GAME DAY!!! USMNT at Honduras

Alas, paying job obligations keep me from a preview of my own, but suffice to say that the opening match is important for the USMNT.  Three points is not a total long shot, but my guess is that Jurgen Klinsmann will be happy with a point on the road.

Lots of different previews of today's match:  For ones that I like check out:

Ives Galarcep, Soccer by Ives here and podcast version here.

Grant Wahl of course here.

Charles Boehm for USSoccerplayers.com.

The always slightly irreverent, but usually very accurate, The Shinguardian's Official Preview.

Me, Three points and "watching" the game via MatchTracker.  Sucks but BeIN Sports is blocked at the office (I wonder why?)  Also not that ESPN3 is blocked also, so.....Damn law firms.

Five Talking Points: USMNT Roster for Honduras WCQ

For reasons best known to him, US coach Jurgen Klinsmann waited until today to announce his squad for the first Hexagonal World Cup Qualifying Match against Honduras in San Pedro Sula on Wednesday.  (to be fair, Klinsmann said he wanted to make sure people didn't get hurt in the weekend's matches, but it is not like he couldn't name others on short notice if necessary--whatever.)

Here is the Roster:


GOALKEEPERS (3) : Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire)
DEFENDERS (9) : Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Parkhurst (Augsburg)
MIDFIELDERS (8) : Michael Bradley (Roma), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht ), Jose Torres (Tigres), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (4 ): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)

1.  If there are any surprises on this roster, it would be the Brad Evans and Brad Davis.  Brad Davis did not supremely impress in the match against Canada, although he was better that Brad Evans.  Though to be honest, Evans played much better at right back than in central midfileder.  That said, I don't see either starting this match.

2.  Sean Johnson now needs to shave his head--he has wayyyy too much hair for a USMNT goalkeeper.  Still I think he has earned this call up.

3.  Centerback pairing is kind of an interesting question.  The inclusion of Mo Edu on this list suggests that Klinsmann is keeping his options open, with the former Terp having played as a centerback for Klinsmann in the past.  However, I suspect that we will see Omar Gonzalez line up next to Carlos Bocanegra.

4.  The striker corps presents an interesting conundrum for Klinsmann.  Jozy Altidore has been hot, red hot in the Eredivisie, but in the past has not been able to translate that in to success for the Red, White and Blue. Add to the equation that Eddie Johnson has proven himself to be far better holding the ball as a target striker than Altidore.  Dempsey is too good a player to leave on the bench, so will we see a 4-3-3 that Klinsmann likes but that most U.S. players are not used to playing?

5.  If there was ever a chance for Timmy chandler to redeem himself in the eyes of U.S. fans this game will be it.  Almost assured of starting--short of being caught in bed with a teammates wife--Chandler is going to need to provide width if Klinsmann goes 4-3-3 and that will put a big burden on him.

Bonus Talking Point:  Too many Brads on this squad and too many Johnsons, I don't like it.


My predicted line up

-------Altidore ------------  E. Johnson-------
------------------Dempsey--------------------

--Jones------------------Bradley-------------
----------------D. Williams---------------------

Castillo--Bocanegra--Gonzales----Chandler----

-----------------Howard-------------------

Five Talking Points--USMNT January Camp

Five talking points about the USMNT Roster for the January Camp.

Just as a quick reminder, here is the roster:

GOALKEEPERS- Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire)

DEFENDERS-Steven Beitashour (San Jose Earthquakes), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), A.J. DeLaGarza (LA Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Connor Lade (New York Red Bulls), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes), Jeff Parke (Philadelphia Union)

MIDFIELDERS- Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (out of contract), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Joshua Gatt (Molde), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

FORWARDS- Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA), Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo), Edson Buddle (Colorado Rapids), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

To the Points:  

1.  I can't remember the last time a USMNT roster featured two outside midfielders who could serve the ball with as much aplomb as Brad Davis and Graham Zusi.  Two set piece service maestros.  Seems to me like a match made in heaven--so that means we won't see them together.  Shame, that could be a lot of fun to watch them on the pitch together.

