Upcoming USMNT friendlies

[nevzter]

I haven't been following the game long enough to pass judgment on today's picks, but I've never heard of Morales, Torres and Castillo.

Maybe we can get Van Persie naturalized in time for all of this, eh?

Morales I can't speak much to, but Castillo and Torres have been capped in the past. Torres was in the 2010 WC Squad.

[DCHeather]

By some accounts....Morales was a big reason the USMNT U23 beat the U-23 Mexican squad in the friendly warm-ups before the Olympic qualifying tournament. He was not able to participate in the tournament I think due to club commitments? He's an up and comer for the US squad, it will be interesting if he makes it past the camp's final roster cut.

[jumpkutz]

We'd better get he or some of the other youngsters opportunities sooner rather than later.....we're gonna be a bit long in the tooth come '14.

[LaxAttack]

Sounds like Chandler doesn't want to play for the US and it has nothing to do with waiting for Germany to call. He just doesn't want to play. If he doesn't want to play for the US, then so be it. I am not going to make him the next Rossi like I am sure some US fans will.

As for why some other guys haven't been named yet: Herc (who Grant Wahl claimed earlier this week was coming in) and Gooch (who will likely be called in) still have club games this week. Herc has the Mexican playoffs while Gooch has the Portuguese Cup final. Terrence Boyd also claimed on twitter that he has been called in and I think Dortmund's reserves have one last game this upcoming weekend and are on the verge of getting promoted to the 3. Liga.

Sounds like they are just giving Jozy an extra week of rest since he played so many minutes this past season.

As for Sacha, who I think is deserving of a spot, I don't think he is in (although he could still be announced on Sunday). He was tweeting earlier today about celebrating his bachelor party this week and his latest interview with Brian Sciaretta has him still talking about being on the outside, so I am guessing he is out.

Still have 13 more names left and it should be a mix of MLS and foreign guys. Kind of hard to complain/critique the roster when there is only 55% of the names officially announced (although I am sure that won't stop Mo. )

With Chandler out, I really hope Lichaj is one of the guys selected this upcoming Sunday.

But I will agree 100% with others with why didn't they just wait and announce all 29 guys at once instead of doing it all split up and making it look semi-unorganized.

[DCHeather]

Thanks for the info Lax.

But I won't turn Chandler into the next Rossi, who I don't really hold a grudge against anyways, since he never claimed he wanted to play for the US. But I think it's really lame Chandler ducks out when it comes time for the important matches, i.e. Gold Cup and World Cup Qualifying. He's letting his team down when it matters. He shouldn't be called again unless he claims he wants to play for the US and is willing to put in the work his teammates are doing. I would say the same if it were Dempsey pulling this.

[Clevelandmo]

If der Kaiser was going to pick Lichaj he should have done it already. He called Guzan, his teammate, after all. When are you guys going to see that he is the anti-christ?

I'm glad Chandler is gone; I hope the other Germans follow him. Especially the thuggish one, but we know he wont because no one wants him. None of them have had to prove themselves the way the Americans have.

[Clevelandmo]

I haven't been following the game long enough to pass judgment on today's picks, but I've never heard of Morales, Torres and Castillo.

Maybe we can get Van Persie naturalized in time for all of this, eh?

Morales has had all of one cap for the USA at the U23 level and has hardly had any first team action for Hertha Berlin, a team that just got relagated. He qualifies in Klinsmann's eyes because he has the magic combination of being both German and Latin, two demographics he said needed to be better reflected in the USA team. How Morales qualifies to play for the US I have no idea, born in Germany and I read both his parents were born in Peru. I guess one of them most have became a citizen a some point.

[DCHeather]

Not sure if I should call you Debbie Downer or Mrs. Doomsday?

I'll wait until Sunday to moan, as only 16 of the potential 29 have been named so far. So far Dempsey is the only outside field player from the Premier League to be named (who hasn't played in a week), I wouldn't be surprised if some more were named on Sunday. Leaving Lichaj out would be a little bewildering. But I would probably let some players get a few days to a week off after finishing their season. Sunday will either be joy or puzzlement and worry from me.

