SURE THING
Tim Howard- Goalkeeper- Everton FC- Easy call here. Timmy is playing great in England and will be the starter between the pipes against England.
Landon Donovan- Midfielder- Everton FC- Despite the bomb he dropped against the Netherlands, he is the US's best player and will start against England.
Michael Bradley- Midfielder- Borussia Monchengladbach- Boy Bradley continues his solid play in the Bundesliga and continues to play well enough to continue to earn starts.
Carlos Bocanegra- Defender- Stade Rennais- Captain America will be there and should start on the left flank in the World Cup.
Josmer Altidore- Forward- Hull City FC- Proved his worth against the Netherlands but desperately needs Davies back.
Jay DeMerit- Defender- Watford FC- Should be the starter in the middle come June. Aggressive and fearless.
Clint Dempsey- Midfielder- Fulham FC- Once back from injury, he adds a second dimension to the US offense, which they sorely missed against the Dutch.
Oguchi Onyewu- Defender- AC Milan- Once back from his injury, he and DeMerit in the middle is very intimidating and the best CB pairing the US has to offer.
GOOD BET
Jonathan Spector- Defender- West Ham United- He is the best right back in the US pool, and his crossing is invaluable. Also able to play anywhere on the back line.
Steve Cherundolo- Defender- Hannover 96- Veteran leadership and gives a solid option on either flank is someone goes down.
Maurice Edu- Midfielder- Glasgow Rangers- Very well could be the starter next to Bradley is he continues to play well in Scotland.
DaMarcus Beasley- Midfielder- Glasgow Rangers- Back on the plane and he brings his 90 caps and great speed and service with him. Welcome back Beas.
Clarence Goodson- Defender- IK Start- Cemented his spot on plane with the 4th CB spot.
Stuart Holden- Midfielder- Bolton Wanderers- Broken fibula aside, Holden is a spark off the bench, able to play anywhere in midfield.
PROBABLE
Ricardo Clark- Midfielder- Eintracht Frankfurt- Just coming back off a minor leg injury, Clark becomes another back up in a crowded central midfield.
Brad Guzan- Goalkeeper- Aston Villa FC- Big Brad, Version 2. Seems to be Bradley's favored backup and only injury will keep him off the bench in the World Cup.
Benny Feilhaber- Midfielder- AGF Aarhus- Once back from his ankle injury, he is becomes another spark off the bench.
Jose Torres- Midfielder- Pachuca- Garbage match yesterday, but is too good to be left at home.
Brian Ching- Forward- Houston Dynamo- I concede. Ching is better internationally than Casey, Findley, and Cunningham combined.
POSSIBLE
Heath Pearce- Defender- FC Dallas- The ultimate winner from the Dutch match. While Bornstein crashes and burns, Pearce is preparing his bid.
Charlie Davies- Forward- Sochaux- Still a month away from full training, but I have faith that he will be back in contention come April.
Marcus Hahnemann- Goalkeeper- Wolverhampton- Moves ahead of Perkins as a starter in the EPL beats out a starter in MLS.
Alejandro Bedoya- Midfielder- Orebro- Yep, you are reading this right. After the failed attempts of Rogers, Findley, Cunningham, Casey, etc, it was Bedoya who stepped up against the Dutch and delivered.
Spot on! So is Boca the LB but also the 3rd CB making Goodson #4? With 5 injured on the list it's not quite done yet.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, but I trust Pearce more than Bornstein at the moment. An I think our injury list has a silver lining in that our guys wont be completely worn out come June.
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