USMNT Won't Lack Scoring in Copa America

The 40 man U.S. Men’s national team (USMNT) preliminary roster for the Copa America Centenario was announced on May first. There is no reason the USMNT should lack any scoring in the upcoming Copa America Centenario.  USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann pretty much rotates in and out the players on the list during each international break already so there weren’t many surprises on the roster. The usual call-ups are on the list with players such as Tim Howard, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore headlining an MLS heavy squad. The omissions of Orlando City left back Brek Shea and Club Leon goalkeeper William Yarbrough were perhaps the most noticeable ones. Some US fans were probably expecting former Portland Timber and current Santos Laguna defender Jorge Villafaña to finally get his first senior national team call-up, but it did not occur in this national team cycle.

The USMNT has traditionally lacked strikers who can finish and put a team away. Klinsmann even mentioned this to Taylor Twellman last Fall as the team was preparing to play Mexico for the right to go to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, “What I’m worried in the longer run is to find strikers that on a international level give you a goal every second game at least”. However, when stacking up the national team goals scored by the forwards on the preliminary roster that Klinsmann has put together against the other Copa America forwards, the U.S. looks pretty good:

The U.S. strikers on the preliminary roster have combined to score the second-most goals (101) out of any other preliminary squad in the tournament, only Argentina boast a more formidable international scoring record (128). Skepticism may lead one to suspect that the U.S. has scored so many goals due to the quality of opponents in the region. There is perhaps some truth to that since Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica are third, fourth, and sixth, respectively, in that category, while Haiti’s 34 goals rank higher than Peru and Colombia, two teams known for having scorers over the past few years. Another argument could be made that the numbers might be closer had some of the teams brought in their full squads or weren’t missing some of their top goal scorers such as Brazil without Neymar as he elected to play in the Olympics instead or Peru choosing to go without 37-year-old Claudio Pizarro and veteran Jefferson Farfan and their combined 42 national team goals. Colombia chose to not call up out of form players such as Falcao, Teofilo Gutierrez and Jackson Martinez who have a combined 50 goals among them.

Another positive sign for those concerned about the lack of goal scoring by the team is that most, if not all, of the forwards on the roster are going into the tournament in good form.

No player is going into camp in better form than Bobby Wood. Wood is coming off a season with second division German club Union Berlin where he scored 17 goals, a club record and the most ever by any American in any of the top German divisions. Wood had an insane eight-game stretch from February 5^th through April 17^th where he scored a goal in every single game, he scored a brace in two of the games. He’s outstanding year with the Berlin outfit has led to rumors that he will be jumping to a first division club over the summer. No doubt that a good performance at the Copa America, could determine how good that German club vying for his services will be.

It may have taken Jordan Morris seven games to finally score his first professional goal, however, once he finally did he went on a four-game scoring streak. Morris is considered the future of USMNT soccer and has been already had a huge international moment when he scored against Mexico last year in a friendly and followed that up with a score against Mexico’s U23 a week later. As the future of the national team and playing well in MLS, Morris finds himself headed to the Copa America in top form. It also helps that he plays alongside fellow USMNT player Clint Dempsey meaning he’s had some time to build a rapport with his fellow national team player should Klinsmann opt to play them together at any point during the tournament.

Currently in a three-way tie for 2016 Season scoring leader in MLS, Chris Wondolowski comes into the Copa America camp in top form. Wondolowski currently sits fourth in all-time goals scored in MLS history and trails Landon Donovan’s mark by 30 goals. It’s hard to argue with those credentials, however, his lack of scoring for the national team and his gigantic miss in the 2014 World Cup that would have sent the U.S. to the Quarterfinals are what define his U.S. career to this point. That in mind, outside of Bobby Wood and Jordan Morris, it’s hard to argue that any other U.S. striker is playing better than Wondo’s current form.

The other U.S. strikers on Jurgen’s preliminary roster have made it based on merit and previous history with the team, Jozy Altidore (34 international goals, tied for third all-time in U.S. history) however now dealing with a hamstring injury, Ethan Finley (finished 2015 season with 10 goals and 13 assists), Christian Pulisic (17 year old U.S. striker who worked his way into 9 games, including four starts, for Borussia Dortmund in Bundesliga this season) and Gyasi Zardes who has become a national team staple and played in 23 USMNT games since January 2015 while playing well with L.A. Galaxy.

The options for Klinsmann up front almost become abundant when compared to most of the other 11 teams participating in the tournament.   The U.S. disposal of strikers provides in-form players, all-time scoring leaders and youngsters who can help the team today instead of four years from today. The U.S. team will face a tough group with teams such as Colombia, Costa Rica, and Paraguay, however, scoring goals should not be the USMNT issue at Copa America, leaving one less thing to worry about.

 
Main Photo: Paul Vernon, AFP, Getty Images