by Brian Mechanick

The USA roster has been released for the August 11 friendly vs. Brazil, and here it is:


GOALKEEPERS- Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton)

DEFENDERS- Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Étienne), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

MIDFIELDERS- Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht)

FORWARDS- Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Pachuca)


Thoughts on the Roster:

Bob Bradley and US Soccer have sent a clear message with this roster: win. A friendly against Brazil in front of 55,000+ fans in New York is not the time to play an experimental roster. The USMNT has some momentum right now, and win over Brazil could be good step in keeping it going into next summer’s Gold Cup, hosted in the USA.


Bradley was wise to leave out the players with the most unsteady club situations. Jozy Altidore is reportedly in the process of moving to Turkey’s Beşiktaş. Jay DeMerit and DeMarcus Beasley are without teams. Stuart Holden needs to lock down a starting job after missing much of Bolton’s season with injury, Clint Dempsey needs to impress new manager Mark Hughes, and Oguchi Onyewu needs to do anything he can to get a shot to play at AC Milan.


Some fans really wanted to see some young players play against Brazil (the likes of Omar Gonzalez, Ike Opara, and Edgar Castillo), but this isn’t the game for that. With more friendlies to come in the fall against lesser-known teams, expect the youth to begin got be mixed in then.


The striker pool is thin, but choosing Charlie Davies would not be the right decision. Reports are Davies is still on the way back from his injuries, and he would be much better served getting better and trying to get back into the mix at Sochaux then getting a 10 minute run around vs. Brazil.


Jermiane Jones is the name that stands out as a member of the roster. After being hyped for a year before the World Cup, Jones’ injuries proved too much for him to join the USMNT. At 28 some debate if he’s too old to factor for 2014, but as the most talented defensive midfielder to play for the US since John O’Brien’s heyday, Bradley is wise to see what the German can do.


Look for this game to be the start of Clarence Goodson’s fight to be a starting CB through this next cycle. He impressed in his brief appearances so far with the team, and a strong performance against Brazil could help push Goodson out of Norway to a bigger league.


Don’t be surprised with this striker pool if we see Bradley go to the 4-3-3/4-5-1 that was so much more effective for the USA in the second halves of its games. In Donovan, Bedoya, and Kljestan, the USA has the attacking players who can play in support of a strong striker like Edson Buddle.


A lineup prediction: (4-5-1):

---------------Howard-----------------
Cherundolo—Goodson—Bocanegra—Bornstein
------Bradley---Edu---Feilhaber-------
Bedoya-------------------------Donovan
---------------Buddle-----------------