It should come as no surprise that the U.S. men’s national team roster for the 2010 World Cup will be announced at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET. That should’ve been understood as soon as the tuneup match in Hartford – which kicks off in just a few hours – was announced.
It also renders tonight’s match as nothing less than a PR stunt because it’s difficult to imagine that always-deliberate U.S. head coach Bob Bradley is going to hinge any of his decisions on the final 23-man list based on one friendly match. Of course, if Robbie Findley came off the bench to score a hat trick, that would certainly make the decision difficult. But will a clear bubble sitter like Findley even see the field? It has to be unlikely. Which means the most important thing for the U.S. team tonight is to avoid injury. Either that or a best-case scenario, which would be a full throttle scoring fest between roster-battling forwards Herculez Gomez, Brian Ching, and Edson Buddle.
Here’s the rest of the bubble. Goalkeepers: None; Defenders: Chad Marshall, Heath Pearce; Midfielders: Alejandro Bedoya, Robbie Rogers, Sacha Kljestan, DaMarcus Beasley, Jose Torres; Forwards; Findley, Gomez, Buddle, Ching and Eddie Johnson.
A total of 12 players. Only five can make the final roster. Let’s start cutting.
Like Findley, Marshall is probably out, as is Rogers, and Johnson’s hamstring tweak should’ve scuppered his chances.
Eight left. Still five spots up for grabs.
The reports on Beasley are good, and Pearce is really needed given the injury problems in the defense. Torres hasn’t played great, but he’s been around a lot, and with Bradley, that is worth plenty.
That means two spots left for five players. Two forwards? Or one forward and one midfielder?
So who is it going to be? Buddle and Gomez? Gomez and Ching? Ching and Buddle? Any of those guys with Kljestan or Bedoya?
Given the choice, I’d take Buddle and Gomez. There are midfielders to spare.
Agree with me?
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