Predicting the USMNT's 2018 World Cup Squad After the Copa America
With the Copa America Centenario in the rearview mirror, the focus of the United States men's national team has shifted to qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Barring a meltdown of epic proportions in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, the Yanks will play in their eighth World Cup in a row in two years' time.
There will be a healthy amount of change between now and then in terms of the personnel on the 23-man roster due to the high amount of older players in the Copa squad. Given everything we know about the players in the talent pool at this moment, we have tried to select the best 23-man squad for Jurgen Klinsmann to take to Russia.
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It must be noted that injuries and form will play a big part in the roster selection for the next World Cup as well as the emergence of young talent not currently in the first-team picture. We selected this list based off past performances, potential and Klinsmann's tendencies.
Below is a position-by-position look at who we think should participate in red, white and blue at the 2018 World Cup.
Goalkeepers (3)
Brad Guzan, Bill Hamid, Ethan Horvath
Selecting the goalkeepers for the 2018 World Cup roster should be one of Klinsmann's easiest tasks over the next two years. Although Tim Howard has the skill set to play until he's 39, we think he'll call it quits on the international level before the next World Cup since he's already lost his starting gig.
Brad Guzan was the starter for the Copa and the No. 1 shirt is his for as long as he wants it. When the Aston Villa man is ready to relinquish the position, Bill Hamid will take his turn on the throne.
Behind Guzan and Hamid on the goalkeeping depth chart are a conglomerate of young netminders who ply their respective trades in Major League Soccer and across Europe. Ethan Horvath, 21, has put himself above the rest of the pack due to his exploits in the UEFA Europa League with Norwegian club Molde.
Defenders (8)
Steve Birnbaum, John Brooks, Geoff Cameron, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Fabian Johnson, Matt Miazga, Brek Shea, DeAndre Yedlin
Klinsmann finally discovered a back four with terrific chemistry at the Copa, with DeAndre Yedlin on the right, Fabian Johnson on the left and the duo of John Brooks and Geoff Cameron in the middle.
Yedlin, 22, and Brooks, 23, will be in the prime of their respective careers when the 2018 World Cup rolls around. Expect both players to be earning quality minutes for big-name clubs in Europe in two years.
Yedlin spent the last season on loan at Sunderland from Tottenham Hotspur, while Brooks is a mainstay at Hertha Berlin. If their current form persists, they will earn big-money moves before the summer of 2018.
Many would love to see Johnson on the left wing of midfield, but that move is just too risky given the lack of quality left-backs and depth in midfield in the talent pool at the moment.
Building strength in numbers behind the current starters in defense will be key over the next two years. Youngsters Matt Miazga and Cameron Carter-Vickers were a solid combination at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup and both will gain experience at Chelsea and Tottenham as they continue to develop.
D.C. United center-back Steve Birnbaum impressed during the latest January camp, and he earned a spot on the Copa roster due to his play at the club level. If needed, the 25-year-old can play full-back, and that is valuable on a team with a manager who loves versatility and playing his best athletes out of position.
Brek Shea is our final defender on the squad. The Orlando City man has been lost in the mix a bit, but he's a solid option to have on the roster if Klinsmann chooses to move Johnson further up the field. The 26-year-old also possesses flexibility on the pitch as he can play on the left wing if called upon.
Klinsmann favorites Ventura Alvarado and Timothy Chandler were left on the outside looking in as well as Greg Garza, Desevio Payne, Eric Miller, Tim Parker and Omar Gonzalez. Any one of those players could play their way into the mix during the next two January camps, just like Birnbaum did in 2016.
Midfielders (7)
Kellyn Acosta, Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Darlington Nagbe, Christian Pulisic, Wil Trapp, Gyasi Zardes
At some point you have to let go of the past. Whenever Klinsmann is ready to cut the cord and drop Jermaine Jones and Kyle Beckerman, he has a stable of young defensive midfielders to choose from.
If both veterans somehow keep up a world-class fitness rate at the age of 36, then they deserve to prove us wrong, but for now, we're keeping both of them off the 2018 roster.
Enter Kellyn Acosta and Wil Trapp, who are both key figures of their respective squads in MLS.
Acosta, 20, is an important cog in a youth-laden FC Dallas side, while Trapp, 23, is the commander of the Columbus Crew midfield. Both players are ready to take the step up to the international level, but their arrivals in the senior team will be determined by how long Klinsmann relies on his veterans.
As for the remaining veterans, Michael Bradley and Alejandro Bedoya should be a part of the USMNT setup until they retire from the international game.
Despite his inability to show up in big matches, Bradley makes the USMNT midfield tick. Bedoya may be one of the most underrated U.S. players in the last decade. His relentless work rate on both sides of the pitch was important to the Yanks' success at the Copa.
Although he starts out of position on the right wing for the USMNT, Gyasi Zardes has turned himself into a starter for the future as long as he continues to develop with the LA Galaxy. Darlington Nagbe and Christian Pulisic were supposed to receive ample time off the bench at the Copa, but they left the tournament without making a massive impression.
There is no doubt Pulisic, 17, will be a part of the USMNT midfield for a long time, while Nagbe, 25, may only have one chance to play in a World Cup in 2018 due to his age, which means he needs to up his production in the major offensive stat categories in Portland to remain high on the depth chart.
One player who could be a potential game-changer in the squad is Kekuta Manneh, who is set to earn his U.S. citizenship later this year. Right now we have the Vancouver Whitecaps winger on the fringe of the World Cup roster, but if he gets an opportunity in 2017, he could leap into the squad.
The same can be said about Emerson Hyndman, Perry Kitchen and Fatai Alashe in defensive midfield, and we must not forget Gedion Zelalem, who also has the potential to be a game-changer.
Forwards (5)
Jozy Altidore, Paul Arriola, Clint Dempsey, Jordan Morris, Bobby Wood
Unlike Jones and Beckerman, we're not counting out Clint Dempsey for 2018 unless his production drastically slows down between the end of the Copa and the start of the World Cup.
Bobby Wood and Jozy Altidore will enter the September World Cup qualifiers in a battle to start as the target forward in Klinsmann's XI.
The two forwards could rotate in and out of roles in the starting lineup and on the bench during the hexagonal round of qualifying to determine who is the best fit alongside Dempsey. Regardless of who starts and who enters as a substitute, both are locks to go to Russia if healthy.
Any combination of two young strikers could appear on the roster behind Dempsey, Altidore and Wood, but the deciding factor at this point in the game is experience.
Paul Arriola and Jordan Morris are the two young stars with the biggest opportunities at club level right now. Arriola, 21, has made 50 starts for Club Tijuana, while Morris, 21, is a first-team regular with the Seattle Sounders.
If Aron Johannsson finds his way back to full fitness before being washed too far down the depth chart, he could play a role in the selection battle for Russia, but his health is too much of a question at the moment.
Khiry Shelton, Jerome Kiesewetter, Rubio Rubin and Julian Green are among the group of forwards that will try to snag a roster spot away from the five forwards mentioned above.
Joe Tansey covers U.S. soccer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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