Preview: USMNT January Camp Brings New Face, Hurdles
By Matt Hoffman
U.S. Men’s National Team camp opens in Carson, California on Monday. It’s a typical January camp in that it’s an equal division of the young and old. With sixteen of the players are 23 or younger, it’s clear the team is taking seriously their stated mission to lay the foundation for the 2018 World Cup cycle.
“The prize in 2015 for the senior National Team is the Gold Cup, and this camp will give a lot of our players a chance to kick start their preparations for an important year” -Jurgen Klinsmann
It’s not just the World Cup that’s at stake. The US is looking ahead to the Gold Cup as well as the Olympics which explains it’s emphasis on youth.
“We .. get an opportunity to introduce the next wave of young players into the program,” coach Jurgen Klinsmann said in a statement. “In particular [we get to] work with many of our Olympic-age guys as they build toward qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.”
In that vein, fourteen players (half of the 28 called in) are hoping to earn their first USMNT Senior Team appearance including Gyasi Zardes, Steve Birnbaum, Will Trapp and Tesho Akindele. Lee Nguyen and Miguel Ibarra, meanwhile, are making their second camps.
Oct 29, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; FC Dallas forward Tesho Akindele (13) celebrates scoring a goal in the first half against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Camp, which begins on Monday will be split between the States and Chile. After 12 days in California, the team will head to Santiago where they will prepare for their first friendly of the year.
Initial impressions
”Where’s ____?” January camp just for American teams; It’s the offseason for MLS, it’s peak time for the European leagues. Players like Julian Green and Tim Howard won’t be here.
The Next Howard. Nowhere else is the competition for 2018 so evident than the goalkeeper position. While Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake) is back to stand on his head, both Tim Howard and Brad Guzan are out of this edition of Jurgen Klinsmann’s side.
Also noticeably absent are the number four and five goalkeepers in US Soccer. Bill Hamid is injured (shoulder). Sean Johnson is the senior here over Sporting’s Jon Kempin. Alex Bono is the great unknown. Having played for Syracuse, Bono is a Generation Adidas backstop who will be skipping the combine for his chance to compete for a future spot in the team.
Snubs. Yes, the biggest snub in my opinion is Robbie Rogers. He plays in the same stadium, the fills the left back position much in the way that Klinsmann prefers. With the scarcity of outside backs on the roster, Rogers omission seems suspect given his stellar 2014.
Other notable absences (Kyle Beckerman, Brad Davis, Benny Feilhaber, Graham Zusi) can be chalked up to age and familiarity. Klinsmann has a good grip on these players and their roles.
Kitchen gets the call. Perry Kitchen has long been considered a solid USMNT prospect and now he finally gets his chance to make an impact. Intriguingly, the midfielder Kitchen is listed on the roster as defender. We’ve seen this before with Klinsmann (such as inverting Brad Evans and DeAndre Yedlin).
Poaching. Julio Morales and Akindele are dual nationals. Cap tying the players to the United States could be crucial not only to the future of the team but when Klinsmann has to make the same pitch to bigger fish.