Africa

Stuart Holden: Signed with Bolton, if he gets minutes early he’ll be on the roster.

Jose Francisco Torres: Skilled and composed player. The fact he can play on the left raises his stock.

Sacha Kljestan: He’s lucky everyone is hurt. He’ll be the first to get dropped.

Robbie Rogers: I honestly prefer Beasley on the left . . . that’s sad. He’ll watch the World Cup on TV with Kljestan.

Kyle Beckerman: At the very bottom of the center-mid pool, but Bradley keeps calling him so he is at least in the mix.  Will likely get replaced by Edu or Jones.

Forwards (4):

Landon Donovan: Best American field player, doing well at Everton

Jozy Altidore: Has lost some time because of the tragedy in Haiti, but was getting a lot of minutes at Hull before that.

Brian Ching: Best target forward in the bunch.

Conor Casey: He is the second best target forward in the group and might get a shot because there aren’t better options.

On Standby: These are guys that are the closest to getting a spot on the final roster.  The players in this group fall into 3 basic categories: 1) the players that are very, very likely to be on the final roster once they are healthy; 2) the players that are back-ups if any of the top 23 guys has an injury or sudden drastic drop in form; and, finally, 3) the unknown commodity that looks promising.

The very likely to be on the final roster:

Oguchi Onyewu: Should be back with Milan soon, we’ll see if he gets back into form.

Clint Dempsey: Injury not severe, but no timetable set for return.

Charlie Davies: Recent updates suggest he’ll be back on the field for Sochaux in April.

If these three are healthy and fit, they’ll be at the World Cup. Gooch is the closest to getting back on the field. Dempsey doesn’t need surgery for his injury but is just waiting to see how long it will take him to heal.  Davies is the least likely to be back in time but so far his rehab has been extremely promising.

The back-ups:

Kenny Cooper: Back from injury but needs to start scoring goals

DaMarcus Beasley: Looking good for Rangers . . . but injured again

Maurice Edu: Finally back from injury and Bradley stated he still has a shot.

Marvel Wynne: Bradley is probably hoping Wynne learns to defend in the next 6 months.

Heath Pearce: Still sucks, but we don’t have many options at left back.

Jimmy Conrad: A World Cup veteran, but a concussion and an early red card in his last two games with the national team doesn’t speak well for the defender.

Eddie Johnson: At Aris now and is slowly earning minutes.

These back-ups fall into two categories: 1) the players that are in control of their own fate (Beasley, Edu, Wynne, and Cooper); and 2) the players that are waiting for someone to get hurt. The players in the first group can still play themselves onto the roster if they get back into form. The rest of the players (Pearce, Johnson, and Conrad) are just waiting to see if they are needed. I think the players in the second group will be soon joined by Kljestan, Rogers, Marshall, Casey, and Beckerman.

The unknown commodity:

Edgar Castillo: Very real possibility of being on the roster, will likely join the next camp.

Alejandro Bedoya: Good debut for the national team and we aren’t deep at left mid.

Jermaine Jones: Still injured and a long-shot at the moment to make the roster

We got our first glimpse of Bedoya this weekend and he looked worthy of another shot. Unlike some of the other new faces, Bedoya could really fill a void on the left side of midfield. He can also play centrally as a playmaker. Jones hasn’t touched a ball in a while and is in a race against the clock to get fit.  Right now, most people have him on their roster as one of the top 23 players, but realistically no one has ever seen him play with a US jersey on so he’s still an unknown.  Castillo made a short cameo appearance last month.  He has been tearing up the Mexican League and is likely a serious contender for a spot at left back.  We still need to see how he performs on the international stage before he becomes a lock.

Let me know who you think should be on the final roster.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 4:59 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.