Getting a sense of who Bruce Arena Will Bring to the Gold Cup in July
This summer’s Gold Cup will be full of experiments and second chances. Arena has said that most of the regular side won’t be coming in. Because of that the 40-man preliminary roster has quite a few different faces. Some old, some new, and some completely out of left field.
With that in mind this will be the first in a series of pieces looking at the rosters for this summer’s tournament. There will be plenty of new faces, many who will be the future of CONCACAF. The first part, we’ll look at the most familiar side, the USMNT.
Goalkeepers
Making the Roster: Brad Guzan, Bill Hamid, Jesse Gonzalez
Getting Cut: Tim Howard, Sean Johnson, Joe Bendik
There are any number of ways Arena could go with as far as the keepers go. It feels unlikely both Howard and Guzan are included based on his comments. Since Arena sat Howard in the match at Azteca for rest reasons, he doesn’t seem to be the best fit for a tournament. Pencil Guzan in as the starter.
Hamid has been close to some major time with the national team but injuries have kept him out. Jesse Gonzalez was the big surprise inclusion in this position. Thought to have been committed to Mexico, he showed up on this list with no warning. It would be such a tease to see him included to the preliminary roster and not brought in to be cap tied. The only hold up could be some FIFA eligibility wackiness.
Defenders
Making the Roster: Graham Zusi, Matt Besler, Omar Gonzales, Jorge Villafaña, Greg Garza, Matt Miazga, Matt Hedges
Getting Cut: Eric Lichaj, Matt Polster, Jonathan Spector, Steve Birnbaum
Going with the safe choices here, no major surprises. Besler and Gonzales are the likely centerback choices to start out with. Hedges’ good form will be enough to bring him in as well. Miazga is too random of an inclusion to just be a preliminary name. This seems like a time for Arena to bring him in and see his progress up close.
It’s hard to see Lichaj coming over from Europe if he won’t start. Zusi and Villafaña appear to be the likely starters. Garza has been in and out of the national team picture before, it would be good to see him get a shot after a bit of a resurgence with Atlanta United.
Midfielders
Making the Roster: Darlington Nagbe, Kellyn Acosta, Dax McCarty, Cristian Roldan, Michael Bradley, Paul Arriola, Thomas McNamara, Kenny Saief, Kelyn Rowe
Getting Cut: Gyasi Zardes, Alejandro Bedoya, Joe Corona, Wil Trapp, Chris Pontius
I’ve gone back and forth on if Bradley and Bedoya will be brought in. Even with such an emphasis on bringing in new players, there needs to be some continuity on the team. That means the captain gets brought in. It will also be an opportunity to help grow that budding partnership with Kellyn Acosta. McCarty, Roldan, Saief are also there in the midfield. Saief was the biggest surprise since not many knew of him. Arena will likely take a look at the attacking midfielder up close to see what he can offer.
Out wide will probably be Nagbe and Arriola to start, Rowe could be a likely inclusion because of his play this season and versatility. McNamara should play a role much like he does with NYCFC coming off the bench.
Forwards
Making the Roster: Jozy Altidore, Jordan Morris, Dom Dwyer, Juan Agudelo
Getting Cut: Clint Dempsey, Chris Wondolowski, CJ Sapong
Altidore and Morris appear to be the best candidates to start, with Dwyer getting the chances to show his value in training and in a couple spots this tournament. Its a gut feeling, but Dempsey seems like a likely candidate to get some rest this summer. The same with Wondolowski, who has a seemingly endless supply of call ups.
Agudelo and Sapong have had fantastic MLS seasons, and could easily make the list if Arena opts to go with more forwards than midfielders. Agudelo has been close to the National Team a few times, he is probably number 23 on this list, just making the cut.