The U.S. Men’s National Team will play in their final two matches in their current round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying without Clint Dempsey, who has been under evaluation for an irregular heartbeat. Despite Dempsey’s absence as well as Gyasi Zardes due to injury, USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann has chosen 26 players in a bid to advance to the final round of Qualifying.
Highlighted by regulars Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley and goalkeepers Tim Howard and Brad Guzan, the USMNT will travel and face Saint Vincent and The Grenadines Friday, September 2 at 3:30 PM ET on beIN Sports and then play Trinidad and Tobago in Jacksonville Tuesday, September 6 on FS1.
Entering in their final two matches, Trinidad and Tobago are in 1st place with ten points, USA sit 2nd with seven points and are currently in the advancement positions. Guatemala is just a point behind the United States in 3rd while Saint Vincent and The Grenadines has no points. While the USMNT have a great chance to advance to “The Hex,” they must take care of business and ensure a win against St. Vincent while getting a result against T&T. Get that and the USMNT will advance.
While Klinsmann chose 26 players, he will only be choosing 23 for each match. Bradley and Michael Orozco are both suspended for the St. Vincent match but will be available for T&T. Here’s the full roster provided by U.S. Soccer:
GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough – England), Ethan Horvath (Molde FC – Norway), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids – USA)
DEFENDERS: Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas – USA), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City – USA), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United – USA), John Brooks (Hertha BSC – Germany), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City – England), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca – Mexico), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach – Germany), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana – Mexico), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United – England)
MIDFIELDERS: Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana – Mexico), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake – USA), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union – USA), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC – Canada), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids – USA), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers – USA), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund – Germany), Caleb Stanko (FC Vaduz – Liechtenstein), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City – USA)
FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC – Canada), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC – USA), Rubio Rubin (FC Utrecht – Netherlands), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes – USA), Bobby Wood (Hamburg SV – Germany)
This roster looks a little bit familiar. Apart from a few necessary changes and some additions, this is largely similar to their Copa America Centenario roster. Jordan Morris is a notable addition after being left off this past summer. Bobby Wood, Joze Altidore and Morris have been in great form over the past few weeks so they will look to provide a scoring spark that seemed to be missing among the USMNT in previous World Cup Qualifying matches.
