Breaking Down Jurgen Klinsmann's USMNT Roster for Colombia Friendly

On Monday morning, United States men’s national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced a 25-man roster for the upcoming friendly against Colombia.

As usual, the roster contained a number of surprises regarding who was left out of the squad and who was called in.

Here’s a breakdown of the roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Greg Garza (Tijuana), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders)

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Julian Green (Hamburger SV), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution)

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United), Jordan Morris (Stanford University), Rubio Rubin (Utrecht), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

Who’s In?

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Besides the usual suspects, there were several interesting names on the U.S. roster. The Chicago Fire’s Sean Johnson is in, demonstrating once again that Klinsmann clearly sees him as one of the candidates to back up Brad Guzan and Nick Rimando. At the moment, the battle for the No. 3 spot in the net appears to be between Johnson and D.C. United’s Bill Hamid.

Among the defenders, DaMarcus Beasley is back in the fold after being called into his first camp since the 2014 World Cup. The call-up for the 32-year-old defender is the clearest indication yet from Klinsmann that the Houston Dynamo man is still in the picture for next summer’s Gold Cup.

Similarly, Kyle Beckerman also received his first post-World Cup call-up, another sign that Klinsmann sees value in keeping a number of the veterans around for at least part of the next World Cup cycle.

Lee Nguyen is also on the roster, having parlayed his 20-goal campaign in 2014 for the New England Revolution into another shot with the national team. Nguyen’s last appearance for the U.S. may have been all the way back in 2007, but many fans are hopeful that Nguyen can help provide an attacking spark for the U.S. midfield.

The biggest questions for Klinsmann regarding the roster will come at forward. There are a number of big names missing who will be replaced by a number of youngsters and a few surprising inclusions.

NASL-product Miguel Ibarra is on the squad again following his shock call-up last month. Ibarra did, however, give U.S. fans a taste of why Klinsmann is looking at the second-division star with his gravity-defying goal this weekend in the NASL semi-finals.

Ibarra is joined by Stanford University forward Jordan Morris, who was a surprise call-up for the September friendly against the Czech Republic, and Utrecht’s Rubio Rubin, who has been playing well in the Eredivisie.

But the biggest criticisms against Klinsmann will be for his call-ups of Chris Wondolowski and Bobby Wood. Most fans have seen more than enough from both players, neither of whom who appear to be international caliber. Wood in particular struggled to find a rhythm in either of the U.S.’s last two friendlies and at club level has even been recently dropped from 1860’s Munich’s first team.

Finally, Jermaine Jones was listed among the defenders after playing his last game for the U.S. at center back.

Who’s Out?

There were numerous reports floating around last week that FC Dallas forward Tesho Akindele would be in the squad after spurning a call-up from Canada. However, the dual national wasn’t called up. 

But the biggest snub may be that of Andrew Wooten. Wooten has had a fantastic opening to his Bundesliga 2 campaign, scoring five goals in his first 12 games. Wooten also seems to be in far better form than Bobby Wood, who did make the team.

Injuries also seem to have played a factor in the selection process, with Terrence Boyd, Aron Johannsson and Danny Williams all snubbed. All three have recently returned from serious injuries, and it appears Klinsmann is giving them time off to fully regain their form and fitness.

The MLS playoffs appear to be a factor in some of the roster decisions—despite the call-ups of DeAndre Yedlin, Jones and Nguyen—as Omar Gonzalez and Clint Dempsey are missing and are likely being given a rest after a long year.

The same may be true for Graham Zusi, who is not in the squad, but it is interesting to note that not only is Sporting KC out of the MLS playoffs, but Zusi’s club teammate Matt Besler is on the team.

Michael Bradley and Michael Orozco are also missing, presumably due to injuries. Bradley is recovering from foot surgery, and Orozco was removed for Puebla’s game this weekend with a muscle pull.

Fulham’s Emerson Hyndman will be playing with the U20s during this international break, but Southampton goalkeeper Cody Cropper is not on the roster for either squad.

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