The preliminary 30-man roster for the U.S. national team's Gold Cup squad has been revealed and, as expected, most of the team's top players, aren't on it.
Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu, Jose Francisco Torres and Brad Guzan headline the group, which will be reduced to 23 when the team begins Gold Cup play on July 4th vs. Grenada.
Here is the squad:
GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan, Marcus Hahnemann, Luis Robles, Troy Perkins
DEFENDERS: Jonathan Bornstein, Dan Califf, Steve Cherundolo, Jay Demerit, Clarence Goodson, Eric Lichaj, Chad Marhsall, Michael Orozco, Heath Pearce, Michael Parkhurst, Marvell Wynne.
MIDFIELDERS: Freddy Adu, Davy Arnaud, Ricardo Clark, Benny Feilhaber, Eddie Gaven, Stuart Holden, Pablo Mastroeni, Robbie Rogers, John Thorrington, Jose Francisco Torres,
FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Kenny Cooper, Charlie Davies, Jeremiah White
So what kind of starting lineup could we expect to see from this group? Here is one possibility:
Projected USA Gold Cup lineup
------------Altidore---------Cooper------------
------Torres-----------------------Adu----------
----------------Clark----Feilhaber---------------
Bornstein--DeMerit---Parkhurst---Cherundolo
------------------Guzan---------------------------
So who is mising from the preliminary roster? Surprisingly enough I would say Houston's Geoff Cameron and Brad Davis are probably leading the list of snubs, though I wonder if having Holden and Clark already on the team led to that decision. Not sure if that's the case though since the Columbus Crew has three players on this list. D.C. United rookie Chris Pontius is another glaring absence. Colorado's Colin Clark is another player I thought might make the list.
Conor Casey's inclusion is surprising because he's on the Confederations Cup squad and I can't imagine the Rapids being happy about missing their leading scorer for two months. Casey's inclusion, as well as that of Bornstein, could mean that this is an old list. Don't be surprised to see some changes before the 23-man roster is announced.
What do you think of this group? Who is missing that you think should be on the team? Who is on the list that you don't think belongs? What starting lineup would you like to see in the opening Gold Cup match?
Share your thoughts below.
