18 Man Roster Released

Here are Bob’s selections for the finishing leg of the Barbados (not much of a) series.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Dominic Cervi (out of contract: 0/0), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA: 1/1 SO), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake: 0/0)
DEFENDERS (6): Carlos Bocanegra (out of contract: 12/1), Dan Califf (FC Midtjylland: 1/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC: 0/0), Drew Moor (FC Dallas: 0/0) Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege: 8/0), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock: 1/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers: 15/4), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen: 1/1), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA: 0/0), Eddie Lewis (Derby County: 18/2), Danny Szetela (Brescia: 0/0), John Thorrington (Chicago Fire: 0/0)
FORWARDS (3): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica: 1/0), Chad Barrett (Chicago Fire: 0/0), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire: 0/0)

Not a ton of surprises here, thanks to the MLS scheduling committee and the United States current 8-0 lead over Barbados.

Chad Barrett and Chris Seitz will have the opportunity to earn their first cap each in this encounter. The forward line is looking pretty grim with the only “true forward” being the least likely of the bunch to score, Chad Barrett. Another unusual face is John Thorrington, who had a little hot streak for the Chicago Fire at the beginning of the year but has since cooled off significantly. Even with this roster being somewhat depleted from the full strength of Bob’s arsenal, a large win should be another given. Here is a lineup I would like to see.

———-Barrett———-
———-Adu————-
Beasley————-Kljestan
——Bradley-Szetela——-
Pearce–Boca–Gooch—Moor
———–Guzan————

There should be room for wholesale changes at the back and anywhere else Bob wants to give guys a rest at halftime. Bradley and Szetela formed an outstanding partnership in the center of the park at the U-20 World Cup and they look to recreate some of that magic as they will have their turns getting forward in this one. If Szetela wants to stay in the minds of the coaching staff and play his way onto the 2010 roster it starts here. He had been getting 90 minutes somewhat consistently at the end of his Brescia campaign so his fitness will not be an issue.

A gripe some of you may have is the exclusion of Jozy Altidore. We haven’t heard much on the Jozy situation since his switch to Villarreal. He did have an ankle injury around the time of the Argentina game and it is anybody’s guess whether it is fully healed or not. Another exclusion is Sal Zizzo, the young Bundesliga winger who showed his stuff in the U-20 World Cup along with Bradley and Szetela. In both of these cases, match fitness could be the major issue. Although it is against Barbados, you can’t blame Bob for wanting the most in-form players he has at his disposal.

Your thoughts on the roster? What lineup do you want to see?