2015 Gold Cup

An article from No Short Corners that includes the provisional roster for the 2015 Gold Cup

http://www.noshortcorners.com/2015/06/your-provisional-gold-cup-roster.html

G - Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), William Yarbrough (León)

D - Ventura Alvarado (Club América), DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo), Matt Besler (Sporting KC), John Anthony Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Greg Garza (Tijuana), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Michael Orozco (Puebla), Tim Ream (Bolton), Brek Shea (Orlando City), DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham)

M - Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Joe Corona (Tijuana), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Perry Kitchen (D.C. United), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy), Graham Zusi (Sporting KC)

F - Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution), Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Alan Gordon (LA Galaxy), Aron Jóhannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Jordan Morris (Stanford University), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

In honor of David Letterman's recent retirement here is my top ten reasons I am scratching my head over the provisional roster:

10. Is a retired LB really better than Eric Lichaj?
9. Didn't Bobby Wood just score in two international friendlies?
8. Is Klinsman afraid he will incorrectly spell Lichaj when her makes out the roster?
7. Is there a three Brad minimum for a US roster?
6. Does Klinsman have Eric Lichaj blindness?
5. How many licks until you get to the Geoff Cameron in middle of the center back roster?
4. Is Eric Lichaj blindness a curable disease?
3. If Bobby Wood can score from 23 yards, Rubio Rubin can carry the U-20's on his shoulders and Chris Wondolowski can miss from 3 yards what is the algebraic equation that puts Wondo back on the roster?
2. Danny Williams is easier to spell than Eric Lichaj right?

and the number 1 thing that has me scratching my head over this roster is

Does Eric Lichaj translate to "Your mother raised a twit" in German?

 

Regarding Bobby Wood - he's supposedly being given time to sort out his club situation. Why he couldn't do that while also playing the Gold Cup is beyond me, though.

For me, the biggest omission is Cameron. That one truly baffles me.

As for Beasley, I doubt he sees much of the pitch. Probably there for his dressing room/training ground leadership qualities.

 

Someone in the comments alluded to Cameron being injured.

It will be interesting to see who gets dropped.

I see the first match is July 7, but anyone know when camp begins?

 

As an admitted lover of Wondo (Earth!!! Quakes!!!), I still don't understand his inclusion. He is known to be a "team" guy and maybe JK promotes that aspect of his attributes. But still, Agudelo, and even a comeback by Davies, would be a choice looking forward. Regardless, anything less than lifting that Gold Cup will be a letdown for me.

Actually happy to see Beckerman, should be a swan song and all...

 

And, um, didn't Julian Green score in the World Cup last year? In fairness, this appears to be a side tailored to battling the style of play we're likely to encounter from the probable opposition (I have no idea what I just said).

 

I got it too, and I'm stone cold sober. I need that gin

 

US v. Honduras, tonight. A Confed Cup berth is at stake. JK and the squad reached the knockouts in the WC, but winning the Gold Cup is, arguably, a required achievement at this point. Top dog in the region is nothing to dismiss. Barring injury, this team should reach the final...and if Mexico is the opponent, all hands on deck.

I hope the boys ingest some of that good karma floating over from the Women's WC victory and run with it.

 

Will this be our first Cup tournament with Michael Bradley as captain? Agree with the move by JK. This team has several leaders & they do so with or w/o the armband. That said, Bradley deserves a run as captain, for however long.

 

Not the best performance, but we got the best result. Dempsey continues to show his mastery of timing in the box. Zardes impressed, for 65 minutes anyway. Brooks was huge on alot of those corners, of which we gave away far too many. Hopefully Alvarado finds a confidence boost after the stinker he had.

We got a good reminder of the physicality we'll face in this Cup and we overcame it, so that's a good thing.

 

Always a scrappy game when you play Honduras. They love to "hassle" their opponents and that ref did nothing to slow them down (first yellow late in the second half).

I actually thought our back 4 played pretty well considering how overrun we seemed in midfield. I thought Brooks made some timely clearances and Alvarado was quick to intercept quite a few passes (not so great on the goal obviously).

I was a little disappointed with Yedlin, who seemed to get frustrated with the heavy tackles and didn't play his normal pacey, take players on, style. I also thought Jozy was poor (and have for a while). So often he just looks off the pace, especially when we play quicker teams. Hope to see Johannson in the next game.

 

I concur, it wasn't pretty, but it was a win. I wouldn't start Jozy v. Haiti, there's no need. Give him a match to regroup but put him in the first XI again in the third group match - confidence reassurance. He was a bit off, and Aron should start in his place this Friday. If Klinsman thinks Jozy needs to start, go 4-3-3 with AJ, Dempsey and Jozy up top.

Midfield also needs a makeover, but as to how and what, I'm all ears. Yedlin and Zardes, while burgeoning quality, seemed a bit out of sorts on the wings. The US withstood the initial pressure, but Honduras came out guns blazing and the US did well to keep it nil-nil until Dempsey's header. Obviously, the US won't see the same pressure from Haiti as it did from Honduras, but a Costa Rica, Jamaica or Mexico would've most likely buried their chances all things being equal.

On a side note, my son and I watched the match at a local pizza joint - on one side of the room were tvs with the Giants game (Pence and Cain's return at home), and the other side was the US v. Honduras match. I probably should've iced my little guys neck last night b/c his head was on a swivel for the better part of an hour checking out each contest. It was pretty damn funny.

 

A few thoughts...

The US win was a good result but not great. There was way more shakiness than I would like to see at a number of positions. There needs to be better communication and teamwork on the wings. Numerous times a player would make a run and nobody would cover back, leaving others exposed or out of position.

The ball is hideous. I feel like soccer is the only sport that creates a new ball for every season/tourney. If I missed anything during the match, the probability is very high that it was a result of being completely distracted by the ball.

Mexico looks to have a cakewalk into the knockout stages.

 

Agree 100%. That thing is awful. I can't go for that, no can do. The Nike ball used in the Euro leagues (Eng, Spa, Ger) about 6 years ago was simple and non-obtrusive.

 

Does anyone else routinely get musical earwigs reading Nevzter's posts (outside of the music thread, no less) or is it just me? "Can't go for that....can't go for that....can't go for thaaaaaaat (cue sax)"

And yes, the ball stinks.