2.  Besler or Gonzalez?  If you accept the (semi-conventional) wisdom that Geoff Cameron has solidified a place in Klinsmann's back line corps, who between Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler has the chops to make the step up to partner with Cameron with the surely imminent departure of Carlos Bocanegra from the regular national team fold.  (on that point- is Bocanegra really on the outs?)

3.  Speaking of Gonzalez, can he and his L.A. Galaxy and Maryland Terrapin teammate A.J. De La Garza make an impact on the national team as they have in college and MLS?  The versatility of De La Garza to play either right or left back has to be give him the edge to start in this corps.  Truly has there ever been as consistent a pairing of players through all levels as these two?  I think not.

4.  Klinsmann has said that between 5 and 8 of these players will likely be held in camp for the Honduras World Cup Qualifier.  That list, I suspect will include, Hamid, Beckerman, Gonzalez, Zusi, Johnson and Wondolowski.  On the bubble will be Gatt and Besler.  

5.    It would be easy to look at this as Benny Feilhaber's final chance to impress Klinsmann for inclusion in World Cup Qualifying rosters, but I suspect that his inclusion is no throw-away.  Can Feilhaber capture that Gold Cup magic in a bottle (or in a volley) and catapault himself back into contention--particularly in light of the doubts surrounding Landon Donovan's future?  A strong camp will do that for him.

Projected Line-Up vs. Canada (4-1-3-2)

---------------------Hamid-----------------------

De La Garza---Gonzalez---Besler---Beitashour

------------------Beckerman----------------------

Gatt --------------Zusi---------------Feilhaber----

----------Wondolowski----Johnson--------------

October Call Ups Yield some Surprises Up Top

U.S. Men's National Team Coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced his squad for the final matches in this round of World Cup Qualifying.  With the next two games away to Antigua & Barbuda and home to Guatamala having massive importance, the squad yielded some interesting surprises up top--in the form of Alan Gordon and Eddie Johnson and the snubs of Jozy Altidore, Terrance Boyd and Chris Wondolowski.
Tthe U.S., Jamaica and Guatamala all have the same number of points (7) in this round with the U.S. tied with Guatamala a the top of the group on goal difference (+2).  The U.S. holds their destiny in their hands, win out and  they are in the Hexagonal.  The best results of match day 5 would be a solid win over Antigua and a Jamaica/Guatamala win by either team.  

But you have to wonder--what the hell is Klinsmann thinking?  Altidore, Boyd and Wondolowski have been in form and Altidore and Wondo lead their respective leagues in goal scoring.  Boyd has been finding the back the net regularly as well.  So, the the "whaaa..." question will be answered later.

Here is the full roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3) : Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
       Seriously---this section is getting to be a snoozer.  Howard will start unless injured.  Guzan could get the nod against Guatamala if the U.S. demolish Antigua and Jamaica and Guatamala end in a win for either side. Don't be surprised if Rimando does not travel to Antigua.  


DEFENDERS (8) : Carlos Bocanegra (Racing Santander), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Maurice Edu (Stoke City), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland)
         No surprises here.  All these players are playing on good form and this is shaping up to be Klinsmann's go to squad of defenders.  

MIDFIELDERS (8) : Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Roma), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
         Apparently, Sacha Kljestan is no longer in the doghouse.  It is very, very, very good to see Bradley back--the U.S. always seem to play much better with him on the pitch.  I like Zusi getting another call, but I don't expect him to be in the game day squad, but who knows.

FORWARDS (5): Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Alan Gordon (San Jose Earthquakes), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders)
         Dempsey?  Check.  Donovan?  Check.  Gomez?  Check.  And then the head scratching begins.  Gomez and Demspey have been scoring goals for the U.S. and so it is not a surprise.  Donovan is the talisman who often steps up big in important matches.  But why Alan Gordon and Eddie Johnson.

