January Camp roster announced

Breakdown of the January Camp roster and a look ahead to the February 1st friendly against South Korea.

Two days ago we finally entered the World Cup year, and today we got our first US national team news of 2014. Jurgen Klinsmann announced his 26-man roster for the January camp and friendly against South Korea and it’s a great mix of veterans and youngsters. It is filled with 10 players who have yet to be capped by the USMNT, as well as 10 who featured in qualifying this past year. The camp runs from January 6^th through February 1^st (the date of the friendly against South Korea) and will be held in both southern California and Sao Paulo, Brazil—which should give the staff a good chance to get their bearings and figure out some details before the full team trains there before and during the World Cup.

Here is the US January Camp Roster

Goalies: Tally Hall, Bill Hamid, Sean Johnson, Nick Rimando

Defenders: Matt Besler, Brad Evans, Omar Gonzalez, Clarence Goodson, Michael Harrington, Chris Klute, Chance Myers, Shane O’Neill, Seth Sinovic, DeAndre Yedlin

Midfielders: Eric Alexander, Kyle Beckerman, Brad Davis, Mix Diskerud, Benny Feilhaber, Luis Gil, Dax McCarty, Graham Zusi

Forwards: Landon Donovan, Eddie Johnson, Mike Magee, Chris Wondolowski

Klinsmann brought in four goalies to the squad, but will most likely only take three with him to Brazil. Rimando is the obvious first choice with Johnson and Hamid most likely joining him.

Defensively, Klinsmann brought in four center backs, three of which—Besler, Gonzalez, Goodson—were on the roster sheet a good deal in 2013. It should be a great opportunity for Besler and Gonzalez to become more confortable with one another and continue to develop their chemistry, as they will most likely be the pairing that starts for the US come June 16^th in Brazil. He also brought in Shane O’Neill who will look to make an impression on the coach. It is the 20-year-old’s first call up to the senior national team, and he looks to have a very bright future for both club and country. There are six fullbacks in camp, a position that is very much up in the air both now and in the future. Brad Evans and Demarcus Beasley started the majority of games for the USMNT during qualifying, but them starting against Ghana, Portugal, and Germany is quite a scary thought. Evans will be in camp, and will look to continue to lock down a plane ticket to Brazil, and is the only fullback who has previously been capped. 23-year-old Chris Klute (LB) and 20-year-old DeAndre Yedlin (RB) are the most exciting of the group, and both will look to make a late, and long shot, push for the World Cup roster.

Midfield is another spot where there won’t be a ton of experience in camp. Luis Gil is the most exciting of the group. The 20-year-old is probably a long shot for this year’s World Cup, but should be a key component of the USMNT for the next two cycles. He will be looking to get his first cap with the senior national team. Fielhaber leads the group of midfielders with 40 caps, but really hasn’t featured in the Klinsmann era at all and it would be a huge shock if he were even considered for the World Cup squad. Beckerman is second with 33 caps and was a big factor in last years Gold Cup as well as getting some key minutes plus a start in qualifying and is considered by most to be one of the players battling for the last few World Cup roster spots. Zusi has had the most time in important games as he played a huge role in qualifying while Diskerud has also become a pretty normal name to see on a roster sheet (or even a starting XI) having appeared in 13 of the last 14 USMNT games. Both will be looking to cement their ticket to Brazil and fighting for a starting spot. Brad Davis, like Beckerman, is fighting for one of the last spots heading to Brazil. As a lefty and free kick specialist, he brings things to the table that the USMNT is certainly lacking but will be looking to show that he has enough quality all around to earn a trip to the World Cup. Eric Alexander and Dax McCarty will both be representing the New York Red Bulls in the camp. While it is a nice honor for both of them, neither should be getting their hopes up at all for their USMNT futures.

At forward, Klinsmann called in two of the most experienced players in the player pool in Landon Donovan and Eddie Johnson. Outside of them the entire camp has 20 international goals, while Eddie has 19 and Landon has 57. Mike Magee is coming off a fantastic 2013, which included a MLS MVP trophy. However, the 29-year-old is still looking for his first cap and probably won’t be able to unseat any of the already established players in the USMNT picture. As for Chris Wondolowski, I’ll say the same thing I say every time he gets selected to a USMNT roster—it’s a waste of a spot. He’s a very good MLS player, but will never make an impact on the international level and we would be much better served getting a younger player some experience.

There are only a few players that I would have really liked to see included that were left home. The only “snubs” I see are Jack McInerney, Kelyn Rowe, and Amobi Okugo. JackMac is exactly the type of player I was saying should have gotten Wondo’s spot and I would have taken Rowe over Alexander. To me, the biggest snub of the three is Okugo, who I can see earning a spot in Brazil with only a few injuries (while most others would need a solid six or seven). He can play both center back and holding midfield, and in my opinion will be challenging for a starting spot in the 2018 World Cup.

Juan Agudelo and Jermaine Jones are two intriguing names that were left out. Agudelo not being in camp seems to hint at a move to Europe being very close for him, while many people thought Jones would be coming over with rumors of him wanting out of Schalke.  

Here is My Starting XI for the February 1st friendly

My XI is filled up mostly with experienced players. I think Besler and Gonzalez need as much time as possible next to each other in the back, while a front four of E. Johnson at forward with Donovan, Diskerud, and Zusi behind him is very key in my mind. Those three midfield spots are still up in the air six months before the World Cup kicks off. Donovan and Dempsey will certainly be two of the three, but where they will play as well as who is with them remains very uncertain. If Zusi can prove that he can be a threat on the left, it would allow Donovan to play right wing (his best fit in a 4-2-3-1 to me) and put Deuce in the center. If Diskerud can prove he can control a game and create chances at CAM, he could force his way into the starting XI by allowing both Donovan and Dempsey to play in the spots that I think fit them best (Dempsey’s best spell of his career was playing behind the striker on the left side at Fulham).

As for getting some youth into the game, I really want to see what Yedlin can do on the international level at RB (but wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Evans start). Klute is the most exciting and best LB in camp, so I would be shocked to see anyone but him start there. As for the two link up midfielders, I really want to see Beckerman and Gil paired up. Beckerman is a great holding midfielder who is smart and rarely turns the ball over and Gil is a two way midfielder who I could see partnering with Michael Bradley in the 2018 World Cup cycle. Also, he is looking for his first cap so putting him next to his club teammate that he is already comfortable with is a great way to start his international career.

Here’s to a great start to the 2014 USMNT year!