2014 World Cup: Predicting the USMNT Lineup

With nearly three years to go until the 2014 World Cup, now's as good a time as any to start predicting who will make the 23-man roster for the U.S. men's national team, right?

Probably not.

It's an exercise in futility (and probably stupidity) to try and predict a roster for a team that hasn't even played a qualifying match for the World Cup, much less gotten themselves in. The team has only played seven exhibition matches thus far, and there are several players whom Jurgen Klinsmann still hasn't seen yet.

I can tell you that we'll at least make it past next summer's group play—all we have to do is beat Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda and not do too poorly against Jamaica. Heck, we could probably lose both matches against Jamaica and still get into the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.

The Yanks—along with Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica—are my favorites to come out of CONCACAF. I have one of those teams defeating New Zealand, my prediction as the winner of the 2012 OFC Winners Cup, to capture the "0.5 spot."

That said, here's my prediction for who will make Kaiser Klinsmann's 23-man roster for the 2014 World Cup.

Goalkeepers (2)

What's easier than stealing candy from a baby?

Probably a lot of things. Have you ever found a baby with candy and tried to steal candy from them? Those tiny fingers won't pry open for anything.

But predicting that Tim Howard will be goalkeeper for the U.S. during the 2014 World Cup is a no-brainer. I'm not going to list his accolades.

I'm just going to let you watch this clip of him throwing the ball 40 yards to Landon Donovan in last summer's World Cup match against Algeria.

I'll wait a few seconds to allow you to pick up the pieces of your brain seeping out of your ears.

The not-so-easy thing is picking his backup. Brad Guzan is a great keeper who graduated from the MLS ranks to join Aston Villa. He's currently on loan at Hull City, which is good because at Aston Villa he was seeing zero time in front of the net.

Guzan will only be 29 years old in 2014, but if we've learned anything about goalkeepers, it's that they can play into their senior citizen years (see: Brad Friedel of Tottenham Hotspur).

Defenders (8)

"A back line, a back line, my kingdom for a back line!"

That's probably not how William Shakespeare's Richard III reads, but what us Yanks wouldn't give for a good set of defenders.

Edgar Castillo (Puebla/Mexico): Castillo will earn a spot as a reserve player as a quick player that can come off the bench and provide speed late in the game.

Timothy Chandler (FC Nuremburg/Germany): Chandler has struggled as of late, but he's a good player, playing on a good team (FC Nuremburg) in a good league (German's Bundesliga) against good competition (umm...not the MLS?). He'll only be 24 in 2014 and will have improved dramatically by then.

Clarence Goodson (Brondby/Denmark): Klinsmann has given Goodson several chances to prove himself. I think he's done just enough to earn himself a spot on the bench. He'll never crack the starting lineup with all the young talent around him, but he has a good first touch and at 6'4" can get opposing set pieces and corner kicks out of harm's way. 

Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy): New coach Jurgen Klinsmann has said he wants the MLS to be on par with top-tier European clubs. That takes a change of schedule and better talent. What better way to entice rising players to stay in the States than for Klinsmann to select more players from the MLS?

Gonzalez is an amazing player who rose quickly through the U.S. youth development program and then helped the LA Galaxy build the best defense in the MLS. Klinsmann will do right to give him a spot on the final roster in 2014.

Eric Lichaj (Leeds United/England): Lichaj is a natural right-back who will only be 25 and outperformed Jonathan Bornstein at this summer's Gold Cup.

Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon/Portugal): We know that when Onyewu is fit, he's a rock in the center of the defense. Klinsmann loves him. I love him. Darth Vader loves him. Any questions about his fitness were answered in the first few exhibitions under Klinsmann.

Michael Orozco-Fiscal (San Luis/Mexico): Orozco-Fiscal is a versatile player that has professional experience as defender and midfielder. Klinsmann will love having a player on the bench who can come out and replace a lot more players than most.

He will only be 28 by the time 2014 comes around, so depending on how well he performs in qualifiers he could have up to two World Cups in him. He'll take over for Jonathan Bornstein before this time next year.

Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls): Ream was ignored by former manager Bob Bradley after committing a foul against Panama in this summer's Gold Cup and giving up a penalty kick and the eventual game-winning score.

But Klinsmann likes Ream and will give him every opportunity to learn during what will be an easy start to qualifying next summer.

Why am I leaving off Carlos Bocanegra and Steve Cherundolo? Because they'll both be 35 by the time the 2014 World Cup rolls around. I don't want a 35-year-old defender chasing down some 23-year-old Italian forward. Do you?

Midfield (8)

Finally! A midfield worthy of going up against the likes of Germany and Spain!

Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona/Italy): Even though Bradley said he prefers the middle of the field, he did exceptionally as the right winger in the exhibition against Slovenia. Hopefully he can swallow his pride and adapt to the new position because he was exceptional at the new position.

Bobby Convey (San Jose Earthquakes): How's this for against the grain? Convey, who bounced around the Premiership until 2009, has been catching his second wind in the MLS. Look for him to make some noise in qualifiers.

Clint Dempsey (Fulham/England): He's the best player on the team, and that includes goalkeeper Timmy Howard.

Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy): This was a tough pick. Donovan will be 32 by the time the World Cup rolls around—hardly too old to play international soccer—but he'll have an estimated 200 international caps and 400 league caps in the summer of 2014.

That's a lot of tread on those tires and I wouldn't be surprised to see Donovan left off the roster. At the very least, he will play a limited role in Brazil.

Stuart Holden (Bolton/England)—Holden's inability to cement himself in the U.S. national team is less about talent and more about bad luck.

He's fractured his leg, injured his eye in an altercation outside of an English pub and been in the rehab center more than the soccer pitch. At 26, Holden still has a lot of good soccer left and can contribute to America's effort in the 2014 World Cup.

Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim/Germany)—Johnson will be a massive star in the next few years and anyone who's watched the last few exhibitions know as much. He creates chances, is aggressive towards the ball and gets into the attack with the confidence of a veteran.

Marc Pelosi (Liverpool/England)—Pelosi is a huge talent that has achieved bigger things at a younger age than most other U.S. soccer players.

He's only 17 years old and has signed a contract with Liverpool through 2014. If he continues this upward trend, who knows how good he could be come World Cup time. He could be the centerpiece of the next generation of American soccer players. 

Brek Shea (FC Dallas)—Brek Shea is an exciting player for FC Dallas who has gotten an invite for a training session at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. According to reports from Bloomberg.com, Everton is also interested in signing the young defender. He won't crack the starting lineup, but he'll make the final roster.  

And why not pick Kyle Beckerman? Because I have eyes. 

Forwards (5)

If there's one thing that aggravates U.S. fans more than our defenders, it's our forwards and their inability to finish an attack.

Under former coach Bob Bradley, we got the ball in the box, but we either didn't get a decent shot off or a lone striker had no one to pass to.

The Yanks are decent on counter-attacks, but the possession seems to always stall just outside the penalty box. Here's hoping Klinsmann picks some players who can finish with the ball in the back of the net.

At an average age of 22, this is the youngest and most promising group of the U.S. men's national team and the one we should see the most improvement over the course of the next three years.

Freddy Adu (Philadelphia Union): Adu provides Klinsmann with a lot of versatility in the offense. He's played winger, forward and striker and excelled on America's U-17, U-20 and U-23 teams.

His passes in the 2011 Gold Cup were powerful and on-target and made the ESPN highlight reels for weeks last summer. He'd be a great addition to the team as something of an attacking midfielder.

Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls): Born in Colombia but moving to the U.S. at the age of seven, Agudelo is product of the youth development system that Klinsmann really wants to strengthen. He's got power, he's intelligent in the open space and he's got great ball control.

Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar/Netherlands): Klinsmann really likes Altidore and his pairing the 22-year-old with Buddle showed an offensive display that the U.S. team has been lacking for a long time. If Altidore is only improving at AZ Alkmaar, learning how to finish goals rather than let shoot and hope it goes in.

Villyan Bijev (Liverpool/England)—The aforementioned Marc Pelosi isn't the only American turning heads in Liverpool. Bijev, an 18-year-old, was snatched up by the Reds in July and loaned out to Fortuna Dusseldorf of Germany's Second Bundesliga.

He has incredible skill and deft ball control. If Bijev can improve his strength and run off the ball, he could turn out to be a long-term fixture for a young group of forwards.

Edson Buddle (Ingolstadt/Germany): The senior of the group, Buddle will have just turned 33 when the 2014 World Cup commences. He's been plagued by injuries much of his career, but if he can stay healthy then he'd provide a great option at striker.

Starting XI

Of the 23 aforementioned players, who will Klinsmann have in his starting lineup?

GK: Tim Howard

LB: Timothy Chandler 

LCB: Oguchi Onyewu

RCB: Tim Ream

RB: Eric Lichaj

LM: Clint Dempsey

CDM: Michael Orozco-Fiscal

RM: Michael Bradley

F: Villyan Bijev

CAM: Landon Donovan

F: Jozy Altidore

Reserves: Brad Guzan, Edgar Castillo, Clarence Goodson, Omar Gonzalez, Bobby Convey, Stu Holden, Fabian Johnson, Marc Pelosi, Brek Shea, Freddy Adu, Juan Agudelo, Edson Buddle

What do you guys think?