Chris Wondolowski gets a chance to atone for “that miss” for USMNT against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup
BARNSTABLE, MA — Jurgen Klinsmann announced his 23 man roster for this summer’s Copa Centenario on Saturday evening and there was little room for surprise as the German coach, finally, went with experience over youthful exuberance in a bid for some quality showings on home soil this summer.
Just because Klinsmann has pushed on with experience for this international tournament does not mean that it has come without criticism. One of the biggest sticking points for US Men’s National Team fans is that the newly professional Jordan Morris was left off the final 23 man roster even though Jozy Altidore had to pull out of yet another tournament with a hamstring injury.
Many have pegged this squad as “predictable,” something that you can’t really say for most USMNT rosters under Klinsmann, and frankly? It’s about time.
Breaking down the 23 players on the roster, 15 appeared at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and 18 have already played in qualifiers for the next World Cup. The squad has an average of 37 caps – five have 50 or more and five have five or fewer. This is up from an average of 30.5 caps per player for the ill-fated Gold Cup of last summer whereby Jurgen Klinsmann and his largely inexperienced squad gave up a chance to play at the Confederations Cup by losing out to Mexico after limping through the tournament.
With the recent rise of Jordan Morris and Christian Pulisic, there has been much talk about the future of the USMNT, rather than the past. Even when the blend of youth and experience was evident on the 40 man roster, it was pretty clear what Klinsmann had in mind when composing this squad for this commemorative centennial tournament.
“This roster really was put together based on what we saw over the last year, and it’s one that makes us the strongest team possible to compete in Copa America and to hopefully surprise a lot of people,” said Klinsmann to media, before adding “We feel that these 23 going into the very special Copa America, they really deserved to be there. Obviously when you get down and you decide on the final 23-man roster, there are very close, tight decisions to make. The moment when you decide, it’s about definitely who you feel the strongest about.”
After their Gold Cup humiliation — and yes, it was a humiliation — by scraping by Haiti in the gourd stages and being comfortably eliminated by Jamaica and Giles Barnes, Klinsmann knows he cannot afford another tournament to go the same way — especially against CONMEBOL opposition.
The decision making process was made harder by Jozy Altidore’s hamstring struggles rearing their ugly head once again. Altidore had his 2014 World Cup, and 2011 and 2015 Gold Cup’s cut short by the same injury and frankly, you wonder about his future with the national team given his injury proneness. Its likely that this is the only reason Christian Pulisic for the call to goto this summer’s tournament after starting just 3 games for Borussia Dortmund of Germany.
“There are always some 50-50 moments,” Klinsmann told FOX Sports 1. “It came a little bit down to Wondo or Jordan. We decided in this moment now to go with Wondo. He’s in top form, scoring a lot of goals with the Earthquakes.”
Wondolowski also has a score to settle when it comes to international tournament for USMNT. Most fans have not forgiven him for his miss versus Belgium in at the 2014 World Cup. Despite that, the San Jose Earthquakes veteran, and former Houston Dynamo has earned this chance, whether it was at the expense of Jordan Morris or Jozy Altidore.
There are, however, a few tweaks that Prost Soccer believe should be made to the roster.
Brad Guzan
Klinsmann has come out and expressly stated that Guzan will be his number one choice between the sticks for USMNT for this tournament. With plenty of other goalkeepers to choose from, including the brilliant William Yarbrough whom wasn’t included in the squad, one wonders what Klinsmann really sees in a goalkeeper whose team finished last in the Premier League and never really instilled confidence in his ability to commandeer the defense ahead of him. That being said — consistency at the goalkeeper position is key and at least Klinsmann has decided on not rotating his goalkeepers this summer.
Jorge Villafana
With Timothy Chandler likely to start at fullback at the Copa Centenario it’s a wonder why the Santos Laguna star has been continually omitted by Klinsmann. A natural left back, he could be the key to freeing up the oft-lamented Timothy Chandler into his best fit position — the right hand side of midfield. Villafana, from what Prost understands as of 3 months ago still hasn’t been contacted by Klinsmann or US Soccer about an international appearance for USMNT. Given the defensive options that have been used of late, Villafana would be a great option and has an opportunity to solidify his claim for the left full-back spot that seems to be a revolving door of late.
Omar Gonzalez
Okay, so centre back is one of USMNT’s prime positions when it comes to positional depth. Matt Besler, Brad Evans, Geoff Cameron.. and then there’s Michael Orozco. There’s no explaining this. There isn’t a single reason one of the best center backs in LigaMX gets beaten out of the team by Michael Orozco. Even if Gonzalez was slated for a run on the bench this time around — you’d have thought Klinsmann would have preferred to have the best four centre backs USMNT has available to him.
Christian Pulisic/Jordan Morris
It may be an unpopular opinion but it’s a good thing Morris isn’t going to the Copa Centenario, and it would’ve been a good thing had Pulisic had not gone, too. Barring Altidore’s hamstring injury, Pulisic might not have made the final 23. Now the 17 year old Hershey, PA native is in danger of 3 different situations that could be detrimental to his confidence and/or career.
1: he doesn’t play. If Pulisic doesn’t play he risks fans wrath indirectly in that they will lament the selection of him when it could have been someone else whom could’ve contributed. If Klinsmann is bringing him purely for experience… it’s not going to fly with USMNT fans.
2: he plays well. If Pulisic plays well then he risks the burden of expectation being put on his 17 year-old shoulders. If he plays well then any subsequent “standard” performances will reflect badly on him when really, they’ll just reflect a 17 year-old developing his game. He’s young. He will need time.
3: he is truly overmatched. If Pulisic plays badly then fans and pundits alike may come down on him a little harder than they should given his age and experience at the national team level. Some professionals in their sports that have either success or failure at such a young age have the risk of developing a mental block regarding their abilities. If this happens to Pulisic then the brightest talent USMNT has had in year could be ruined.
Pulisic and Morris should be on the path to superstardom for USMNT. Morris has been afforded the time to develop… Pulisic may not be given the same luxury.
Ultimate conclusions from this team selection are that Klinsmann means business this time around. He’s tired of the excuses, he’s learned that in major tournaments USMNT followers want results, and he wants to deliver them. Klinsmann will involve the young guns in low pressure situations like friendlies vs Puerto Rico (see Paul Arriola and his impressive performance…) and in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying.
This is likely the last chance to make an impact for players like Beckerman, Wondo, Dempsey, and Guzan. They’ll be ready to give it their all. All that matters now? Klinsmann’s starting XI selection.
USMNT is in action versus Ecuador on Wednesday evening at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX. It will be their second warm up match in preparation for the Copa America Centenario after beating Puerto Rico 3-1 on Sunday.
