Bradley names 33-player U.S. national team pool for upcoming friendlies

U.S. national team head coach Bob Bradley has named a 33-player pool for the U.S. team's upcoming matches against England, Spain and Argentina.

While the usual suspects made the list (Donovan, Dempsey, Howard), Bradley also called in some players who have played their way onto the radar in recent months (Robbie Rogers, Kenny Cooper and Michael Orozco to name three). He also named some talents who haven't seen much playing time in recent months (Carlos Bocanegra, DaMarcus Beasley, Freddy Adu, Dominic Cervi).

“With the challenging schedule of friendlies we have organized to prepare for World Cup qualifying, this is an excellent opportunity to continue to evaluate our player pool and at the same time balance the workload,” Bradley said. “Many of our players have just completed seasons in Europe, and the MLS schedule is in full swing, so it is important that we manage the time wisely to give ourselves the best chance to be successful in the important matches this summer.”

Here is the 33-player pool:

GOALKEEPERS- Dominic Cervi (Out of Contract), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC), Troy Perkins (Valerenga IF), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS- Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Dan Califf (FC Midtjylland), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

MIDFIELDERS- Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Eddie Lewis (Derby County), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids)

FORWARDS- Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Nate Jaqua (Out of Contract), Eddie Johnson (Fulham FC), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Josh Wolff (1860 Munich)

I'll offer up a further breakdown of this group on Friday morning. Which names surprised you? Which players are missing that surprised you? Share your own thoughts on the group in the comments section below.

Comments

[Phillip]

I like the group.

[camp nou]

since when is nate jaqua out of contract?

[Nathan]

Where the **** is Michael Parkhurst?

[Pat the Red Bulls Fan]

Simply put, BRING IT ON!!!

[Rocco]

Good group. Jaqua and Gaven are suspect.

[DS]

Ives, any prediction on how many tickets will ultimately be sold for the Argentina game? USSF says over 46,000 so far.

[mikeK]

Isn't Mastroeni a defender?

[Brendan]

Ives, do you have anymore news on how Dominic Cervi's trial with Celtic has gone? Furthermore, is there any chance of Brad Guzan interesting Celtic again?

[DaBull]

surprised to Cervi on the list. i would think he would need a little more seasoning (or at least signed with a team) before warranting a call-up. his performance with the U-23's was unimpressive.

[Bravo]

I like the squad. To play armchair coach, my only gripe would be with Jaqua. I would rather see Rolfe, Thorrington or Zizzo. But thats really minor.

[Freddy]

Glad to see Hejduk getting the call up and Pablo back. Surprised Conrad and Parkhurst didn't get any love.

[Graham]

Can anyone explain why Eddie Lewis was called up... thanks

[Andrew]

No Mastroeni or Jaqua please.

[Rob]

Mastroeni is garbage, I thought I wouldn't have to see his sorry excuse of a soccer player self ever again.

[nels]

nice to see a player whose earned it get the call like Rogers. even though he wont make the starting 11 (or the bench even?), its good experience for him to get a taste of full NT training.

kind of disappointed to see players that wont be in contention for 2010, like Mastroeni, over players that have impressed at the WC qualifying, like Holden.

Looking at all these names makes me feel our team is strong, and has decent depth now at least.

[B-Ville]

Just wondering if Simek is hurt?...maybe some knowledgeable people can inform me

[dano]

Eddie Lewis has been playing consistently, and playing as well as one could play on the sorry excuse for a team that was Derby County. He plays left wing, and can fill in at left back, has a great left foot for free kicks, and can cover a decent bit of ground. He got called in due to the fact that Convey has a niggling injury he can't seem to get over, Beasley is coming back from major injury himself, and we stand a pretty good chance of needing his services during qualifying this summer.

[Nychapin09]

NO FREEMAN?!

[adam]

I gotta say I'm suprised Parkhurst didn't make a 33 man squad, although all the defenders selected deserve to be there.
Frankie is perhaps past his prime, and we do have more cultured fullback options now, but HeyDude has always got that hustle.

[adam]

Yes, Simek is hurt.

http://www.swfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/0,,10304~1280918,00.html

[John]

Before Pablo committed the stupidest foul in recent Nat history he was about half a foot away from burying a wonder strike against Italy....he is a bit too old now, but he's not garbage. If Frankie gets to be a veteran presence to provide minutes so does Mastroeni.

