U.S. Men's Roster Set For Costa Rica & Mexico, With A Couple Big Names Left Off

The U.S. men's next World Cup qualifiers are Friday against Costa Rica in Colorado and next Tuesday in Mexico City against Mexico. Today, U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann named his 23-man roster which is notable since Tim Howard (back), Steve Cherundolo (knee) and Timmy Chandler (hamstring) are among the eight regulars who were left off due to various injuries and illness.

Friday's match is at sold-out Dick's Sporting Good Park, it is the second game of the Hexagonal will be broadcast live on ESPN (10 p.m. EST). Tuesday (10:30 p.m. EST, ESPN) is at Estadio Azteca, a place where the U.S. has never won a World Cup qualifier although they finally grabbed a win there last summer.

“We know we have a big task ahead of us, and we are confident our group will get the job done,” said Klinsmann in a press release. “Obviously there are many players out with injuries, and that means the next person in line has a chance to step up. Getting points at home in World Cup qualifying is huge, and we are looking forward to having an awesome crowd supporting us in Denver on Friday night.”

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (World Cup qualifying Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa - 5/3 SO), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire – 0/0), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake – 0/0)
DEFENDERS (6): Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake – 0/0), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City – 0/0), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City – 6/0), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy – 1/0), Clarence Goodson (Brondby – 5/0), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes – 0/0)
MIDFIELDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla – 26/6), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake – 2/0), Michael Bradley (Roma – 20/5), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana – 1/0), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor – 10/0), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04 – 6/0), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht – 13/0), Brek Shea (Stoke City – 2/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City – 4/0)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar – 18/6), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna – 2/0), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur – 27/11), Herculez Gomez (Santos – 6/2), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC – 12/10)

The five other Americans that won't be there are Edgar Castillo (facial fractures), Fabian Johnson (hip), Jonathan Spector (ankle), Jose Torres (hamstring) and Danny Williams (illness). Klinsmann and his team won't make excuses, they have more than enough talent remaining to still get some positive results. Friday's game, since it is at home plus they are coming off the 2-1 loss to Honduras means that they need a win pretty badly. I don't expect them to win in Mexico, especially without Howard so it might be the first time in my life that I root for a draw. That would be a solid result for the U.S. First things first, they need to beat Costa Rica and get some confidence back after their awful showing in Honduras (February 6).

UPDATE 3/19: Midfielder Brad Davis was added to the roster.

UPDATE 3/20: With Carlos Bocanegra not on the roster, Klinsmann had to pick a new captain for these two qualifiers. His choice of Dempsey is fine by me, why not go with the best player who must have the respect of his teammates?

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Catching Up With The U.S. Men's National Team Before It Takes On Mexico

Just found a bunch of interesting tidbits about on the U.S. soccer men's national team's official blog (http://www.ussoccer.com/Social/MNT-Blog.aspx) ahead of its friendly with Mexico on Wednesday in Philadelphia. Rather than put up a bunch of short posts, I figured I would save our precious time and put them in the same place.

-Jonathan Spector signed a two-year deal last week with Birmingham City (which dropped down to the English League Championship.

Spector, 25, spent the last five seasons at West Ham and joins Birmingham on a free transfer after his contract expired this summer. A member of the 2010 FIFA World Cup team, he has 31 caps for the United States.

"I'm delighted to be here and to be part of this club," Spector told Birmingham City's official website. "It's a big club and I've heard a lot of great things about the manager Chris Hughton."
"I'm looking forward to start training and getting with the team as soon as possible. The first game is less than a week away now. So I'm trying to get myself fit and in contention."

The move makes him neighbors with U.S. teammates Brad Guzan and Eric Lichaj, who play for Birmingham-based Aston Villa.

Much like the team, this is a move in the wrong direction for Spector but it makes sense because he has struggled the last few years with both his club and country. Maybe this will be the boost he needs to find his game again.

