If Coach Jürgen Klinsmann is preparing for the 2018 World Cup, you wouldn’t know it by his latest roster choices for the Gold Cup which occurs every two years. The US Men’s National Team (USMNT) won the Gold Cup in 2013 and if they win it again this year, they will automatically qualify to go to the Confederations Cup. The Confederations Cup is a tournament played once every 4 years that pits the winners of the various confederation cups alongside the current World Cup holder and host nation. Even if the US doesn’t win the Gold Cup this July, they are automatically entered into a one game playoff to go to the Confederations Cup, since they won the Gold Cup in 2013. Qualifying for the Confed. Cup is the only importance of the Gold Cup, just to qualify for another tournament against tougher opponents.
It is for this reason, among many others, why Klinsmann is being shortsighted regarding the roster he has chosen for this summer. Klinsmann has only named his 35-man provisional roster at this point, but there are some glaring names left off the roster, and giant question marks of names that are on the roster.
Damarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman and Alan Gordon are 33 and will be 36 by the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Clint Dempsey and Chris Wondolowski are 32 and will be 35 by ’18. There is little to no chance they will be on the plane to Russia, assuming we qualify. And if they aren’t on that plane, why are they on the Gold Cup Roster?
If Klinsmann isn’t doing everything he can to get our roster perfect for 2018, what is the point? The goal of the USA must be to advance as far as possible in the World Cup. This will grow the fan base the most and create more players who strive to be the best players in the world. Winning the Gold Cup isn’t terribly hard. The US has been in the Gold Cup final game 6 out of the last 7 Gold Cups and won 4 of them. If the US wants to prepare for 2018, they need to be trying out players now to see how they do against future World Cup Qualifying teams.
Andrew Farrell, Charlie Davies, Benny Feilhaber, Matt Hedges, Steve Birnbaum and Robbie Rogers seem to be conspicuous players missing. Bobby Wood just scored against Germany and Netherlands but is not on the roster. Fatai Alashe, Wil Trapp and Harrison Shipp could potentially be on the 2018 roster but are not getting the international experience in important senior tournaments that they need.
Klinsmann has always made tough choices that are unpopular that often times workout, however some player selections he has made leave even the most ardent support miffed.
Why is Alan Gordon on the team? He isn’t even starting for LA when their team is healthy. This is a player who has scored 13 goals in the past 4 seasons.
Why would JK bring back Damarcus Beasley? Do we not have enough wing defender options in Deandre Yedlin, Brek Shea, Timothy Chandler and Fabian Johnson? Would it not have made more sense to try out 23-year-old Andrew Farrell, 24-year-old Steve Birnbaum or any of the players you brought into January camp like Serna, Dean and Sorto?
Kyle Beckerman, Clint Dempsey and Chris Wondolowski will likely be too old for the next World Cup, which includes the wear and tear of qualifying. Fatai Alashe is quickly on his way to becoming the new Kyle Beckerman. Why not give him senior international exposure? If they play, they take minutes away from the youth that needs to develop. Their roster spots means Bobby Wood misses out. Jerome Kiesewetter was one of the absolute standouts in France at the Toulon tournament and provides a skill set we don’t readily have available.
Jürgen continually talks about a culture change that is needed in US Soccer. He discusses how US needs to have a style of play, how they need to impose their will on the game and how the goal is to make the World Cup semifinals by 2018. The Gold Cup is the first big tournament after last years World Cup. It is a chance to put players that could be on the 2018 squad through their first important test. He would be wise to keep players like Emerson Hyndman and Gedion Zelalem off the squad as they are still young and need time. However there is an entire generation of players in the US system that Klinsmann needs to see if they can be of value. Farrell, Hedges and Birnbaum are three of the best defenders under 25 the US has along with Yedlin and Shea. The USMNT attacking group has players but the US is not nearly as deep in attack as they could be. It bit them badly in the World Cup when Altidore went down and there was no one to replace him.
By 2018 the US may have Maki Tall, Zardes, Joe Gyau, Jozy Altidore, Bobby Wood, Terrance Boyd, Charlie Davies, Agudelo, Johannsson and Jordan Morris all literally in their prime. That is 10 strikers. Klinsmann is wasting precious opportunities to develop the youth by selecting players that are in good form now, but will likely not be in the picture when it counts. There is an amazing generation of players the US has. They have gone to the quarters of the U-20 world cup, received 3rd place in the U-23 tournament, and recently beat the first and eighth best teams in the world. The future is bright but it must gain more and more experience. There is only one way to do that. Send off the players that have gotten the US this far in style. And then move on to the next group of players that can help the US get even farther.