That really was a dumb foul...ughh.

[Angel]

The Pachuca kid (Torres) was not called up for Toulon tourney or into camp. Wonder if got the call, but declined.

[Steve]

I don't think Heyduk should be on there, he's too old. They should be looking at some younger wing options. There are a million decent holding midfielders. I think the gabs on the national team roster are left back, left wing, and forward. I'm glad to see RR and Kenny Cooper there, but I think Nate Jaqua is there so Bob Bradley can find him another job.

[Steve]

Also, who's our right back option if dolo gets injured?

[Don]

i love the group

[Simona]

Love it!

[Simona]

Although Michael Parkhurst & Stuart Holden would have been great additions. Why not the call up?

[Matt Mathai]

Good group. I like seeing that the rehabilitation of Feilhaber continues. I think he brings something different and very useful to the team. His time at Derby appears to have been wasted. Here's hoping he finds a team that will get him some playing time.

[AlexS]

I think Holden would have gotten the call if BB didn't have to worry about MLS teams being unbalanced by calling up too many players. If 3 Dynamo starters get called up during MLS play... that's directly effecting the way the season goes in MLS. Mastroeni on the other hand has no teamates being called up, making it easier to be called upon without upsetting the league. I would like for 2010 pool players to be called up over 2006 pool players. But it looks like BB is calling up WCQ players instead.

[Geoff]

Wheres Wynne?

[Dominghosa]

Bradley continues to mix the national camp with veteran and young players. There's nothing wrong with that. And it has worked for him and the team most of the time.
Still the inclusion of Califf, Mastroeni, Gaven and Jacqua are questionable.
Players that could have been there instead of those four are Parkhurst, Zizzo, Rolfe and Arturo Alvarez.

[come on bobby]

agree with what someone said above - seeing this make me realize we have some depth and real talent. that being said, i'd like to see bradley try some new central back pairings. id really like to see a spector onyewu pairing - actually id rather see a parkhurst/onyewu pairing with spector and cherundolo on the outsides, but still, i think partnering a quicker smarter defender with onyewu would balance well with his size and strength. i dont think him and boca pair well together, and until boca starts playing agin i think we shouldnt seal him in as our starting center back and captain. in addition, if bradley plays 2 defensive midfielders again i might go crazy, especially when all our defensive midfielders arent like say a michael essien, they are just purely defensive - dont anyone say anything about bradley scoring a ton of goals, yes hes playing awesome, but hes only a destroyer and his goals have all been toe pokes and such...id like to see a good holding midfielder in there with him, like feilhaber or even donovan...finally, i want to take another look at edu at center back, i was pretty impressed with him there in the world cup qualifying...

[Dominghosa]

The 23-player roster for these friendlies?
GK: Howard, Guzan.
D: Bocanegra, Onyweu, DeMerit, Cherundolo, Spector, Orozco, Pearce, Hejduk.
MF: Adu, Bradley, Edu, Lewis, Clark, Kljestan, Beasley.
F: Altidore, Donovan, Dempsey, Ching, Rogers, Cooper.

This is just actually what I'd like to see. There are probably four names above that will not be in the actual final 23.

[4now]

GK:
Perkins gets a well-deserved call-up, but surprised not to see Hannamen and Keler there (especially the latter who is 2 caps from 100) The conventional wisdom on Guzan still boggles my mind. I'd rather take Conway or Brown anyday.

DEF:
No Gibbs? No Subotic? Happy to see Orozco included. Seeing Hejduk's name anywhere just makes me happy - classic character. The notion that Freeman might have been included is a joke, I'm assuming, nychapin09. Sad that Simek's injured and pleasantly surprised that Bradley didn't call up Bornstein.

MID:
Agreed that Lewis has been in good form and that he deserves to be included, in as much that Maestroeni does not (unless he's some incredible locker room presence - in which case, jut bring Berhalter). I think Clark and Gavin are consumate MLSers. I'm not a huge Zizzo fan, nor do I know the slightest about Arguez, but if they are getting looks in the Bundesliga they probably deserve a look here. Dunno how bad his ego is, but I still think Feilhaber distributes the ball as well as any other American. Convey seems to be slipping off the map... Where's Szetela?