-Klinsmann's first coaching staff
As head coach Jurgen Klinsmann mentioned in his opening press conference, he is planning on bringing in a variety of different coaches for the next few months before settling on his future staff. Here's a brief intro to the first crew:

Martin Vasquez - Vasquez re-unites with Klinsmann after serving as an assistant coach at Bayern Munich. Currently he is the head coach and Director of Soccer Operations for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy U-16 and U-18 teams of the Real Salt Lake AZ Academy. One of only two players to represent both the United States and Mexico at the international level, he was the head coach of Chivas USA in 2010.

Thomas Dooley - A former U.S. captain and National Soccer Hall of Fame member who played in two World Cups and competed against Klinsmann in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, the German-American had a long professional career that included a Bundesliga and German Cup title with Kaiserslautern and a UEFA Cup title with Schalke 04. A member of the MLS Best XI as part of the Columbus Crew in 1997 and 1998, he went on to coach FC Saarbrucken in Germany before returning to the United States where he was part of the coaching staff for Pateadores that just captured the 2011 Development Academy U-17/18 championship.

Tab Ramos - Born in Uruguay, the legendary midfielder for the U.S. National Team played in three World Cups en route to earning 81 caps for the United States. Known for his flair and creativity on the ball, the Hall of Famer played professionally in Spain and Mexico before becoming the first ever signing for Major League Soccer, where he spent six seasons with the MetroStars in New York. Ramos founded NJSA 04, a club which is a member of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

Mike Curry - A goalkeeper coach with more than 37 years experience, Curry has trained goalkeepers at the club, state and college levels since 1974. A member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Goalkeeper Institute staff, he teaches courses at the regional and national levels and spent eight years with U.S. Soccer Development Academy club FC DELCO. Prior to his coaching career, he played collegiately at then Division II powerhouse University of Baltimore.

Mark Verstegen - One of the foremost leaders and innovators in athletic training, Mark Verstegen is owner and president of Athletes' Performance, which provides athletes with cutting-edge training based on the latest sports science. Vestergen handled the fitness preparations for the German National Team prior to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in which Klinsmann led the team to a third-place finish. Named the Director of Performance for the NFLPA in 2002, he is the author of Core Performance, which reached the top 25 on Amazon within six weeks of its release and has sold more than 100,000 copies.

That looks like a good mix of former star players and experienced coaches for Klinsmann's first U.S. match.

-Mexico's 20-man roster for Wednesday night
MEXICO ROSTER BY POSITION:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Guillermo Ochoa (Ajaccio), Alfredo Talavera (Toluca)
DEFENDERS (7): Paul Aguilar (Club America), Efrain Juarez (Celtic), Rafael Marquez (New York Red Bulls), Hector Moreno (Espanyol), Jorge Torres Nilo (Tigres UANL), Francisco Javier Rodriguez (Stuttgart), Carlos Salcido (Fulham)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Javier Aquino (Cruz Azul), Israel Castro (Pumas UNAM), Giovani dos Santos (Tottenham Hotspur), Andres Guardado (Deportivo La Coruña), Antonio Naelson Sinha (Toluca), Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul), Jesus Zavala (Monterrey)
FORWARDS (4): Omar Arellano (Chivas de Guadalajara), Pablo Barrera (West Ham United), Christian Bermudez (Atlante), Oribe Peralta (Santos)

You'll notice that Javier Hernandez aka Chicarito is missing from that list. The Manchester United star is out with an injury but other than him, Mexico will field the exact same roster that beat the U.S. 4-2 in the Gold Cup final in June. Barrera, Guardado and dos Santos had the goals for Mexico in that win.

-Chandler and Edu out, Rogers in
Timmy Chandler will stay with his German club (FC Nurnberg) rather than make the long trek to Philly. Maurice Edu picked up a left calf strain in a match for his club (Rangers) against Chelsea on Saturday so Columbus Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers will take his place.

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