The World Soccer Source 23-Man USMNT 2014 World Cup Roster Proposal
(August 2013 Edition)
COMMENT:
This 23-man USMNT Roster Proposal is less conservative than other projections and predictions that you will find from other writers and websites.
The purpose of not just going with the current group of Jürgen Klinsmann regulars who are doing a good job at staying on top of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying table is not to purposely propose a group of inexperienced and young players for the sake of creating controversy.
On the contrary, the purpose is that this group of players below represents a sincere attempt to not just survive the group stage but to give young, talented, and athletic players the chance to try and raise the level of play of the USMNT.
For example, Gyasi Zardes and Mario Rodriguez are on the list over Eddie Johnson, which will seem almost comical to many people.
The reason that this writer selected Zardes and Rodriguez, despite the excellent combination of skill and overall athleticism of Johnson, is that this writer believes that these two young and internationally inexperienced players, if they happen to play for whatever reason over starters like Juan Agudelo or Terrence Boyd, will relentlessly attack the goal no matter the opponent more so than Johnson will.
It’s important to remember that Rodriguez is highly-regarded by Tab Ramos, and Rodriguez plays in Germany. Additionally, Zardes is widely-considered an extremely talented striker in MLS circles, and Zardes seemed to have no problem playing against Real Madrid yesterday who were fielding a strong line-up, including Casemiro at the defensive midfielder role.
Here is the roster proposal:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad GUZAN, Tim HOWARD, Nick RIMANDO.
CENTER BACKS (4): Gale AGBOSSOUMONDE, Andrew FARRELL, Shane O’NEILL, Michael OROZCO FISCAL.
OUTSIDE BACKS (3): Chris KLUTE, Kofi SARKODIE, DeAndre YEDLIN.
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS (3): Michael BRADLEY, Geoff CAMERON, Benji JOYA.
ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS (5): Freddy ADU, Joe Benny CORONA, Clint DEMPSEY, Mix DISKERUD, Benny FEILHABER.
FORWARDS (5): Juan AGUDELO, Jozy ALTIDORE, Terrence BOYD, Mario RODRIGUEZ, Gyasi ZARDES.
NOTES:
-There are 7 defenders as opposed to 8 because Geoff Cameron plays center back as well as both outside back positions.
-Michael Orozco, Geoff Cameron, Andrew Farrell, Shane O’Neill can all play as outside backs and as defensive midfielders.
-Geoff Cameron is as much of a center back as he is a defensive midfielder.
-Benji Joya is a box-to-box midfielder listed with the defensive midfielders.
-Freddy Adu and Benny Feilhaber are on this roster proposal. Both of these players are highly-valued by World Soccer Source for their proven-ability and record of performing and making a positive impact at the international level regardless of the opponent. Many Americans and non-Americans consider these two players to be inconsistent and lazy playmakers with a poor attitude, but World Soccer Source considers them to be invaluable midfielders for the USMNT due to their ability to bring creative and quality passing and attacking play to a national team that lacks these qualities.
USMNT Starting XI Proposal (4-1-2-1-2): Howard; Yedlin, O’Neill, Farrell, Klute; Cameron; Bradley, Joya; Corona; Agudelo, Dempsey.
ROSTER ALTERNATES:
FORWARDS: Teal BUNBURY, Alonso HERNANDEZ, Eddie JOHNSON, Tony TAYLOR, José VILLARREAL.
MIDFIELDERS: Landon DONOVAN, Junior FLORES, Luis GIL, Joe GYAU, Jeremy HALL, Perry KITCHEN, Dax MCCARTY, Brek SHEA.
DEFENDERS: Matt BESLER, Omar GONZALEZ, Fabian JOHNSON, Eric LICHAJ, Michael PARKHURST, Jonathan SPECTOR, Caleb STANKO.
GOALKEEPERS: Cody CROPPER, Tally HALL, Bill HAMID, Clint IRWIN, Sean JOHNSON, Dan KENNEDY, Luis ROBLES.