Forwards:
No more Ching and Jaqua, please. I understand the Johnson call up, but, to be honest, can't imagine that having him around is good for morale or training. RR is the new TT. Still crossing my fingers for the third or fourth coming of Santino Q. to be honest.

[4now]

good call on A. Alvarez.

[kpugs]

To briefly answer two questions: Nate, Parkhurst is scheduled to be partying hard with the rest of the "most overrated players in the history of the game." He's slow, an average tackler, a halfway decent distributor at best. He can get praised in MLS all he wants, he's nothing more than above average, and never will.

MikeK, Mastroeni is a defensive mid. I'm sure he's covered in defense during his career, but he's a midfielder.

Geoff: Wynne has made ridiculous progress in the past year. RIDICULOUS. Having said that, you just can't rely on a guy who is still relying on trackback speed to cover his many errors. I kind of agree with you that he shou

4now: Should we add you to the list of morons who think people are supposed to immediately become global superstars when they transfer to new leagues? Let me guess, you were crapping on Dempsey when he was terrible for Fulham when he got there, and now you love him. Idiot, open your frickin eyes. I feel like if people are posting opinions on the best soccer blog in existence, AT LEAST KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.

ld be there though, for experience.

I love the injection of youth, especially Orozco, Jozy, Cervi and Cooper.

Guys in this group who should never, ever, wear the nats colors again in a "real" competitive match (i.e. not friendlies):

Wolff: He has been awful for years. His only above-average attribute ever was speed, which he lost due to injury. Can't shoot, pass, dribble, etc. It's beyond me that he is still being paid to play, much less getting nats call ups.

Mastroeni: He's past it. I don't have anything at all against him other than at this point in his career, we have at least 4-5 guys in the national team pool that aret better than him at his position.

Hejduk: Obvious reasons? His negative has always been ridiculously poor tackling (especially since he's a defender) and a tendency to lose his mark. Now that he no longer has speed, stamina, or attacking ability, he is useless.

Nate Jacqua: Again, obvious. He is most likely the worst player in the entire USA player pool. Consdiering guys I previously mentioned, that's not too great. He is big. But he's also disgustingly slow, awful in the air, terrible on the ball (passing and shooting), is most likely the dirtiest American player (only reason neither Twellman or Donovan are is because they turn it off when they wear the nats shirt, Jacqua does not) and provides no value whatsoever to any team. I was happy that he found temporary success in Europe just because he is a Yank. Bottom line is he is a terrible, terrible player compared to any other striker in the group and some that didn't get called up.

Final thought: Does anyone even know if Holden is eligible to earn a senior cap? The rules are more strict thatn the youth teams. And also, who's to say he won't play for Scotland? It's not like he was born and raised here, we simply have a better team (unless you are a mindless fool who thinks FIFA's rankings are accurate).

[kpugs]

Fine I addressed more than two previous quotes. Crap, ok fine you guys can punch me in the gut. Line up please.

[CD]

According to Wikepedia Nate Jaqua scored 5 goals in 10 games for SCR Altach this year. That seems to be a pretty impressive tally. He is in the team photo put maybe he hasn't been offered a contract extension.

http://www.scra.at/mannschaften/kampfmannschaft/

http://www.scra.at/mannschaften/kampfmannschaft/kader/persons/1/26/5/

[coley]

umm kpugs, this has been discussed ad nauseum, stuart holden is eligible to earn a senior cap, that is why he was called in previously. He has always stated his desire to play for the USA and I should know, I've know him since his days playing hs and club ball.

[Jamie Z.]

- My initial reaction to seeing guys like Hey Dude and Mastroeni in the squad is generally the same to readers who immediately question their inclusion in view of their being "past it." However, I also realize that senior players are sometimes worth having in the squad for the leadership and guidance they provide in camp more than the direct impact they provide on the field. It's for this reason that I'd love to see Brian McBride assume a coaching role after his retirement. I'd wager we'd see diving and flopping around in the box cut in half.

- I'm scratching my head on the Wolff thing, though. The guy can run, but he's so profligate in front of the net, I just don't see why we keep bringing him in.

- It's good to see Beasley back, even though he's likely short of match fitness; it would have been nice to have the option of being able to plug Edgar Castillo in left midfield in his absence. That oversight could come back and bite us in the future.

