US Soccer revealed their 23 man USMNT roster for the upcoming friendlies against Peru and Brazil on September 4 and 8. These friendlies are being used for preparation for the CONCACAF Confederations Cup playoff game against Mexico at the Rose Bowl on October 10.
There are a few changes to the lineup for the USMNT compared to the CONCACAF Gold Cup roster a couple months ago. In total, manager Jurgen Klinsmann kept 15 players from the Gold Cup for this 23 man roster. For one, Tim Howard is back on the roster replacing Nick Rimando. Even though it’s noted Brad Guzan is going to start, Howard is now waiting in the wings. Another note is that veterans Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron are back on the team to HOPEFULLY strengthen the backline. One reason they are on the team is that noted lightning rod for criticism Timothy Chandler is having surgery and is forced to miss these games.
This obviously isn’t the top squad and will definitely not be the team Jurgen Klinsmann takes to the Rose Bowl. Klinsmann is using these two games to see who wants to be at the Rose Bowl and who deserves a spot.
Klinsmann said, “The bigger picture is to get some answers for how we put things together for the Mexico game a month from now. Obviously we want to continue to have a good flow of guys from the Gold Cup, but also to bring back guys who are in position to compete for a spot on the roster for Oct. 10. Our message to these guys is simple: prove a point that you want to be at the Rose Bowl.”
This explains why players like Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey and Kyle Beckerman are not on the roster this month. Klinsmann will never say this but out of all the USMNT players, these three (in addition to Howard and Guzan), are probably the only players who don’t have to worry about losing their place in the USMNT. Here is the complete roster: (italics mean they were on the Gold Cup roster)
Goalkeepers
Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/EPL)
Tim Howard (Everton/EPL)
William Yarbrough (Club Leon/Liga MX)
Defenders
Ventura Alvarado (Club America/Liga MX)
Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City/MLS)
John Brooks (Hertha Berlin/Bundesliga)
Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/EPL)
Greg Garza (Atlas/Liga MX)
Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy/MLS)
Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana/Liga MX)
Tim Ream (Fulham/English Championship)
Midfielders
Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes/Ligue 1)
Joe Corona (Veracruz/Liga MX)
Mix Diskerud (New York City FC/MLS)
Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution/MLS)
Alfredo Morales (FC Ingolstadt/Bundesliga)
Danny Williams (Reading/English Championship)
DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham/EPL)
Forwards
Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC/MLS)
Aron Johannsson (Werder Bremen/Bundesliga)
Bobby Wood (Union Berlin/2. Bundesliga)
Andrew Wooten (SV Sandhausen/2. Bundesliga)
Gyasi Zardes (Los Angeles Galaxy/MLS)
It will be interesting to see how this team play Peru in Washington D.C. and Brazil in Foxborough, Massachusetts. What is notable for Brazil, Orlando City player Kaka is coming back to the Brazilian National Team for this September FIFA international break.
Considering these games will be further experimentation for Klinsmann and this will definitely not be the USMNT roster for the Mexico game, it’ll be tough to see how this team will perform against Mexico. I guess the main thing will be to check in and see if this squad is an improvement over their lackluster Gold Cup performance. Well, even that will be subjective since Bradley, Dempsey and Beckerman are not on this roster. Without them, it’s kind of tough to compare the two squads. Be prepared to still have many unknowns after these two games, heading into the game against Mexico.
