The Gold Cup starts tomorrow and the US is still making revisions to their roster. Recently, Bob Bradley added 7 more names to his roster from the Confederation Cup: Jozy Altidore, Ricardo Clark, Conor Casey, Jonathan Bornstein, Benny Feilhaber, Sacha Kljestan, and Brad Guzan. The US roster also includes both Steve Cherundolo and Brian Ching who are returning from injuries. The US now has an expanded roster of 30 men while only 18 can dress for a match.
It will be very exciting to see how Altidore and Ching can combine on the offensive end. Jozy is coming off a fairly successful stint from the Confederation Cup, while a scoring veteran Ching is coming back from a hamstring strain. Holding down the midfield will be a combination of MLS stars and Ricardo Clark and Benny Feilhaber from the Confederation Cup roster. It is important to note that the US will be without the skills of Landon Donovan. Defense and goaltending may be lacking in this roster. Bornstein is the only returning defender from the last tournament. Sacha Kljestan is also returning to the line up, but as a defender and not as a midfielder. The US will even be without Tim Howard between the posts.
I am not sure if I like all of these changes to the roster. I understand that the US is looking for some more talent to add to their final roster for the World Cup, but I have a feeling that many fair-weather fans may be disappointed. Many people that have just jumped on the US bandwagon during the Confederation Cup may not recognize the roster or the type of play that they demonstrated against the likes of Spain. 19 of the 30 men in the line up play in the MLS…nearly 2/3rds! This could be a great opportunity to showcase how strong our league is…or it can signal how weak it is. The CONCACAF teams will not be as strong as the Confederation Cup teams, but we have seen the US struggle against them.
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