[Ted]

Holden grew up in Houston and has American citizenship (I believe his dad was/is American military? Not sure where I heard that or even if I am thinking of the right guy). He has a UK passport which came in handy when he was at Sunderland, but in interviews he has always considered himself American.

As far as rules being different, to my knowledge, US Soccer is pretty strict on citizenship requirements for the senior team, and all youth teams. ODP isn't as strict.

[Ted]

As for the roster, there are some names that I wish were on there and only two that I could do without (Wolff and Jaqua), so I guess it is pretty solid. It's nice to see some of the depth the team has on paper.

[Ted]

I'm posting too many times in a row...

As for the U-23s who were left off, Bradley is being nice to the clubs in hopes that they release their players come Olympics time. Thats my guess as to why Holden isn't there (remember, he was called in for the Mexico gam e so Bradley obviously thinks highly of him), Alvarez possibly too. Rogers, Altidore and Edu were called probably because Bradley believes they help give the senior team the best chance to win right now, while he can do without a fringe (for now) senior team player like Holden.

[Justin O]

Graham - Eddie Lewis scored a goal in his last US game, he's getting consistent playing time in one of the world's top leagues. What more should he do? He's more deserving than half the names listed.

[Cory]

What I want to know is why there isn't more hispanic players being called up? We can't allow another edgar castillo pass through our hands again. Nevertheless, with this 33-man roster, does neone believe we have a legit chance of winning any of the upcoming friendlies?

[Cory]

i meant anyone

[Original Aaron]

Cory- who are the hispanic players you would like to see us call in? and in who's place? i would love to have castillo, or the kid from Pachuca, but if they don't want to play for us... Good to see Orozco in there

[Brant]

I think Bradley has it in for the Crew - he calls up both wingers and the team captain... ugh!

I'll tell you that Hejduk still runs his ass off every minute of every game that he's out there. And I wouldn't be surprised to see him as one of the 3 senior players at the Olympics because (1) he's a great locker room guy, and (2) it would be a 'make up' call for Hejduk missing the '06 Cup with his knee injury.

Fulham = 3 players, Crew = 3 players
No other club more than 2, and one of the those is Chivas USA who famously wanted to stock their team with Mexican players...

[Brant]

I think Bradley has it in for the Crew - he calls up both wingers and the team captain... ugh!

I'll tell you that Hejduk still runs his tail off every minute of every game that he's out there. And I wouldn't be surprised to see him as one of the 3 senior players at the Olympics because (1) he's a great locker room guy, and (2) it would be a 'make up' call for Hejduk missing the '06 Cup with his knee injury.

Fulham = 3 players, Crew = 3 players
No other club more than 2, and one of the those is Chivas USA who famously wanted to stock their team with Mexican players...

[Reid]

kpugs, i think outsized not over rated. I'm just looking for someone who plays solid and doesnt make mistakes. Onyewu had 1 thing to do against the czech rep, and within the first few minutes he failed. Parkhurst is small but my boy is wicked smaat.
Overall happy with the picks, i'll wait to bash them after their performances.

[Ron]

Love the addition of youth w/ Rogers and especially Orozco. Why recycle Hedjuk and Pablo? Lets give Subotic a shot! Josh Wolff is a waste of a slot...would like to see Gabe Ferrari get a shot..

[Tonerl]

Nathan said: "Where the **** is Michael Parkhurst?"

Good question. What has this guy done to piss off Bradley? I mean, if he can't get a sniff of a roster this large, how is he ever going to make a real one? Is there anybody out there who thinks he's gotten a legitimate chance?

[Jeff]

Re: Holden

He played for the US U23's in Olympic Qualification. Qualification for a FIFA sanctioned tournament, which would mean that he's eligible also to play for the full US team. Christian Miles didn't know what the hell he was talking about...

If you play in a FIFA sanctioned tournament, or even qualifying for one, you have to have citizenship of the country you play for simple as that, otherwise, what's the point? It's not the same as ODP.

[MonkeyBoy]

Ferrari was called up for the U23's.

