US Gold Cup Roster

Bradley's placing top priority on the Gold Cup, so this should be the "A" team, with the "B" team plus a few holdovers from this group going to the Copa America later on this summer. So let's take a position-by-position look, shall we?

GOALKEEPERS (3) – Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach)

Not bad, Keller and Howard are undoubtedly 1 and 2 in the nets overall for the US and you take young Guzan along for some seasoning - get him in the mix and acclimated to the climate surrounding playing for your country. The question then becomes - who do you take to Copa America? I would think Howard starts in the Gold Cup and then goes on vacation, while Keller gets to start the second tournament and provide experience and leadership to what will probably be a younger, less experienced side. I think he's also put out there as he's in the shop window and the Copa will attract more attention than the Gold Cup. Then you probably throw in Reis and/or Cannon and possibly a youngster as well.

DEFENDERS (8) –Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

Is Cherundolo hurt? If this really is your best team, Cherundolo is probably your right back. That said, I'm thrilled to have an Owl on the roster at that spot - my spot! While I like the inclusion of Spector as well, I'm not certain what Frankie brings beyond energy and a lack of crossing ability. Actually, I'm pretty certain he's here for the locker room, which is probably a good move on Bob's part. Parkhurst is another question mark as I'm not sure he's big enough or quick enough to play international ball. Then again, Cannavaro seems to be making a decent go of it. Again, not bad. I'd expect Conrad will be on the Copa team once his jaw finishes healing.

MIDFIELDERS (8) – DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Steve Ralston (New England Revolution)

While Ralston has been playing well in MLS, I'd think his inclusion here is as a balance to the glut of midfield youth. Kudos to Bob for trotting out the youngsters and giving them the green light in a tournament he wants/needs to win. This will be the most interesting lot to watch in the Gold Cup. Feilhaber or Clark paired with Michael Bradley just might be our WC 2010 central midfield pairing. A nice mix here.

FORWARDS (4) – Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)

Johnson better freakin' prove something here to justify his inclusion. I'd like to see us play Donovan just off Twellman but with a bit of a free role to go where he needs to. The US should dominate possession, so we don't really need the big man up top. Just put Twellman up there and let him do what he does best - scrap for the ball and finish any chances that come his way. Ching just hasn't been on form enough for Houston to justify his starting, but if we need a big target, he's your man. Also, does Bradley take Donovan to Copa America as well? If he does, the Galaxy are in deep, deep doo-doo.

Overall, that's not a bad roster. A few head-scratchers, but I'm willing to give Bob a chance to put together the team he wants. I'll be particularly interested to see what he come up with for the Copa America. Most of the Euro players should be heading off to get some rest before they're back in pre-season camps, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of roster he puts together for that competition.