Yesterday, Bob Bradley trimmed the US Mens World Cup roster from the 30 men he invited to try out to the 23 that are going to South Africa to play in the World Cup. There were more than a few surprises and disappointments, but overall the team looks similar to what most had predicted.
Bradley is bringin 3 goalies, 4 strikers, 8 midfields and 8 defenders. As expected and written about on this blog before, the team lacks a serious striker. In fact of the 4 he is bringing none has ever played on the world's biggest stage and two of them have only recently come to prominence because of their strong showings in the MLS. Robbie Findley and Edson Buddle are not players known for striking fear in opposing defenders on the international level but they have both had stellar season. He has 9 goals in the 9 games he has played for the Galaxy in 2010 but has very little international experience. In fact, it appears that Buddle has only 2 international appearances for the men's team. The second striker, Robbie Findley, also has never scored an international goal. The man most likely to strike fear in opposing defenders is Jozy Altidore and we saw the less than stellar season he had at Hull where he is most memorable for the red card he received for headbutting a player.
The Midfield being headed up by veterans Clint Dempsey, Demarcus Beasley, and Landon Donovan will anchor the team, but they all lack finishing as well. They will keep defenders on their toes and minimize pressure on the back four.
There is press complaining that Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson did not make the squad but it can hardly be said that they were any stronger than the players that Mr. Bradley did choose. Chad Marshall, Heath Pearce, lejandro Bedoya, Sacha Kljestan and Robbie Rogers are also not making the trip from Princeton to South Africa. While I am sure they are devastated to be so close, yet so far. There is always four years from now.
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