This is a great mix of veteran players and youth potential. Two changes that I would have loved to see:
take out Kljestan for Szetela
take out Mastroeni for Torres
I'm interested to see how well Szetela or Torres will be able to pair up in the middle with either Bradley or Feilhaber. We could have ended up with our dangerous U20 center line-up of Szetela, Bradley and Adu.

In all, there aren't many surprises in the list. Most of the odd picks to me are at GK - Cervi and Perkins, but both are good players. It's essentially a solid list of some of our best veterans mixed with some of the best youth prospects.

[jahuff]

Bradley brought in a good mix of players to try and get the most out of each one. Some of the players mentioned as having no reason to bet there have a good purpose, I bet:

Jaqua is there to provide a challenge for Cooper, Jozy, and Ching in the air. He also had a good season in Austria, is young, and while maybe not great could become a much better player.

Hejduk is a great challenge to try and push Heath Pearce at left back; also although he is older, he is still a strong option

Lewis is having a decent year and, as someone said, scored on a wonderful set piece during the Poland game. I have also met him and I imagine he is great as a locker room presence; he is a very "classy" player. (Isn't his nickname the American Beckham?)

Josh Wolff can challenge Adu and Landon Donovan as a creative passer and still has some good speed; he can play as a center or right forward to link with one of the big strikers like Ching, Cooper, or Jaqua.

Eddie Gaven can challenge Dempsey for a right wing spot and visa versa; Also the right wing seems to be a weakness for the US team rather than the left wing, where we have 3 premiership names DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey, Eddie Lewis (Injuries aside); Maybe Sacha Klejstan is competing for a right midfield spot as well, or is he left-footed?

Mastroeni is great to have to push the young defensive midfielders, Edu and Clark especially but maybe also Bradley depending on how you view his game. I think Bradley is more than just a defensive midfielder, but I haven't seen enough of his league games to know for sure.

[mhknights]

Nice group, but we certainly should be getting Corey Gibbs back into to camp to see if he can make it make to international status. Very surprised Jimmy Conrad is not included. Just for you now Ives..Where is John O'Brien ? Though he might be included....

[Chase]

I like list, except for the inclusion of Mastroeni and the exclusion of Parkhurst. Other than that, I think that the lack of Torres and Subotic might signal that they are not quite ready to commit their future to the US...

And again Szetela is likely not even considered as Brescia is in the middle of a battle for promotion and have three games left, plus the playoffs, so its not surprising that he was not included here or in the Toulon tournament.

[Aquaman]

I was going to make a joke about why Bradley called up the olympic team to face these senior national teams. Now that I think about it, it's a pretty good blend of youth and experience. The young players in defense, the midfield and forwards all have at least one very experienced vet to learn from. I just wonder if any of the young guys will get some significant playing time.

[J]

Benny Feilhaber? The guy barely played this year for DERBY and yet he gets a call up?

[rocky]

i cant understand what people see in eddie gaven he is straight garbage, how could he get the nod over the likes of holden. Josh wolff and frankie heyduk are also very suspect and their def. not going to be or god i hope so not in the running for 2010. Im wondering what the deal is with torres from pachuca. hes got some super skills i would of loved to see him included, maybe he declined a word from anyone on that?

[Julio]

I agree with most of you here. Maestreoni is done and has had his time, same with Eddie Lewis. All good guys and good players but we need to move on. I would like to see Holden, Sizzo and Arturo Alvarez get a look. Heck I even heard that two Colombian's who have not played with the Senior team want to play for the U.S. one is W. Conde (chicago fire) and the other Juan Toja (Dallas) these guys would be great for the U.S I know neither is a citizen yet but they want to play for the US Team.

[Jeff]

I like that there are 3 Crew players in the pool...even though that will hurt the team. It is a way to evaluate the team and see who can play if any of those players go down with an injury.

How's that for optimism?!?!?!?!

[wjmooner]

I'm biased towards RSL, but with the way Beckerman has played this year he's a better option than half the midfielders called up (Mastro, Sacha, Benny at least) and he's still only 25 years old I believe.

He probably wouldn't make my 23, but he's definitely top 33.

[JSquaredNY]

Ching and Johnson are useless.