First the positives on both.  Domestically, there is probably no better off-the-bench striker in MLS than Alan Gordon (although fellow Earthquakes striker Steven Lenhart could make a case).  Gordon has scored 13 times this season, mostly off the bench, and is scoring almost one goal for every 90 minutes on the field.  But here is the key stat, Gordon is converting almost 3 out of every 10 chances he has to score.  He has 25 shots on goal (out of 43 taken) and scored 13.  That is a conversion ratio that probably can't be ignored.  Gordon is a big guy, has a high work rate when coming on with 25-30 minutes left in the match, and has shown that he will take the abuse that a fox in the box has to take while holding the ball.  I would call Gordon a poor man's Brian Ching, but I am not sure the comparison holds up beyond the physical toughness.

Eddie "Grown-Ass Man" Johnson got lost for a few years in Europe, but has found form with the Seattle Sounders.  Johnson has 14 goals on 69 shots with 24 on goal.  That is giving Johnson a 20.2% conversion rate as well.  Johnson and teammate Fredy Montero are the league's best strike duo on any team not from San Jose.  What Johnson needed was an ego that matched his own and a partner with creative skills that Johnson lacks, but a partner who does have the raw physical talent that Johnson possesses.  

But is not all about stats is it?  Surely Klinsmann is not just looking at goals and minutes and conversion ratios, right?  Well, maybe not. What do Altidore, Wondolowski and Boyd have at their club teams, that they don't have at the national team level?  Yep, a midfield full of guys who can feed them the ball.  

What the U.S. has lacked with the big stable of defensive midfielders occupying the midfield slots, are creative passers and ball handlers who can get the ball into the final third and find guys like Wondo, Altidore and Boyd.  Add to that fact that those three players are far better at going at players rather than playing with their back to goal.  Johnson and Gordon are better with their back to the goal than Wondolowski, Boyd and Altidore.  I seriously don't expect Gordon or Johnson to get a start, and at most will get 20 minutes if Klinsmann needs to get a goal to put a game out of reach or to equalize in the latter stages (please avoid this situation).  

But what does this do to the U.S. tactically?  I expect to see Klinsmann field a squad that will put a lot of pressure on Steve Cherundolo to provide width on the right.  I would expect to see an asymmetric 4-4-2 or even a 4-3-3.  

Here is what I expect against Antigua

----------------------------Howard----------------------
Cherundolo ------Cameron--------Bocanegra-----Castillo

----------------------Williams---Jones-------------------
--------Bradley----------------------------Donovan-----------
----------------------Dempsey--------------------------------
-----------------------------------Gomez-----------------------

Now that is a weird set up, and again puts a big burden on Cherundolo to provide width on the right and to a lesser extent Castillo on the left.  But here is where things can be itneresting if the U.S. can make the communication work.  Michael Bradley is the best box-to-box midfielder I think the U.S. has produced in years.  Klinsmann should give him free rein to create, to move around and spray passes around like he can, to get the ball wide and to follow up attacks with his late runs into the box.  Let Donovan, Dempsey and Gomez buzz around the back line and in the hole just in front of the back line and drive the defense crazy with movement.  But the three of them have to be on the same page to make sure at least two of them are crashing the goal area on every cross.  

Let Danny Williams do the holding, he did very well versus Jamaica, and let Bradley and Jones create a little.  Yes, Antigua and Guatamala are going to bunker in these games, the U.S. will have to use the movement of Bradley, Donovan, Dempsey and Gomez to defeat that.  

Having said all that, congrats to Alan Gordon for the call-up.  I bet he thought someone was pranking him when Klinsmann called.

USMNT Away Matches for World Cup Qualifying

Steven Goff, the Washington Post's Soccer Insider, has been burning up Twitter this morning with the news that the fledgling outfit BeIn Sport has the U.S. TV rights to CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying matches including all of the U.S. MNT's away matches during World Cup Qualifying, beginning with the Jamaica--US match.

The sports channel, owned by Qatar based Al Jazeera (an tidbit that has been left out of press releases for some pretty obvious political reasons), has been buying up the rights to the worlds top leagues, including La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and others.  In fact, the network has been splashing the cash like crazy like a Las Vegas whale on a bender.

What does this mean for the U.S. MNT?

All of their away matches in World Cup Qualifying, including this round and the hexagonal, will be carried by BeIn Sport.  BeIn sport is currently carried in the U.S. on DirectTV and Dish Network.  While they are actively seeking space on other cable carriers, currently there are only satellite feeds.  As Goff has pointed out, the home teams own the rights to broadcasts.  So while ESPN and/or NBC will show the home games, U.S. Soccer has no control over the away matches and cannot sell the rights.

