Monday, May 24, 2010

U.S. World Cup Outlook


Last week, Bob Bradley announced the 30-man roster he was taking into camp with him. Today, he announced that 4-6 spots were still available with only two friendlies left before the roster deadline.
Here are the 30:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton)
DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
MIDFIELDERS (12): DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), José Torres (Pachuca)
FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki) 


Average Age: 26.3

20 of 30 players played in college at some point.

My guess at the final 23:
GK (3): Guzan, Howard, Hahnemann
Defenders (8): Bocanegra, Bornstein, Cherundolo, DeMerit, Goodson, Marshall, Onyewu, Spector
Midfielder (9): Beasley, Bradley, Clark, Dempsey, Donovan, Edu, Feilhaber, Holden, Torres
Forward (3): Altidore, Ching, Gomez

I think the final spots up for grabs are: Beasley, Gomez, Torres, and Marshall.

If Bradley plays Edu as a center back, is there any need for a 4th CB on the roster? It could add another midfielder to the equation, which would open the door for Bedoya or Kljestan to sneak in.

Something to consider over the next week before Bradley makes his final 23 official.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

USSDA Spring Showcase

USSDA Spring Showcase starts at the end of this month. U.S. Soccer was nice enough to stream some of the games from Florida. Here is the breakdown of the games:

May 29:
8:00 AM (ET)
Solar SC U16 vs Academy Select #1 U16

Standings: Solar-4th in Texas Division.
Leading Scorer: Solar-Chandler Crosswait (7 goals)

10:00 AM (ET)
Chivas USA U16 vs Texas SC DTH U16

Standings: Chivas USA-3rd in SoCal Division. Texas-2nd in Texas Division.
Leading Scorer: CHV-Frederico Bobadilla (15 goals)
TEX-Leobardo Vazquez (18 goals)

12:00 PM (ET)
Sockers U16 vs PDA U16

Standings: Sockers-4th in Frontier Division. PDA- 3rd in Liberty Division.
Leading Scorer: SOC- Khaliq McKenzie (9 goals)
PDA- Trey Leggett (6 goals)

2:00 PM (ET)
Texas Rush U18 vs Academy Select #1

Standings: Texas: 7th in Texas Division.
Leading Scorer: RUSH- Jose Ruiz (9 goals)

4:00 PM (ET)
Concorde Fire U18 vs Empire United U18

Standings: Concorde-1st in Southeast Division (2nd most goals scored). Empire- 2nd in Northeast Division.
Leading Scorer: CON- Carlos McCrary (18 goals)
Empire: Stephen Baker (17 goals)

6:00 PM (ET)
Washington Premier U18 vs South Carolina United U18

Standings: Washington- 1st in Northwest Division. South Carolina-4th in Southeast Division.
Leading Scorer: WAS: Darwin Jones (15 goals)
SCU: Alexis Martinez and Antiwan Rogers (5 goals)