by Vlad Bouchouev

With the World Cup less than a month away, people can only speculate about what Bob Bradley’s final 23-man roster man will look like. We obviously have a good idea of who the majority of the players will be, but these next couple of weeks may prompt Bradley to make some surprising decisions. The most intriguing part of the final roster selection will undoubtedly be picking the forwards. With about six (or eight, depending on just who is a forward) to choose from in camp, Jozy Altidore is the only forward who seemingly has a ticket to South Africa already booked.


That’s right, that ambitious 20-year-old youngster from New Jersey whose best case for starting for the U.S. at forward came after making a sly turn around defender Joan Capdevila and striking a dinky shot past keeper Iker Casillas in last year’s Confederation’s Cup semifinal.


All jokes aside, we know the guy can play. We’ve seen it with his days with the New York Red Bulls and the US U-20 Men’s National Team. The biggest discomfort with Jozy Altidore has been caused by his recent form. After Hull City threw Altidore a lifeline last summer, he returned them the favor by scoring a whopping two goals in all competitions. He did little to help prevent Hull City’s relegation. You may say that’s a little too much to ask for from a developing player who is testing the European soccer waters, but hey, if you’re going to start as a forward with the US National Team at this year’s World Cup, you’re going to have to at least live up to some minimum expectations. Two goals? Really? Karim Benzema got hacked from the French team for only scoring eight goals for Real Madrid this season, and that kid too has proved that he can play on the international level.


As far as I am concerned, no American forward should be guaranteed a spot on the final roster for the 2010 World Cup, and certainly not a starting one. The battle between the forwards for these roster spots should be an exciting one and I can only imagine the atmosphere that will be surrounding the Princeton camp in the next several weeks. Every forward that Bob Bradley has called up has a legitimate shot at making the final cut. Even Robbie Findley.


All in all, there is some obligation on the part of Altidore to not only show up to the camp next week, but to be the dominant force that he can be. Otherwise, guys like Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez are going to be making a serious case for a starting place in South Africa. Buddle has his connection to Landon Donovan connection going for him and Gomez has the Mexican Primera Division scoring title under his belt. Eddie Johnson is currently making fans at Greek club Aris and Robbie Findley is the closest thing that we have to a Charlie Davies stand-in. Brian Ching is an experienced physical target man who happens to also be the man-crush of both Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley. In my opinion, the guys who should really be considered for striker role are the likes of Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey – two guys that know how to score and who ironically have had more success in the Premier League than Jozy.


All we know thus far is that we have a few options but no guarantees. But with only one goal in the League Cup and another in the Premier League this season (granted, one of the best leagues in the world), I just wouldn’t want to see Jozy become, as Ian Dowie put it, a “could-a-been” this World Cup or in the years to come. My old coach used to say, “no one is guaranteed a spot” and I think the same rule will apply for Altidore this month. Two goals for Hull City should simply not lock you in for the World Cup.


Vlad Bouchouev is a student at Carnegie Mellon University and a new contributor to MFUSA.