USMNT Roster Announced for World Cup Qualifiers vs. Mexico, Costa Rica

The United States men's national team head coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, has named his 23-man roster for the team's World Cup qualifying matches against Costa Rica on March 22 and Mexico on March 26.

Here is the full roster heading into the Denver training camp, via the USSoccer.com press release.

Goalkeepers (3): Brad Guzan, Sean Johnson, Nick Rimando  

Defenders (6): Tony Beltran, Matt Besler, Geoff Cameron, Omar Gonzalez, Clarence Goodson, Justin Morrow

Midfielders (9): DaMarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman, Michael Bradley, Joe Corona, Maurice Edu, Jermaine Jones, Sacha Kljestan, Brek Shea, Graham Zusi

Forwards (5): Jozy Altidore, Terrence Boyd, Clint Dempsey, Herculez Gomez, Eddie Johnson

Notable inclusions include Altidore—who has 24 goals for AZ Alkmaar this season and can hopefully turn that production into a strong international showing—Bradley and Dempsey, who is widely considered the best player on this roster. 

Also of note is the ever dangerous Johnson on the wing and DaMarcus Beasley, who has made 97 total appearances for the United States.

Captain Carlos Bocanegra has been dropped from the team, while first-team keeper Tim Howard, Timmy Chandler, Steve Cherundolo, Fabian Johnson, Jose Torres and Danny Williams are all out with injuries.

The United States opened hexagonal play with a 2-1 loss to Honduras on February 6, making these March games all the more vital for the United States. The saving grace from that first round of games may have been that every other contest ended in a tie, including group favorites Mexico earning a scoreless draw against Jamaica.

While the goal will obviously be to win both games and steal six much-needed points, the United States has to at least earn four points from these two draws to ensure it doesn't fall too far down the pack. Remember, each team plays every other team twice, so there is plenty of time to recover from the opening loss.

Hopefully, this collection of players will be able to right the ship.