[brett]

RE: Torres and Subotic

can we stop it with the "WHERES SUBOTIC/TORRES??" comments?? its clear cut that they probably havent picked a team yet... its truely annoying... Ives has hit up Subotic issue quite a bit already, move on...
---

Hejduk and Lewis may be old and past their prime, but they bring experience and energy to the team... Lewis netting a goal against Poland and doing well for a terrible Derby squad demands his presence.. plus who else can we show confidence in on the left against such quality opponents (currently) with beasely just recooperating from an injury...
----

Jaqua was always my fav. player when he was with the Fire... he's not quick by any means, but his movement was smooth and always able to net around 8 goals a season... but i agree that his callup is a bit suspect... there are other options id love to see... like the inclusion of Bernardo.. i know the kid is only 18-19 area, but he's moving up in Napoli's youth system...perhaps the U23 cup wouldve been better option
----

Pablo needs to go away... never liked his style... we have too many options already in the center...
----

clearly the USM's are feeling pretty high on Cervi becoming a top prospect... perhaps all these call ups will spark interest in europe's sides and the kid can sign up....i wasnt overly impressed during the Olympic qualifiers, but he is clearly showing potential..

[FC Uptown]

Yes, Coop-inho!

[brett]

wjmooner- while i agree that he's a better option then Pablo and Benny (in current form), i think Kljestan deserves the spot... he seems to be CUSA's only bright spot this season... he's netted some nice goals...

is beckerman better then Feilhaber?? probably not, but he's in better form and is getting the minutes... hopefully Feilhaber can bounce back, but not getting much time at Derby hurt....

[kco]

WTF

Eddie Gaven? Eddie Johnson? What are these Overrated "talented but useless" players doing in the pool? How many times does coach need to see the Eddie's before he realizes that they are not national team material? Both are missing the class to play at the top level.

Josh Wolff still plays? (sarcasm)

Troy Perkins? Enjoy watching the matches.

Props for including Frankie, Robbie, and Kenny. I hope Cooper top shelves one against England.

[tedhill]

It'd be downright hilarious if Eddie Johnson played and scored in the England match. I would pay to see that.

[Artc]

Hejduk! Its good to see him back in the mix....He isn't as young anymore but probably one of the national team's best/fastest defenders...

[eric]

I'd be the first to clamor for Holden over Eddie Gaven, except that Holden is just now finally getting over injury and playing consistently. Too bad, Holden should be either Beasley's back up, or I'd love to see them both start, you could have them switching flanks to confuse the defense.

I can't believe that Pablo Mastroeni was called back up, especially over Beckerman. With Beckerman's hot start, there are more "Colorado got rid of the wrong guy" tidbits in a lot of articles.

Whoever is complaining about Eddie Lewis getting called up, didn't you see him against Poland? Hitting dangerous crosses and scoring a goal on a sweet free kick... does that ring a bell?

[groovester]

I just hope that we play our best XI for the three games and not get into a situation where Bradley tries to play everyone and we have weakened lineups. We've finally have some friendlies against top notch competition, we better use our best XI or what's the point. Might as well schedule Switzerland more if you are going to go the little league everyone gets to play route.

[JD]

Not surprised by his omission but I do feel for Marcus Hahnemann. First the drop, then the non-call for this camp. OUCH.

[Reid]

even injured I can't believe Bornstein didnt get the call up, maybe Bob broke up with him

[Tim Crawford]

This Josh Wolff stuff has to stop . . . his career with the US National Team should be finished. He really hasn't done anything for a while and he's only been coming off the bench with his club. And I don't think Frankie Hejduk should be called up anymore either. How about Sal Zizzo? Definitely Michael Parkhurst? And Matt Reis should really have gotten a look by now . . .

[Tim Crawford]

Oh, and I agree with those who think Pablo shouldn't be there. I really don't see anything special about him. He plays far too stupid for me . . . dumb yellows, dumb fouls, dumb attitude . . . just not a good player really.

[inkedAG]

I think this is a well-rounded mix, but I agree with some posters who find the inclusion of Josh Wolff, Eddie Johnson, Eddie Gaven and Eddie Lewis is incredulous. While I can't readily think of who should replace these jokers, surely there has to be better players that should have been included.

