“It’s a huge bummer for all of us, but especially for Jozy, because he had so much drive and ambition going towards the Copa America“, Klinsmann said in the week. That should work well.
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Tim Howard and Jermaine Jones of the Colorado Rapids have been named to the United States’ 23-man roster for the 2016 Copa America Centenario tournament. Getting Bobby Wood on the score sheet; seeing Julian Green get some touches; keeping a clean sheet, regardless of who’s in the back line; and seeing which goalkeeper among Brad Guzan and Tim Howard is in the least-bad form-these are what to watch for. We believe that Brad deserves it. Brad, throughout the last two years, played very consistently and very solid with us.
But Klinsmann left Quakes goalkeeper David Bingham off his final roster for the monthlong tournament that opens June 3 at Levi’s Stadium with the United States facing Colombia. That means that there is a very good chance that Guzan’s first competitive match in a while will come against Aston Villa teammate Carlos Sánchez. DeAndre Yedlin is on the roster as a defender, so the right-back spot is sufficiently filled, but Klinsmann decided not to include the two players who would best suit the starting left-back role, Eric Lichaj of Nottingham Forest and Edgar Castillo of Liga MX’s number-one team, Monterrey. Johnson needs to play in the left midfield for U.S. in the Copa America, where he will be at his best, but seeing that he is listed as a defender and how Klinsmann used him in the past, Johnson will most likely be the left defender for the USA. He did not perform well in a World Cup qualifying defeat at Guatemala in March.
“Almost words can’t express it”, Wondolowski said Friday when asked what it would mean to make the US roster. Having spent 237 days in the relegation zone, the team secured another year in the top flight on the second-to-last match day of the season. Gyasi Zardes has had a blossoming of his own of late, and Clint Dempsey continues his ageless excellence, alongside his Seattle teammate Jordan Morris.
Some notable defenders that missed the cut are Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Matt Miazga (Chelsea), and Edgar Castillo (Monterrey).
Fabian Johnson completed the season with Borussia Monchengladbach with six goals, two in the Champions League. Numerous goals he let in were not his fault, as Aston Villa was pathetic in the Premier League this past year.
The U.S. was drawn into Group A in this summer’s Copa America and will face off against Colombia, Paraguay and Costa Rica.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s side ramped up their preparations for the forthcoming Copa America Centenario by dominating a decidedly one-sided clash at the Estadio Juan Ramon Loubriel and should have won by a far more emphatic scoreline.
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Nonetheless, we may get a chance to see some players like Hyndman and Arriola differentiate themselves from their peers.
