USMNT / World Cup

US v. Netherlands Roster Thoughts:

Dan Walsh already put up the roster for the US v. Netherlands, so I don’t want to repeat it. However, I did have some more thoughts on it.

I think we all know how good Tim Howard is, so I would like to see Brad Guzan and Marcus Hahneman each play one half of the game to see what they have. I would also like to see if Heath Pearce can improve on his performance against El-Salvador by playing well against a quality opponent like the Netherlands. If he can do that, then he belongs on the plane to South Africa. I am not holding my breath because he has let me down before.

It would also be nice to see what Jonathan Bornstein, Clarence Goodson, and Frank Simek can do against the Dutch. I don’t expect them to start, but it would be nice to see them come on as substitutes. In a friendly I think there should be at least 6 substitutions, so this shouldn’t be a problem.

In the midfield it would be nice to see DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu get a shot to earn their places back. DaMarcus Beasley had been playing well at Rangers before a thigh injury sidelined him for a few matches, but he did play well recently in a reserve match. Maurice Edu also came back from injury and played well in a Scottish Cup match. I think he is better than Ricardo Clark. Since Jermaine Jones doesn’t look like he will get a chance to make the US team this World Cup cycle, I think Maurice Edu is our best defensive midfielder. Jose Francisco Torres also deserves a shot to show what he has and maybe he could share some time in a central midfield position with Edu or Bradley coming off.

As for forwards I would like to see if Eddie Johnson’s recent form at Aris Thessaloniki has improved his confidence to the point that he can be a contributor to the US World Cup squad. I would like to see him split time with Robbie Findley in the upcoming friendly. I was surprised that Kenny Cooper didn’t get a call. Of course he has only been playing as a late substitute for Plymouth Argyle since his transfer from 1860 Munich. I was also surprised that Freddy Adu didn’t get a call in given his recent good form at Aris Thessaloniki. I wouldn’t necessarily have played him, but I think he was as deserving as Eddie Johnson. Ok, let me know what you think.

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