Analyzing The US MNT Roster to Face Brazil

Today, Bob Bradley announced his call-ups for the August 10 match against Brazil at the New Meadowlands.

There are some interesting things that can be gleaned from the inclusions and the exclusions.

First, the inclusions. 

We can only really begin here with the fact that the long-awaited debut of German-turned-Yank Jermaine Jones is at hand. 

Jones’ switch of allegiances from the German national team to the United States was seen as a big move, considering his potential to add serious muscle to the team.

An established starter with his club team, the Bundesliga’s Schalke 04, Jones is seen as one of the best central defensive mids in the game. 

His brand of physicality combined with just a bit of guile (see his goal in the preseason for his club that was reminiscent of Clint Dempsey’s tally against England’s Robert Green) should allow Michael Bradley to get forward in the attack with greater frequency.

This is a critical point to the US squad moving forward. 

When Bradley was up in the attack in South Africa, he demonstrated a newfound and incredibly valuable ability to hold the ball while waiting for the attack to organize.  When forward, Bradley was able to get notch the equalizer against Slovenia. 

Jones is a player who the Yank faithful have had a strong desire to see ever since his switch became official. 

He is known in the Bundesliga as—for lack of a better term—a destroyer.  His tackles are fierce but normally clean, and he reads the game quite well, putting himself in excellent positions on the pitch to break up threatening plays.

In short, Jones’ presence allows for Bradley to worry less about covering the back line and frees him to work more closely with his forwards. 

Jones provides a critical link between the defense and midfield that the US has been looking for to complete their counterattacking system.

Sacha Kljestan also makes his first appearance in quite a while for the national team.  Kljestan has had a very up-and-down career for his country.  He made a somewhat quiet move across the Atlantic to Anderlecht of the Belgian First Division. 

Since then, in European competition, he has notched one goal and one assist.  Kljestan has clearly earned his way back into contention in an American central midfield that is quickly becoming crowded.

The other midfielder to watch during this match will be Benny Feilhaber. 

In South Africa, the Brazilian-born American attacking midfielder came off the bench several times and provided great energy, partially sparking the fast and furious comeback win against Slovenia.  

Although Feilhaber is by no means a lock to start, he should be in line for at least 45 minutes. 

It will be very interesting to see if the creativity that he displayed in South Africa in more limited minutes can be sustained for longer stretches—this could go some distance in predicting Feilhaber’s role with the MNT moving forward.

Of course, the likes of Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Michael Bradley, and Carlos Bocanegra will also be on hand against La Selecao as well as regular members of the MNT. 

While their performances should of course be watched, there really isn’t much that we can learn just from their presence alone.

Now for the players notably absent from the roster.

Let’s begin with Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, Jozy Altidore, and Charlie Davies. 

Dempsey, Onyewu, and Davies are likely absent simply due to the fact that they are continuing to fight for their spots with their club teams.  While a friendly against Brazil is certainly a big draw for fans, the match itself has little consequence. 

Being pulled away during the thick of the European preseason to play this match would simply have been more detrimental than it was productive for these players.  In the long run, the USSF realizes that players getting regular minutes with top European sides is much more helpful than having them in New York for a friendly. 

This is especially true in the case of Oguchi Onyewu, who is battling for regular time with AC Milan.

England based players like Howard and Guzan are already more or less assured of their places on their club teams, so their departures would not cause them to fall out of favor with their managers. 

For a player like Clint Dempsey, it is a different case. 

He will have to impress a new manager at Fulham.  While his exploits on the field speak for themselves, his absence so close to the start of the Premier League season would likely have put a bad taste in the new manager’s mouth.

Focusing just a little more on Davies’ exclusion, some may look at this as a vote of no confidence in his health. 

That would be a sincere mistake. 

He is in the thick of training with his club squad and is consistently participating in the preseason friendlies with Sochaux. 

It is of course not a guarantee that he returns to the track of progression that many had anticipated for him, but this is a very positive sign and a process that it may be best not to interrupt, no matter how much it would mean to the fan base.

Next, we look at Jozy Altidore. 

His absence might signal several things. 

Of course he also has the preseason European training to keep him occupied, but Altidore has been rumored to be switching teams.  Most recently, the striker has been linked with a pair of top clubs in Turkey, including Besiktas and Fenerbahce. 

Altidore has also drawn consistent links to the Ajax, one of Europe’s most historic sides.

Other than Altidore’s impending exit from Villareal, he may simply be gone because of the reasons given for the absences of Dempsey and the like—it’s the European preseason, and he is trying to make (insert squad here)’s first team to earn regular minutes. 

The former Hull City loanee will likely make his next move quite shortly, as the European season will begin within the next month.

One more interesting omission is Edgar Castillo. 

Just about a year ago, the Mexican-American switched allegiances from El Tri to the Yanks.  His first call-up came against Denmark, and he saw some time on the left wing as a second half sub.

Since then, he may as well have become a ghost. 

This would have been a perfect opportunity for Castillo to strut his stuff and perhaps earn a shot as the left back going forward for the United States. 

It is entirely possible that his Mexican club refused to release him as this upcoming match is not a FIFA sanctioned fixture date, but it appears more likely that Castillo was not chosen by Bradley.

Now that we know the squad, all that’s left is to find a great place to watch the US take on one of the top countries on the planet in just a few days.