People have asked me what I think about Donovan being left off the roster...and I answer that I am very conflicted by it. I understand wanting to reward a player for his past production and contributions to the team and US Soccer as a whole. Donovan's goal against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup gave the USMNT its first EVER first-place finish in a World Cup and will go down as one of the greatest goals in our country's soccer history. However, Donovan's 2013 sabbatical from soccer rubbed many - myself included - the wrong way, and while he was off in Cambodia "recharging his batteries," Wondolowski was helping the US qualify for the World Cup with passion and goals. When its all said and done, I feel Donovan lost his spot because of a lack of commitment over the entirety of the qualifying season, and because Wondolowski was fully committed and produced when he was in the lineup.
The US will play three friendlies before the World Cup, starting with Tuesday night against Azerbaijan at 10 p.m. Eastern (ESPN2). The Starting XI I see Klinsmann fielding tomorrow - and the one I predict we will see against Ghana on June 16th barring injury - is as follows:
GK: Tim Howard
LB: DaMarcus Beasley
CB: Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron
RB: Fabian Johnson
DM: Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones
LW: Alejandro Bedoya
RW: Graham Zusi
F: Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey
My seven-man bench: Kyle Beckerman, Timothy Chandler, Mix Diskerud, Omar Gonzalez, Brad Guzan, Aron Johannsson, Chris Wondolowski
Here is the full final 23-man roster, courtesy of ussoccer.com:
| PLAYER | POS. | HT. | WT. | BIRTHDATE | HOMETOWN | CLUB/COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jozy Altidore | F | 6-1 | 175 | 11/6/89 | Boca Raton, Fla. | Sunderland (England) |
| DaMarcus Beasley | D | 5-8 | 145 | 5/24/82 | Ft. Wayne, Ind. | Puebla (Mexico) |
| Kyle Beckerman | M | 5-10 | 165 | 4/23/82 | Crofton, Md. | Real Salt Lake |
| Alejandro Bedoya | M | 5-10 | 160 | 4/29/87 | Weston, Fla. | Nantes (France) |
| Matt Besler | D | 6-0 | 170 | 2/11/87 | Overland Park, Kan. | Sporting Kansas City |
| Michael Bradley | M | 6-2 | 175 | 7/31/87 | Manhattan Beach, Calif. | Toronto FC |
| John Brooks | D | 6-4 | 170 | 1/28/93 | Berlin, Germany | Hertha Berlin (Germany) |
| Geoff Cameron | D | 6-3 | 185 | 7/11/85 | Attleboro, Mass. | Stoke City (England) |
| Timothy Chandler | D | 6-1 | 180 | 3/29/90 | Frankfurt, Germany | Nuremberg (Germany) |
| Brad Davis | M | 5-11 | 165 | 11/8/81 | St. Charles, Mo. | Houston Dynamo |
| Clint Dempsey | F | 6-1 | 170 | 3/9/83 | Nacogdoches, Texas | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Mix Diskerud | M | 6-0 | 150 | 10/2/90 | Oslo, Norway | Rosenborg (Norway) |
| Omar Gonzalez | D | 6-5 | 210 | 10/11/88 | Dallas, Texas | LA Galaxy |
| Julian Green | M | 5-7 | 140 | 6/6/95 | Tampa, Fla. | Bayern Munich (Germany) |
| Brad Guzan | GK | 6-4 | 210 | 9/9/84 | Homer Glen, Ill. | Aston Villa (England) |
| Tim Howard | GK | 6-3 | 210 | 3/6/79 | North Brunswick, N.J. | Everton (England) |
| Aron Johannsson | F | 6-0 | 165 | 11/10/90 | Mobile, Ala. | AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands) |
| Fabian Johnson | D | 6-0 | 155 | 12/11/87 | Munich, Germany | Borussia Moenchengladbach (Germany) |
| Jermaine Jones | M | 6-0 | 170 | 11/3/81 | Chicago, Ill. | Besiktas (Turkey) |
| Nick Rimando | GK | 5-11 | 180 | 6/17/79 | Montclair, Calif. | Real Salt Lake |
| Chris Wondolowski | F | 6-0 | 165 | 1/28/83 | Danville, Calif. | San Jose Earthquakes |
| DeAndre Yedlin | D | 5-8 | 150 | 7/9/93 | Seattle, Wash. | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Graham Zusi | M | 5-10 | 160 | 8/18/86 | Longwood, Fla. | Sporting Kansas City |
