The United States is yet to call in the roster for the highly anticipated game against Mexico, however I'll take a stab at who i think is our starting eleven.
Brian Ching- Gave the Ching haters a cup of shut the heck up in the Sweden game. He initiated attacks, contested every aerial ball ,and provided tremendous hold up play. He may not be the biggest goal machine, he's a dependable forward when the situation calls for a leader, which, come 2010, could be vital.
Landon Donovan- After a lackluster 2008 for the U.S., lit up the scoreboard for Munich all preseason and showed a good 13 or so minutes for Munich in his Bundesliga debut. The most anticipated factor has to be that he is translating his goal-scoring verve from the Galaxy to a European league. The question is will he step up fearlessly.
Clint Dempsey- Had a pretty good 2008 by helping Fulham stay out of the regulation zone in 07-08 and showed progress with the national team dispite mix ups between his position on the wing and Donovans position as a forward. Might find himself as an attacking midfielder by 2010 as his ability to create for himself and others in the attacking third becomes limited on the wing. A thought is Bob Bradley might possibly want to call 'Deuce' into more of these training camps for MLS players so that his fearlessness, determination, swagger, and work ethic might rub off on the younger players.
Michael Bradley-Has shown progress but hasn't completely fit in with Monchengladbach who currently sit at the bottom of the Bundesliga. He covers much ground for the U.S. and may play a more important role as the U.S.'s midfield is much more organized and prepared than it was last time he was in a Mexico match. If there is something to fix its that he needs to try not to get caught in possesion as much. He did that once and Trinidad and Tobago nearly made the U.S. pay. He did it again and Cuba took advantage by breaking the U.S.'s shutout streak. He also needs to work on yellow cards, or at least not going to ground as easily.
Sacha Kljestan- His usefullness in the World Cup Qualifying showed how determined he was to step into the team and make a difference. A unique midfielder because he is not dedicated to attack or defense but both, playing the deep central midfield position which allows him to dictate the play of the field with his skill, passing and ball movement. Something else that might define the rest of his national team career is a move overseas. A TEN DAY trial with Celtic made him come back and notch his first three national team goals in one game so if he does go overseas it could make him the best central midfielder in the pool.
Damarcus Beasley- Has had a problem with playing time for Ranger but when the U.S. needed him to show up- he did. Notching a brace was really the way he capped off his 2008 seeing as how the next match he played had no meaning to Qualifying whatsoever. With a move back to the MLS looking more iminent by the day, we might just find ourselves with the Beasley who is only just behind Donovan in goals scored by unretired national team players.
Frankie Hejduk-With Cherundolo out, and a MLS Cup star on his armband in Columbus, a start against Mexico seems a nice reward and appropriate seeing as how he has a history of performing well against the U.S.'s rivals. His persistency is matched by no one else in the U.S. team and you can bet your going to see the name Hejduk flashing up and down that right flank.
Heath Pearce- Another one of our players in an important, not to mention thin, position for the U.S. who is recieving very little playing time for his respective club overseas. Even after taking that into account though, you have to say he's fit into the national team mix pretty well. More and more he's finding a balance between getting forward and playing as a stay at home defender however he does still have a long way to go. Some criticize him for being the obvious weak link in the back line, but, in all fairness, he hasn't been around long enough to garner the respect they have.
Carlos Bocanegra- Hard to believe that at some point last year he was still looking for a club after Fulham waived him. He has fit in well with the Ligue 1 club Rennes considering he just got there. Its a good feeling when an American is getting as much playing time as he is and an even better feeling when he's the guy leading your squad.
Oguchi Onyewu- Surprisingly, there really isn't much to say about the second best center back in the U.S. pool. He has been huge for Liege and a move to France or maybe even England looks like it could be in the works. Assuming he stays health and sharp he should be set for a great Hexagonagal.
Tim Howard- Is this guy good or what? U.S. and Everton fans cant say enough about 'Timmy' and why should they? Pretty much a legend for club and country, he'll most likely play the most important role of anyone next Wednesday. A huge performance from him against Mexico would start off what looks to be a huge year for the New Jersey native.
So what will it look like? something like this:
---------------------------------Ching--------------------------
--------------------------------Donovan------------------------
Beasley------------------------------------------------Dempsey
-----------------------Kljestan-----------Bradley---------------
Pearce------------Bocanegra-----------Onyewu----------Hejduk
-------------------------------Howard--------------------------
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