The 2016 Copa America opener against Colombia is one month away, and the U.S. National Team released its provisional 40-man roster Sunday evening, which you can view here. While there are not that many surprises, there is enough time between now and May 20, when the final rosters must be submitted, to speculate as to which 23 players Jurgen Klinsmann will take for this tournament.
Here, we’ll go position by position and evaluate who is likely to make the cut. These predictions are a combination of who Jurgen Klinsmann should take and who he’ll likely take, based on selection tendencies from past tournaments.
Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton/Colorado Rapids), Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Ethan Horvath (Molde)
Howard and Guzan, despite their poor seasons, are still the top two goalkeepers in the pool, for better or worse. The only question here is who will be third. Nick Rimando has normally been the third keeper for these tournaments, but it makes sense now to pass the torch and let a young keeper learn the ropes for the future. David Bingham and Horvath are the two choices, and here I chose Horvath because he’s based in Europe and Jurgen Klinsmann loves his players that are based in Europe.
Defenders: Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Steve Birnbaum (DC United), DeAndre Yedlin (Sunderland/Spurs), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Tim Ream (Fulham)
The preliminary roster is centerback heavy, and not filled with many natural fullbacks. Evans, Ream and Cameron are at least versatile enough to play fullback with Yedlin, the only natural fullback on the 40-man roster. Many will clamor for Nottingham Forest’s Eric Lichaj, whose last cap came in 2013 and whose form has been remarkably consistent, but Klinsmann has shown in the past that he rates other players ahead of him. Brooks/Besler was supposed to be the centerback combination during the last two World Cup Qualifiers, but injuries derailed seeing that. Matt Miazga and Timmy Chandler also both miss out, the former because there are too many centerbacks and the latter because his form has dropped off a cliff.
Midfielders: Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Midfield options for the U.S. in the center of the park are slim, but considering that Geoff Cameron can play defensive midfielder if needed, the above selection seems a little bit more reasonable. The first six players listed are slam-dunk choices, and since I picked eight defenders, there’s only one spot left for an extra midfielder based on who is listed at what position. (You’ll see what I mean below.) The team doesn’t have a ton of true width in it outside of Fabian Johnson, so that is why Graham Zusi makes this cut as opposed to Lee Nguyen or Danny Williams, who can’t really play out wide.
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund)
It’s a slam-dunk that Pulisic makes this roster and potentially starts, even though he’s only 17. The hype train will keep on rolling full-steam ahead if he can make some magic at this tournament. He’s listed as a forward, though it’s a good bet he plays advanced midfield at the tournament if/when he plays. Though many aren’t fans of Jozy Altidore, the way he plays is integral to any setup that Jurgen Klinsmann prefers, as evidenced by the complete lack of possession at the World Cup two years ago when Altidore went down injured. Jordan Morris is on form at the moment, and Klinsmann really rates Gyasi Zardes, so those are the last two spots filled. Tough luck for Bobby Wood and Chris Wondolowski, who both have played quite well of late. But there just isn’t enough room for them, though you could make convincing arguments for both.
