Christian Pulisic might join USA in Columbus
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Mar 23, 2016
It is not clear whether Pulisic, who debuted for Dortmund this winter, would be brought in to simply get a feel for the national team environment or be a serious candidate to play against Guatemala. If he played, he would be cap-tied to the USA. He plays in the Bundesliga with a Croatian passport.
On the injury front, Fabian Johnson, who strained his groin in Borussia Moenchengladbach's most recent Bundesliga game, could play for the USA
when it faces Guatemala in Guatemala City on Friday.
"If there would be no chance that he plays," Jurgen Klinsmann told reporters at the U.S. camp in Miami, "he wouldn't be
here."
Klinsmann said Jozy Altidore and Johnson were not yet at 100 percent but he was hopeful they will be close by Friday. Altidore suffered another hamstring injury in preseason
and missed Toronto FC's first two MLS games. He was a late sub in TFC's 1-0 loss at Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.
"Jozy's injury was not as bad as feared," said Klinsmann, "so Toronto
had a plan to have him on the bench, give him a couple minutes on the field."
U.S. Roster:
GOALKEEPERS (4): David Bingham
(San Jose Earthquakes; 0/0), Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/ENG; 9/0), Tim Howard (Everton/ENG; 30/0), William Yarbrough (Leon/MEX; 0/0).
DEFENDERS (9): Ventura Alvarado (Club America/MEX; 0/0),
Matt Besler (Sporting KC; 8/0), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United; 0/0), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin/GER; 0/0), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/ENG; 15/1), Edgar Castillo (Monterrey/MEX; 4/0), Omar Gonzalez
(Pachuca/MEX; 8/0), Michael Orozco (Tijuana/MEX; 4/1), DeAndre Yedlin (Sunderland/ENG; 0/0).
MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake; 6/0), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes/FRA; 3/0),
Michael Bradley (Toronto FC; 26/5), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC; 3/0), Ethan Finlay (Columbus Crew SC; 0/0), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER; 11/1), Darlington Nagbe (Portland
Timbers; 2/0), Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution; 0/0).
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC; 28/12), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders; 34/13), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes;
0/0), Bobby Wood (Union Berlin/GER; 2/1), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy; 2/1).
Note: In parentheses are games played and goals in World Cup qualifying.
Why is injured Jozy on the roster? Toronto FC should have cancelled his call up. Besides, when he's healthy, what consistency does he bring to the table?
I w, good question on Jozy. Is he really any better than 3 or 4 years ago? Same can be said with a few of JK's selections, yet, he is expecting different-better results from them. Brought in to change our style of play, which is needed, but too often he resorts to the same. Many feel JA is the best available, but in fact, other options haven't been given a real chance. Many also, will discount the two European friendlies last year, but its the best two 90 minutes matches I've ever seen the US play. I feel we have the players to play at a higher quality consistency, but he has to move on from some of his usual selections. We have the forwards and mids to play two strikers and four mids. It's not JA and its not MB.
With Klinsmann's habit of playing players out of their natural position, he'll probably play Pulisic at right back.
I was thinking goal keeper!
Why is Klinsmann calling on Wondolowski again? Shouldn't Pulisic being playing with the U23's in their playoff with Columbia? Maybe Dortmund wouldn't release him. JA can be effective against CONCACAF competition. He had a decent season last year when he was healthy. He just can't seem to stay healthy. You would think Toronto's and the USMNT's doctors could figure out why he consistently pulls hamstrings.
Daniel - TOTALLY agree with you. If he is healthy, then we need him vs Columbia. If the USMNT cannot win their WC qualifying games against sub-par teams without him then they do not deserve a WC berth. On the other hand, Colombia is a real challenge and we need our best in order to prevent another embarrassing miss for the Olympics.
It is pretty simple, really. Wondo is scoring goals out of hte gate this season. Wondo scores lots of goals, even on a bad team in MLS. Wondo is a team player that is very good at poaching. Wondo has scored against Guatemala. Stop hating on Wondolowski.
I don't hate on Wondo, wasn't clear from my response, I was instead talking strictly from a Pulisic stand point where he should be playing next, USMNT or U-23s....
Wondo is very solid and if you watch MLS you see he is pretty damn good in the box.