USA World Cup Squad Preview

Written by Tony Concannon Friday, 04 June 2010 08:46

England World Cup Blog

The United States are fast becoming regulars at the World Cup, and this will be the sixth consecutive time the squad have qualified. They had to work hard to seal their place in South Africa but eventually topped their qualifying group ahead of rivals Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica. Expectations are high after reaching the Confederations Cup final in 2009, beating European champions Spain along the way, before giving eventual winners Brazil a fright in the final. However, I think too much has been made of their run to the final in the Confederations Cup, and finishing losing finalists flattered the US a little. It was only a friendly competition after all. When the real action starts, I can't see them getting into the final 16, and they may even face a fight to get out of their group.

The majority of coach Bob Bradley's squad are based in Europe, with many in the Premier League. All three keepers are based in England, with Everton's Tim Howard, backed by Aston Villa reserve Brad Guzan and Wolves' shot-stopper Marcus Hahnemann is third choice. The defence is led by skipper Carlos Bocanegra, now with Rennes in France. He should be partnered by AC Milan man Oguchi Onyewu, who missed most of his first season at the San Siro through injury. West Ham's versatile Jonathan Spector should fill one of the full-back berths.

 Coach Bradley's son, Michael, who plays in the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach is a regular in a solid but unspectacular looking midfield. Glasgow Rangers duo DaMarcus Beasley (who is set to leave Ibrox) and Maurice Edu are both in the squad. The real midfield and goalscoring threat comes in the form of Fulham's midfielder Clint Dempsey and Los Angeles Galaxy star Landon Donovan. Dempsey is a regular goalscorer for Fulham, and is always dangerous, while Donovan is the US all-time leading goalscorer with 42 goals in 122 games. (Did you know the US has had more players with 100 caps than any other nation!?). Donovan also had a hugely successful loan spell with Everton in the Premier League this season. Bolton midfielder Stuart Holden has recovered fron the broken leg that brought a premature end to a promising start at the Reebok.

The US will be hoping Dempsey and Donovan can get amongst the goals, as their forward line looks worryingly light. LA Galaxy striker Edson Buddle, the leading scorer in the MLS this season, and Herculez Gomez, who heads the scoring charts in Mexico with Puebla, were both surprise inclusions. There is a place for Hull City striker Jozy Altidore, but he has yet to fulfil his early promise. The same can be said of former child prodigy Freddy Adu, who has been left out of the squad. Adu, now aged 20 (perhaps), and playing in Greece with Aris Thessaloniki, was touted as a future world star after making his senior debut aged 16, but his career has slowly gone downhill. 

The US will face England, Slovenia and Algeria in Group C, and although they should progress, I think they might struggle to get to the knockout stages. The match with Slovenia could well determine who makes it out of the group.  Although the US have some talented players, and their first eleven looks quite strong, the squad lacks strength and depth. They made it to the last sixteen in 2002 before losing to Italy, but have not made much progress on the world stage since the days of Alexi Lalas and Cobi Jones. Until a significant number of the US players can become regulars with major European club sides I feel they will continue to struggle. A lot of people expected the US to really kick-on and become a force in world football following their hosting of the World Cup in 1994. However they've stagnated of late and the MLS hasn't produced as many players of international class as expected. This could be a make or break World Cup for the US.  

For more US centric coverage of the American team and to hear words like roster, overtime, soccer and Belo Horizonte head over to and say hello on our favourite US World Cup Blog. 

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USA squad:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolves)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Jose Torres (Pachuca)

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla)

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