[4now]

kpugs,

did you lose your job or get dumped recently?
go off your meds?
seriously man, what's gotten into you?
your posts used to be reasonable and interesting.
now you are just petty and whiny.

first, when you make a criticism, it is best to do actually refer to what you are criticizing (this is something you are supposed to learn in a middle school english class).

i spent good time making thoughtful and reasonable contributions to the post in order to spark and engage in interesting discussion. and then you chime in with this bs? with your logic and approach you should blogging over at the drudge report.

with regards to football knowledge and resumes, I would stack mine up against yours anyday and I would imagine you'd be surprised.

to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if you're one of those who still lives with their parents after all these years.

lastly, if this is you holding a grudge against coments I made regarding freeman last week, perhaps you didn't see my many attempts to get in touch with you.

[Aquaman]

Tedhill-

I totally agree. If Johnson scores I think I will pee myself with laughter...but I won't get my hopes up. If he does, I'll save the highlight for days when I'm feeling a little down.

[Matt Johnston]

Missing players:

Marcus Hahnemann--yes Reading got relegated, but not because of Hahnemann but because Reading went almost 600 minutes without scoring a goal. Only so much a keeper can do.

Jimmy Conrad--he has played well, has good skills and I think earned a shot to be seen at the National level.

Michael Parkhurst--I would like to see him get a shot at a cap.

Taylor Twellman--I still think is would be good for the U.S. He is not quite the classic poacher, but close enough. I suspect his injury is the reason for the no call this time.

Suprise Players

Troy Perkins--although I think it a good idea, but don't know how much playing time he would get behind Howard, but Perkins was solid for DC United and is playing well in Sweden.

Kenny Cooper--I shouldn't be surprised given his play of late, but I didn't really think he was on Bradley's radar. He is a good addition though, and could complement with Donovan in particular I think.

[DMee]

Kpugs, bit full of yourself, no? Settle down.

Roster seems like the usual suspects, but it's a quality list.

Disappointing not to see Parkhurst or Conrad, solid ballers. Parkhurst will prove all the nay-sayers wrong, just give the kid a chance.

Heyjudck should never be and never have been on the roster. He's junk. Granted he brings a lot of heart to the team and to the the lockeroom (apparently), but his skills have never been good. And while Old Man Keller has been playing well at Fulham his international days should be done as well.

[brett]

Tim Crawford- so you dont think Wolff should be on the roster b/c of his limited playing time?? but you think Zizzo merits a call?? Wolff may not be a leading scorer for the USMN but he does alot of work to open the field for the rest of the team... he does the dirty work and never gets praise....

what has Zizzo dont to merit a callup against such quality sides??

as for Hejduk, what's your reasoning behind it?? he has been solid for the nats before, and he always brings hustle... he gets into the attack and also gets back...

people are talking about wanting to bring a top quality starting XI but then frey from wanting to use certain vets, and would rather replace them with inexperienced youth players... understandable if we were facing a Poland or some other good side, but we are about to face 3 large teams, and placing an inexperienced young player doesnt seem the right thing to do.

[seth]

Sometime I would like to see a US Over23 team play a US U23 team.

I think alot of people on here think too highly of these 19-21y.o. kids. I understand the need to introduce national team experience early, but the majority of the time they are not the best choice.

[seth]

Doh, brett beat me to it.

[Dominghosa]

brett,
thank you for the post about subotic and torres. I was just going to hit on that myself. The issue is getting tiring.
subotic has yet to choose a nats team to play for.
torres, might be a different story though, there has yet to be significant news about which country he wants to play for.
no one has yet to ask him if he'd like to play for the U.S. or Mexico. Though I believe R. Mahoney has written that US Soccer has approached Torres. Let me know if I have that wrong.

[HE from NJ]

i wonder what the starting line-up for the argentina game is going to be, i hope they give altidore the start.

[Julio]

Don't get the Wolff call up...

[Frimp]

good group, like it. like ching, hopefully his form will be on in a few weeks...

[brett]

Julio- the guy opens up the field with his hustle and determination... he places himself in opportunistic spots.... personally ching and EJ confuse me at the top...

i like Ching, but unless he's running up top with LD, i see no combo that would work

[MiamiAl]

Wow- Troy Perkins? He was awful last year! It seemed like he was really rocked down in Mexico with D.C. United last year. I was very happy to see him go. I really hope he does not get the chance to screw up our USMNT. Maybe the US goalie pool is not as deep as we all think!

[fieldsy]

i would have like to have seen michael parkhurst on the squad.