martedì 13 maggio 2014

USA World Cup 30-man squad



There were few surprises as USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann named his 30-men roster for the next month’s World Cup. Dropping veteran Eddie Johnson and calling up Julian Green were among those. Although Stoke City's Brek Shea too was dropped, Johnson remains the biggest name left off the 30-man list. Other notable names dropped out are been midfielder Sacha Kljestan and forwards Herculez Gomez and Juan Agudelo. Johnson were edged out by San Jose’s forward Chris Wondolowski and by Sunderland’s Jozy Altidore, despite his struggles in the English Premier League. Klinsmann told Johnson's omission wasn’t related to his recent comments about his DC United teammates. But Johson’s bad attitude surely had to do with his absence from the 30-men preliminary list. Johnson is the man that scored the key goal against Mexico last September that clinched USMNT’s World Cup berth. This drop is also field-related. Johnson's struggles with D.C. United ended his World Cup dream as he has yet to score into this MLS season while other forwards’ status raised up. Wondolowski is on fire for San Jose this term while Terrence Boyd flourished this season playing for Rapid Vienna. And Landon Donovan’s inclusion in the forwards list also contributed to make Johnson expendable. With Altidore, Clint Dempsey and Donovan as likely offensive threats and with Aron Johannsson, Wondolowski and Boyd as main backups, there was no room for Johnson. As pointed earlier, there was no place also for Gomez and Agudelo, who is enjoying a successful season since his European move. About Green, assuming  that his ticket to Brazil is already booked, questions floats around who will be cut to include Bayern Munich's teenager in the final list. Green’s designation as a midfielder maybe will have the effect of squeeze out one of the men in the middle. Joe Corona is a candidate as his inclusion in the final 23-men list could be a surprise. Something that wasn't a surprise, but worth noting is the exclusion of Luis Gil: the gifted RLS’s midfielder probably paid his recent lack of game shape. He probably had to take a lot of more work to get the call. In the back of the field Timmy Chandler did make the 30. Chandler, converted midfielder Brad Evans and Geoff Cameron will battle for the troubled right back spot. Due to his versatility, Michael Parkhurst is also an option. The final roster will be named after a June 1 match against Turkey in Harrison, N.J.

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