The chance to play France in Paris is a pretty big deal for the U.S. men’s national team, even if the match on Nov. 11 is just a friendly, as is the U.S. team’s visit to Slovenia four days later.
But the timing is tricky, and every roster that U.S. head coach Jürgen Klinsmann selects seems to raise questions about how he his molding the program. With those two items in mind, here’s the 22-man group unveiled on Thursday:
Goalkeepers (2): Tim Howard, Bill Hamid
Defenders (7): Steve Cherundolo, Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, Timmy Chandler, Clarence Goodson, Michael Orozco Fiscal, Alfredo Morales
Midfielders (9): Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Clint Dempsey, Brek Shea, Danny Williams, Fabian Johnson, Kyle Beckerman, Jermaine Jones, Robbie Rogers
Forwards (4): Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle
The D.C. area ties are predictable, with D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid on the team along with Annandale native Clarence Goodson and Olney native Oguchi Onyewu among the defenders.
But from there, let’s explore a couple of the additions and omissions:
The most intriguing name on the roster is Hertha Berlin defender Alfredo Morales, the latest in a seemingly endless pipeline of German-born and bred players – one of five in this group, with Timmy Chandler, Danny Williams, Fabian Johnson and Jermaine Jones – making is U.S. full team camp debut. Morales, 21, is also part Peruvian, which puts it in the U.S.’s interest to get him involved with the U.S. team before he decides he might like to explore his options elsewhere. Morales also makes four members of Hertha Berlin that have been called into the U.S. setup in the last two days, with three players named to the under-23 camp on Wednesday. Johnson is with the U.S. for the first time since changing his international association with FIFA.
Also included are Landon Donovan and Kyle Beckerman, who are both still alive in the MLS playoffs with Los Angeles and Real Salt Lake, respectively. MLS has intentionally taken a break this season between the conference final and MLS Cup itself, and U.S. Soccer has stated that called-in players from MLS teams in MLS Cup would be released after the France match. But travel from Los Angeles or Salt Lake City to Paris and back, for a meaningless match, isn’t ideal in the middle of a playoff run.
Meanwhile, Klinsmann has omitted New York forward Juan Agudelo and Kansas City forward Teal Bunbury, who’ve been regular but underwhelming inclusions since the summer, instead relegating them to the under-23 team once their MLS playoff duties are over. Hamid, Chandler, Morales, Williams, Jozy Altidore and Brek Shea are all eligible for the under-23 pool and thus the Summer Olympics next year. (Shea will also train with Arsenal after his U.S. team stint, FC Dallas announced in a release.)
More glaring omissions continue to be Los Angeles defender Omar Gonzalez, who may very well be named MLS defender of the year, and forward Herculez Gomez, who has been lighting up the Mexican first division with Estuadiantes Tecos, Anderlecht midfielder Sacha Kljestan is also not on the team.
