The U.S. men’s roster has been released for the friendly against Brazil on Tuesday, August 10 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in Dirty Jersey. Surprises? Well, not too surprising, but the most notable addition to the squad is one Jermaine Jones, a former German international who busts up midfields in the Bundesliga … when he’s not injured, of course.
The is Jermaine’s first cap for the United States. But at 29 years old, Jones will be 33 at the next World Cup, certainly not old enough to put into a home, but definitely old enough to watch him closely in up coming matches to see whether he’s worth the investment or whether the U.S. might be better suited giving an opportunity to a younger player to develop over the next four years.
The other cast of characters, we’ve all seen before. Few questions are posed at the back or even in midfield. But up top, it’s the same old story, particularly with Edson Buddle and Robbie Findley. Can any of these guys step up and show that they can take on the responsibility of scoring at the international level? Running hard is a wonderful attribute for forwards. But it would be nice to see some of our forwards start scoring a bit more regularly.
Anyway, here’s the full roster:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton)
DEFENDERS (6): Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Étienne), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht)
FORWARDS (3): Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Pachuca)
MASCOT: Open
