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John Anthony Brooks and Aron Johannson are both with the team in Europe. Not going to cap tie either of them, but good to see both with the program. Brooks has huge potential at CB.
As expected, we've passed Mexico in the latest FIFA Rankings, which are important for one and only one reason: they determine seedings for World Cup draw. Finishing #1 in the region can be helpful in making it less likely to get a killer group drawn
John Anthony Brooks and Aron Johannson are both with the team in Europe. Not going to cap tie either of them, but good to see both with the program. Brooks has huge potential at CB.
What a game. Aron Johannson is going to be a beast. The dude has a first touch unlike any American
Johannsson is tied because he filed the official one-time switch. I'm sure Brooks will get locked up in Sept WCQ
Maybe b+ because of Donovan. But otherwise it was the B team.
I really had lost faith in Jurgen. But now I believe like no other. , I even have come around to appreciating Jermaine Jones. Timothy Chandler can still suck a , though.
Feels good to see Jozy blossom. He's gotten so much hate its great to see him play amazing as of late. Hope he does really well in the Premier League.
Hard not to get excited about the squad when you realize Dempsey and Donovan still haven't played along side each other during the streak. Jozy getting service from those guys is going to be awesome.
Johannson looked like the real deal. He was a monster in the middle during his time on the pitch. Brooks was shaky at times, but the service and skill was obvious.
I liked what we saw out of Johannson but not going to crown him just yet. We'll see.
Up to #10 in the ELO Ratings!
Not happening, but what # does a team need to reach to be in that A group during selection?
Not sure if they have released the draw criteria yet, but in 2010 it was based on your FIFA rank in October 2009.
Right now there are 12 UEFA, 5 CONMEBOL and 1 CAF a heard of us, so we basically need to get up to #7 to get to Pot 1, which won't happen. Realistically we could probably move up to #11 at best if all the chips fell te right way
Using the FIFA Widget on their site, if we beat Costa Rica and Mexico, we can earn up to 1043 FIFA points, which would currently rank us #11.
23-man squad for Costa Rica and Mexico announced:
GK - Guzan, Howard, Rimando;
Defenders - Beasley, Besler, Brooks, Cameron, Castillo, Evans, Gonzalez, Orozco
Midfielders - Beckerman, Bedoya, Bradley, Diskerud, F. Johnson, Jones, Zusi
Forwards - Altidore, Dempsey, Donovan, Johannsson, E. Johnson
Here's the XI that I think should start based on current form & style of play:
-------------Guzan-------------
--Evans--Gonzo---Besler--Fabs--
-------------MB90---------------
--Zusi---LandiCakes---Dempsey--
-------Jozy----Johannsson-------
Here is what I think the starting XI probably will be:
-------------Howard-----------
--Evans--Gonzo--Besler--DMB--
--------J. Jones--MB90---------
---Zusi-----Dempsey----Fabs---
--------------Jozy--------------
Rationale:
Jurgen likes Dempsey as a withdrawn forward, but I think the squad is better optimized with Landon at CF and Dempsey at LM. As much as I like Fabs at LB, him playing LM does gives us a natural left-footer there rather than forcing Dempsey in there, since he likes to roam a lot. I like to see Deuce be more disciplined on the MNT rather than trying to be the star.
For Mexico, assuming we stay with our 4-2-3-1, I'd like to see Cameron in for Jones to give us an additional defensive presence against Gio's incuts.
I think Brooks is probably not far from starting, but he just got hurt this past weekend.
Great to see Landon back in the 1st team
Jurgen is re ed if Landon is on the bench. He's the hottest US player right now and its not even close.
Um... Jozy?
But fair point. I'd put LD on a short list with Jozy, Bedoya, MB90 and Johannsson for best form right now taking International and Club play into account
Good article from Scarletta on the latest roster:
http://www.yanks-abroad.com/content....=show&id=10890
TBH, if Fabian is going to play LM, then I would start Zusi at RM and Lando at CAM/CF ahead of Dempsey right now. I've not been impressed with Duece's team play for the last year or so, while Donovan is what made the team go in the Gold Cup. He is playing more and more like a true #10, and that's what the team needs more than Dempsey roaming all over the field (that's what we have MB90 for).
Unfortunately the odds are not high that Jurgen doesn't start his recently named Captain.
And a new ASN100 is out:
http://americansoccernow.com/asn_100
Them putting Magee on there with a Galaxy kit....
Good news as Jozy has been cleared for Friday.
With that said and with Evans out, here is my prediction for Costa Rica:
-------------Howard-----------
--Cameron-Gonzo-Besler--DMB--
--------J. Jones--MB90---------
---Zusi-----Dempsey----Fabs---
--------------Jozy--------------
Does Donovan deserve to start? Yes. Should he start? Probably.
Just don't think he will.
Parkhurst has been called up to replace the injured Brad Evans.
All told, the U.S. is 0-7-2 when playing in Costa Rica, including a seven-game losing streak.
Much has been made of how the U.S. has eight players on yellow cards heading into Friday's match. Those players are: Altidore, Michael Bradley, Geoff Cameron, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Fabian Johnson, Matt Besler and Jermaine Jones. If any one of those players receives a card versus Costa Rica, he will be forced to miss the anic match against Mexico on Tuesday. But Klinsmann insisted he wouldn't tweak his lineup or sit the players with yellow cards.
Altidore is still hamstrung. Dempsey to most likely move up to take his place...
This is not what we wanted.
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