[SoCalJoe]

I haven't been following the game long enough to pass judgment on today's picks, but I've never heard of Morales, Torres and Castillo.

Maybe we can get Van Persie naturalized in time for all of this, eh?

Jump, Torres is a player you'll get mixed reactions on, I personally like him, he was on the last WC team. Very skilled with the ball and good on free kicks. Big problem with him is he doesn't track back very well and can get knocked off the ball because of his smallish size. Castillo is naturally left footed, but he's 5'7 and maybe a buck forty. He can play as a winger or as an LB, but from his limited time w/the Nats his defence looked terrible and he appeared more interested in attacking. Know nothing about Morales other than what Mo wrote, but did find this; http://www.thedenimkit.com/2011/11/04/a ... ould-know/

It's somewhat dated since it mentions he decided on the US so he could get a chance at the Olympics

[DCHeather]

UPDATED U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Jose Torres (Pachuca), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (7): Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

Shocking not to see Lichaj. A little surprising not to see Shea...but then again he hasn't been doing very well. But Zusi?

[jumpkutz]

Agree, Heath, was hoping to see Lichaj and Shea named. Eric's young and currently in form, so why not? Don't know what's going on with Brek, but we've got some friendly experience invested in him now, so why not keep going with him despite whatever his current issues are? Maybe he could've used this time away and built upon his previous success with USMNT to snap out of it. Still gonna give Jurgen the benefit of the doubt at this stage of the proceedings...

[nevzter]

WTF?

[DCHeather]

I have a feeling Shea was originally called but played his way off the team, especially with the ref incident. I was under the impression that 2 more players should have been named. If Shea may have been one of those names, who was the other?

Ream was deemed to need rest according to twitter and Ream's blog. Lichaj, I guess may have needed rest too? You would think with Chandler gone he would be now second in line after F. Johnson. But it's Castillo? Hmm. I don't watch the Mexican league but pundits are claiming he's had an excellent season. And he does have more games under his belt than Lichaj at the moment. But is Morales third in line, or is he and a couple of other U-23 guys just getting an introduction to the full camp? I am thinking Corona, Morales, and perhaps Boyd will three names to be cut before the Scotland match. Although it looks like Altidore won't be here until after that game? It seems perhaps Boyd might be Altidore's understudy? Puzzling to be sure.

I am ok with the Forwards brought, fairly saitisfied with the midfield (I assume Donovan will be played out wide, although I am not too sure who will be playing the opposite side...Williams has been played out there, but that's not exactly his position). And we'll likely see Bradley, Jones, and/or Edu in the middle. And Altidore and Demps playing forward positions. The defense is ok for the first team, but it's the depth that worries me. I assume Dolo, Boca, Onyewu, and Johnson will be the starters there...Castillo, Goodsen, and parkhurst on the bench? It's not too bad...but would rather have Lichaj as cover. We shall see who makes the final cut.

[Clevelandmo]

I have no problem with Shea not being named. I'm starting to find him a very frustrating and inconsistent player. Lichaj, Beasley and especially Adu should've been called. I think Spector is injured otherwise I would really be complaining. Whitbread might have a knock too.

Oh well, I'll just sit here and watch the storm roll in. 'Cause I'm positive it's coming.

[Clevelandmo]

I have a feeling Shea was originally called but played his way off the team, especially with the ref incident.

Why would the ref incident play him off the team when Jones gets the captains armband for stomping on a players broken foot and getting an 8 game suspension. I know, I cant let it rest.

I think Shea's performance in the Olympic qualifying played him off the team. Corona and Boyd are obviously getting rewarded for their play in Oly qualifying which is all the more reason why I'm dumbfounded at Adu's exclusion. No one on that U23 team showed more than Adu, plus Adu has actually contributed to the full national team before and played against serious CONCACAF competition.