With so much cash to spend around, other CONCACAF Members will snap up the generous payment for rights being offered, something that CONCACAF has a particular reputation for doing.  Not that I blame the other national federations, so many countries are seeking additional funds to keep up.  All BeIn has to do is come in with a bid that is 10-15% higher than anyone's bid and watch the rights flow in like so much water.  While it is clear that no federation has to do business with Al Jazeera/BeIn Sport, the kind of money flowing from Qatar is hard to ignore.

So what will happen?  In theory BeIn could sell a transmission to ESPN or NBC or Fox for transmission in the U.S. (a good short term but expensive idea given that a U.S. Jamaica match which is the biggest draw in the group won't come anywhere close to the viewership that U.S.-Mexico will pull in).  Of course, BeIn Sport is making a big push to contact cable providers and get on systems (which you can do here) through out the U.S.  That probably won't help for the Jamaica game, but might be plausible by the time the Hex rolls around.

Also, Goff notes that his information does not indicate that BeIn Sport will be streaming the games on their website.

Bummer.

Update:  8/22 1:21p.m.  Comcast states that they are currently working with BeIn Sports to provide service Xfinity customers.

Klinsmann's May'June Roster

Jurgen Klinsmann named is final 23 man roster for the May/June friendlies and the first two World Cup Qualifying matches.  Here is the list:


GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland)
MIDFIELDERS (7): 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)
FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes).

Prior to naming the team, Klinsmann had indicated that he was treating this series of games like a tournament and was going to name all three goalkeepers to the final roster.  As I expected Alfredo Morales, Danny Willams, Graham Zusi and Juan Agudelo did not make the cut.

Morales and Agudelo should not have made the roster.  Neither has had much playing time with their respective club's first teams, although that will likely change for Agudelo with his recent move to Chivas USA.  You could make an argument that Terrence Boyd was not making first team appearances for the Bundesliga Champions, but Dortmund is now out of season whereas Chivas is not. I don't expect to see Boyd on the pitch much anyway.

I think Zusi's inexperience is what ultimately cost him, but he is firmly on Klinsmann's radar and will have time to impress in the coming months.  Williams is probably a victim more of his shoulder injury than anything else.

The backline kind of picks itself right now.  You will see, R-L, Cherundolo-Bocanegra-Onyewu-Castillo.  Although depending on training performance, Parkhurst at left back is not a bad choice, but is not as attack minded as Castillo, but is certainly steadier in a defensive set.  I also like the line of Cherundolo--Goodson--Onyewu--Bocanegra.  You may see Goodson and/or Cameron get a run out in one of the friendlies, either Scotland or Canada.  I would call holding midfielder a toss up between Beckerman and Edu.  Klinsmann has favored Beckerman in the past and is a known quantity for Klinsmann.  I would expect Edu to start against Scotland and see from there.  I would think that Klinsmann will go with a more two way player in central midfield and that is likely to be Bradley in my mind.

So who plays in the attacking roles.  Dempsey is going to be unavailable for the Scotland match, if for no other reason than to give his groin a little more time to heal.  Much will depend on what kind of formation that Klinsmann wants to run, a 4-4-2, 4-3-3 or some asymetric tweak on a 4-3-1-2 mix.  A straight 4-4-2 would likely see Altidore up top, with Gomez or Wondolowski playing off him and Donovan and Torres or Johnson playing the flanks.  I think with the plethora of attacking talent in this squad, Klinsmann is going to want to have at least two strikers.  Such a system puts a burden on Bradley in the middle to pull the strings. If Donovan and Torres are played on the flanks, expect to see them pinch in on the attacks and for Cherudnolo/Castillo to provide the width on the overlap, taking some of the play making burden off of Bradley.

There is going to be some pressure for the U.S. attack to produce against all the opponents but Brazil (and I would like to see the U.S. just go at Brazil early on.  Certainly the U.S. will be expected to attack against Antigua and go into Guatamala with an attack minded plan.