Great piece from Andrea Canales about the midfield pool for the U.S. Michael Bradley, as pictured above, will be a main stay in the men's national team plans this coming summer. Yes he is the coach's son, and no his place virtually guaranteed in the center of the midfield is not due to nepotism. If you didn't catch his act during the Confederation's Cup or throughout much of the U.S. qualifying campaign then you missed one of the brightest up-and-coming national team players make a name for himself. Bradley also starts for German Bundesliga side Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Another name Canales mentions prominently at the top of the article is Jose Francisco Torres, a Texas-born American, whose parents are Mexican, but has decided the Red White and Blue is where his heart lies - or at least his best chance to make a World Cup roster this coming summer. Torres plays for Mexican League team Pachuca and as such is a some-what unknown commodity in the states. However, as an attacking player, Torres someone to keep an eye in upcoming qualifiers especially due to the fact the U.S. has so many injury issues to that area of their team for the time being.
Two players Canales said are slipping are Benny Feilhaber and Jermaine Jones. In Feilhaber, Canales sees a young player too talented to keep off the roster. I disagree. I have seen little from the 25-year-old to make me think he should earn a place on the U.S. team and most recently was terrible against Honduras. Jones, who plays for Bundesliga power Schalke, also appears to be falling off the radar, which I think makes little to no sense. A player of his caliber and experience should at least be called into camp at some point before the world cup, unless his current shin issues continue to debilitate. The guy was good enough to get 3 call-ups from Germany before switching his allegiances to the U.S., which makes him good enough to fight for a place on this roster at a camp.
No comments:
Post a Comment