After a Tuesday night friendly loss to Czech Republic in Hartford, Conn., the United States moved to set their 23-man roster for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which begins June 11.The Americans are placed in Group B for the tournament, and their first match is June 12 against group favorite England.
We'll have a preview of Team USA coming up before the tournament, but here is the roster, announced Wednesday on ESPN by head coach Bob Bradley.
Goalkeepers: Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, Brad Guzan.
Defenders: Carlos Boncanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Charles Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson, Oguchi Oneywu, Jonathan Spector.
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Stuart Holden, Jose Torres.
Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle, Robbie Findley, Herculez Gomez.
At first glance, it appears the inclusion of Findley over Brian Ching is the only major surprise. The front-line players are all there, including Oneywu, who was injured a few months ago and is obviously still recovering. He looked a tad rusty against the Czechs, and I would expect we'll see him in the friendly Sunday against Turkey that will mark the Americans' final match before leaving for South Africa.
Donovan didn't play Tuesday, but I'd expect we'll see him Sunday. While the Czech result was disappointing, we played a lot of the fringe roster candidates, and it's clear Bradley (Bob, that is, not son Michael, a midfielder on the team) wanted to get one last look at some guys before making a final decision.
Talented Charlie Davies was already ruled out for the team, still recovering from injuries suffered in a car accident last year.
The Americans will play Australia in a tune-up match June 5 in South Africa before the tournament opens the following weekend.
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