Gold Cup Preliminary Roster Thoughts

Now that the USMNT preliminary 40-man roster is out, it is time to break the team down and analyze it.

With the Gold Cup on the way, USMNT head coach Bruce Arena has selected a roster made up of mostly players from the MLS. Although the roster features several players fans are used to seeing, there are a few surprises and certainly a few snubs.

Who’s on the roster?

At the goalkeeper position, Tim Howard will likely be the starter. No reason for Arenas to change that. Howard is still the best American goalkeeper. The order of the backups at that position is uncertain however.

The usual backup, Brad Guzan, had a less than stellar season at Middlesbrough and younger keepers like Jesse Gonzales of FC Dallas and Bill Hamid of D.C. United have just outperformed him.

While Gonzales is on the roster, the 22-year-old goalkeeper can still play for either the U.S. or Mexico. Gonzales had previously told ESPN he would rather represent Mexico than the U.S. if given the opportunity to play at the senior level.

It will be definitely be  interesting to see who Arenas picks as the other two keepers behind Howard. There are a lot of strong options.

Then at the defender position, there are a lot of familiar names. Call-ups like Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez, Graham Zusi and Jorge Villafana should come as no surprise. Other players like Greg Garza of Atlanta United FC, Eric Lichaj of Nottingham Forrest and Justin Morrow of Toronto FC have played exceptionally well for their clubs and have earned a roster spot

Overall, Arena chose a talented batch of defenders. Without much of the core backline available, guys like Villafana and Zusi will have to play well for the USMNT to win.

Then at midfield, the roster is mostly similar to what Arenas has used for recent games, but with a few new faces. Regulars like Michael Bradley and Christian Pulisic will be pivotal in the midfield. The newcomers are Kenny Saief of KAA Gent, Tommy McNamara of NYC FC, Kelyn Rowe of New England and Christian Roldan of Seattle.

Players like Kellyn Acosta of FC Dallas and Darlington Nagbe of Portland will have to step up and fill the void left by the guys like Fabian Johnson. Their experience needs to show.

Finally at the forward position, C.J. Sapong of the Philadelphia Union and Dom Dwyer of Kansas City have earned a look. Juan Agudelo has also warranted a spot on the preliminary roster for his work at New England.

Fans should still expect to see the same players they’ve seen up top before like Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore and Jordan Morris. The U.S. is probably strongest at forward than anywhere else.

Who was left off the roster?

At a glance, it is obvious that some key players are missing from this roster. Most of the Americans playing overseas in Europe were not included due to time off or club commitments.

There’s also little reason to call up these players as knockout-round replacements. After the group stage of the Gold Cup, coaches are allowed to replace up to six players from their final roster. With the final World Cup Qualifiers occurring shortly after the cup, calling up key players is not worth the injury risk.

Outside of the regulars, there are a few notable names not on Arena’s roster. Perhaps the biggest snub is Christian Ramirez, the 26-year-old Minnesota United FC striker.

In only 14 games, Ramirez has scored 8 goals and collected an assist. He is a constant scoring threat for Minnesota United and arguably one of the MLS’s best scorers at the moment.

While call-ups like Dempsey, Altidore and Morris are no-brainers, Arenas’ decision to bring in 34-year-old Chris Wondolowski over Ramirez has left several fans scratching their heads.

Some other notable snubs include midfielder Danny Williams of Reading F.C. The 28-year-old proved to be a pivotal piece in Reading’s midfield this year, helping them nearly earn promotion to the English Premier League. Leaving him off the roster makes little sense.

Then there is defender Ike Opara of Sporting Kansas City. The 28-year-old defender has played phenomenally on the backline for Kansas City. He is both physical and athletic, but prone to injury. Although he is in the prime of his career, Arenas did not call him up.

What to expect

Aside from a few snubs, this is probably the best roster Arena could make with the talent available. The biggest concern for the team is the backline. The usual starters are gone and a lot of the players called up are unproven.

Even with this weakness, the U.S. should do well in the Gold Cup. The USMNT’s biggest threat is Mexico and because of the Confederations Cup, they won’t have a lot of their top guys either.

Coach Arena is required to turn in a final 23-man roster by June 27. The USMNT’s first game of the Gold Cup is against Panama on July 8 in Nashville, Tennessee.