Bob Bradley Announces Roster for March Friendlies

Bob Bradley announced the 24-man roster for the March friendlies against Ecuador and Guatemala today.

Eleven of the 24 were on the 2006 World Cup squad, and thirteen players are from European-based clubs.

Veterans DaMarcus Beasley, Steve Cherundolo, Landon Donovan, Kasey Keller, and Oguchi Onyewu will be returning. Clint Dempsey will also be at the camp. I’m surprised about Kasey Keller being called up as I thought he was moving towards only club play. Guess I was wrong. It will be interesting to see who will start, as Tim Howard, “the next Keller,” was also called up. My guess is we’ll probably see good old Kasey between the two posts for at least one of the games, otherwise why would Bradley have called him up?

There are also some new faces. Jay DeMerit, Benny Feilhaber and Frank Simek will be looking to earn their first cap. FC Dallas forward Kenny Cooper, who scored the insurance goal against Denmark, will also be returning to the team. I’m excited to see some more out of him as he impressed me in January.

Brian Ching from the Dynamo is also on the list, and Twellman’s back again - hopefully he’ll see some playing time!

Camp will begin March 18, and continue until March 24. They’ll take on Ecuador the next day, and then Guatemala on the 28th.

Here’s a look at the US MNT’s final three friendlies until the Gold Cup and Copa America:



As you probably figured out from the gigantic amount of European-based players, both of these matches are on FIFA International Match Fixture Dates (FIFAIMFD’s for short - yes the acronym’s a joke). I’m really happy with this roster, and I think Bradley’s doing a fine job of looking at all the toys in his chest before making his summer tournament selections. In January, we saw a fully MLS-based selection take on Denmark’s purely domestic roster. This was followed by a MLS/Euro hybrid against Mexico in February - we had a few European players however some big names like Gooch and Beasley were missing. Now we’re getting to see the European players get a chance as Bradley called up both already-established players and those who haven’t yet gotten a shot.

And here’s the full 24-man roster:

ROSTER BY POSITION
Goalkeepers (3) – Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
Defenders (8) –Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Jay Demerit (Watford FC), Oguchi Onyewu (Newcastle United), Heath Pearce (FC Nordsjælland), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
Midfielders (7) – DaMarcus Beasley (Manchester City), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Brian Carroll (D.C. United), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire)
Forwards (6) – Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)