In qualifying for both the 2002 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, games against Caribbean teams went down to the wire and almost cost the United States a spot in the final round.
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The U.S. men’s national team roster, announced on Sunday, recalls 19 of the 23 players who competed in Copa America, where the U.S. placed fourth.
“It depends on how things develop over the next two years”, said Klinsmann about his future with the US team. Neither had good showings at this summer’s Copa America in largely off-the-bench roles and Wondolowski even said after the tournament, that it “could be it” for his worldwide career. The former Chico State man is 33 years of age, and has been the brunt of countless USA fans since his close range miss against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup.
Throughout the years, Jermaine Jones has been a sort of on-field enigma.
The U.S. team will be expected to log plenty of air miles over the next week.
Fans in the San Diego and Tijuana areas will be happy to see Chula Vista native Paul Arriola in this latest US squad. Paul Arriola and Kellyn Acosta at a thin outside back position rather than call in Lynden Gooch for his first senior cap. Xolos and former Mexico World Cup manager Miguel Herrera has had a mixture of kindness and motivation when talking about his 21 year-old American winger, saying recently in a press conference that Arriola “has work to do to become a starter, but is a weapon off the bench”. Then we have the situation with the suspended players – Michael Bradley and Michael Orozco – and they are not eligible for the first game.
The Americans need to beat already-eliminated St Vincent & the Grenadines on the road on Friday, and have group leaders Trinidad & Tobago oust Guatemala that same day in order for the USA to book an early spot in the final round of World Cup qualifying. Orozco has been a staple in the Xolos backline, and instrumental in his side’s stat of not conceding a single goal at home in four league matches to start the season. It could also mean that one of Christian Pulisic or Darlington Nagbe will get extended minutes. Bradley won’t be eligible for the first match against St. Vincent due to suspension and Jones, despite being called in, is still dealing with a knee injury suffered in early July.
Altidore, who has 34 global goals at age 26, sat out the Copa America Centenario tournament in June, as well as the three prep matches in advance. Omar Gonzalez is back, hoping to make just his second national team appearance since last September.
With regard to the defense, the group that performed so well at the Copa (including Geoff Cameron, John Brooks, DeAndre Yedlin, and Fabian Johnson) are on the roster. There are also a couple of newer faces joining the group. They head to the southeastern reaches of Caribbean for Friday’s match, kicking off at 12:30 PT from Arnos Vale Stadium, a cricket ground in the capital city of Kingstown.
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Reaching the final round of World Cup qualifying is the most important thing on the US national team’s agenda for September, but being able to introduce some youngsters to the mix would certainly be a bonus.
