U.S. defense is in crisis mode
By Doug McIntyre
ESPN INSIDER
What looked like a routine delay to make some minor tweaks to the U.S. roster following the weekend's slate of club games was revealed as a full-fledged crisis when the Yanks' squad was announced slightly after 1 p.m. ET on Monday.
No fewer than six players on coach Jurgen Klinsmann's wish list for Friday's World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica, or another four days later in Mexico City, were deemed unavailable for the games, several of them at the last minute.
The list includes Edgar Castillo, Timothy Chandler,, Tim Howard, Fabian Johnson, Michael Parkhurst, Jonathan Spector, Jose Torres and Daniel Williams. When you throw in Carlos Bocanegra's demotion and Landon Donovan's hiatus, the team Klinsmann's sends onto the field at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver this week will be worryingly short on experience -- mainly on the back line.
The six defenders Klinsmann selected have played 12 qualifiers combined. Eleven of them were by Geoff Cameron and Clarence Goodson, who returns to the squad after being left out for last month's loss in Honduras. (Omar Gonzalez, who started against the Catrachos, has the other qualifying appearance.) With only two natural full backs -- MLSers Tony Beltran and Justin Morrow -- among the six, it's likely that Cameron will play on the outside, just as he does for Premier League club Stoke City. But the defense will be green no matter what.
Assuming Cameron is pulled out wide -- a position he's never played for the national team -- two of the three remaining spots are likely to be filled by a player with little international experience. At least one of the fullbacks will be new -- the guess here is that Morrow starts in place of Johnson (and Johnson's regular understudy, Castillo) on the left.
Expect Gonzalez, who has four caps, to stay in the middle, most logically alongside Goodson. But since Goodson fell out of favor with Klinsmann last year (he wasn't even called in for the January camp despite being available), don't discount the possibility of midfielder Maurice Edu moving to center back. Edu has been in fine form for Turkish club Bursaspor and acquitted himself well as a center back in last August's friendly win in Mexico. That said, playing him there in a game of this magnitude is a much riskier proposition. Edu is also carrying a yellow card. Another against the Ticos would rule him out against El Tri.
Even with the short bench, it's hard to fault Klinsmann for omitting Bocanegra. The coach benched the former U.S. captain against Honduras, and the 33-year-old hasn't played for his club team since. No need to call him in if he can't be relied on to play. The U.S. needs experience on the field, not on the bench.
In the midfield, DaMarcus Beasley's inclusion adds some veteran chops and an in-form winger who can also help out defensively. The three-time World Cup vet was also there last summer when the U.S. beat Mexico at Azteca Stadium for the first time. So was fellow lefty Brek Shea, who also made the cut despite a lack of action at Stoke.
But given the absences, the U.S. will mostly rely on Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey to provide leadership and to keep possession of the ball. If the U.S. is to take points in both upcoming games, Bradley and Dempsey will play a major role. So too will veteran strikers Jozy Altidore and "Herculez Gomez, who will be expected to set the tone by pressuring the ball and beginning the defensive work up top. They'll need to. For the next two games, the U.S. back line is going to need all the help it can get.
Here's the full, 23-man U.S. roster for the national team's next two games:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Defenders: Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Omar Gonzalez (L.A. Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes)
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Roma), Joe Corona (Tijuana), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Brek Shea (Stoke City), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna, Austria), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham), Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)
By Doug McIntyre
ESPN INSIDER
What looked like a routine delay to make some minor tweaks to the U.S. roster following the weekend's slate of club games was revealed as a full-fledged crisis when the Yanks' squad was announced slightly after 1 p.m. ET on Monday.
No fewer than six players on coach Jurgen Klinsmann's wish list for Friday's World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica, or another four days later in Mexico City, were deemed unavailable for the games, several of them at the last minute.
The list includes Edgar Castillo, Timothy Chandler,, Tim Howard, Fabian Johnson, Michael Parkhurst, Jonathan Spector, Jose Torres and Daniel Williams. When you throw in Carlos Bocanegra's demotion and Landon Donovan's hiatus, the team Klinsmann's sends onto the field at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver this week will be worryingly short on experience -- mainly on the back line.
The six defenders Klinsmann selected have played 12 qualifiers combined. Eleven of them were by Geoff Cameron and Clarence Goodson, who returns to the squad after being left out for last month's loss in Honduras. (Omar Gonzalez, who started against the Catrachos, has the other qualifying appearance.) With only two natural full backs -- MLSers Tony Beltran and Justin Morrow -- among the six, it's likely that Cameron will play on the outside, just as he does for Premier League club Stoke City. But the defense will be green no matter what.
Assuming Cameron is pulled out wide -- a position he's never played for the national team -- two of the three remaining spots are likely to be filled by a player with little international experience. At least one of the fullbacks will be new -- the guess here is that Morrow starts in place of Johnson (and Johnson's regular understudy, Castillo) on the left.
Expect Gonzalez, who has four caps, to stay in the middle, most logically alongside Goodson. But since Goodson fell out of favor with Klinsmann last year (he wasn't even called in for the January camp despite being available), don't discount the possibility of midfielder Maurice Edu moving to center back. Edu has been in fine form for Turkish club Bursaspor and acquitted himself well as a center back in last August's friendly win in Mexico. That said, playing him there in a game of this magnitude is a much riskier proposition. Edu is also carrying a yellow card. Another against the Ticos would rule him out against El Tri.
Even with the short bench, it's hard to fault Klinsmann for omitting Bocanegra. The coach benched the former U.S. captain against Honduras, and the 33-year-old hasn't played for his club team since. No need to call him in if he can't be relied on to play. The U.S. needs experience on the field, not on the bench.
In the midfield, DaMarcus Beasley's inclusion adds some veteran chops and an in-form winger who can also help out defensively. The three-time World Cup vet was also there last summer when the U.S. beat Mexico at Azteca Stadium for the first time. So was fellow lefty Brek Shea, who also made the cut despite a lack of action at Stoke.
But given the absences, the U.S. will mostly rely on Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey to provide leadership and to keep possession of the ball. If the U.S. is to take points in both upcoming games, Bradley and Dempsey will play a major role. So too will veteran strikers Jozy Altidore and "Herculez Gomez, who will be expected to set the tone by pressuring the ball and beginning the defensive work up top. They'll need to. For the next two games, the U.S. back line is going to need all the help it can get.
Here's the full, 23-man U.S. roster for the national team's next two games:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Defenders: Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Omar Gonzalez (L.A. Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes)
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Roma), Joe Corona (Tijuana), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Brek Shea (Stoke City), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna, Austria), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham), Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)
