With the fourth round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualification back underway in five days and the United States still somewhat hanging in the balance, Jurgen Klinsmann has decided to lean on much of the core group of players he has for the last couple of years.
However, with Clint Dempsey and Gyasi Zardes both finding themselves on the sidelines in recent days, the U.S. manager has been forced to include a couple of unexpected faces.
Usual suspects in Tim Howard, Kyle Beckerman, Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, and Jozy Altidore glue together the roster. Brad Guzan is in as well, after having started twice in Premier League play for Middlesbrough in place of an injured Victor Valdes. Jordan Morris is back in the attack, along with Bobby Wood who scored a goal on his Bundesliga debut with Hamburg. Young Christian Pulisic is there as well as an attacking option in midfield, with Darlington Nagbe also an option more centrally.
Alongside them is another familiar face in Chris Wondolowski, likely part of the roster because of the recent injuries to Clint Dempsey and Gyasi Zardes. Dempsey is sidelined indefinitely with an irregular heartbeat, while Zardes was injured while playing for the LA Galaxy on Saturday night.
Some other decisions by Klinsmann make it clear he went with established and experienced bodies over youthful energy in key places. Paul Arriola and Kellyn Acosta at a thin outside back position rather than call in Lynden Gooch for his first senior cap. Gooch has surprisingly seen time in the Sunderland starting lineup, but Klinsmann likely wished to leave him in England to help settle in at the club level.
Timmy Chandler does not appear despite appearing as a substitute for Frankfurt in their Bundesliga season opener this weekend. Omar Gonzalez is back, hoping to make just his second national team appearance since last September. Julian Green also doesn’t make the cut despite earning a spot on the Bayern Munich first team, although he has not made a league appearance yet.
A new face many may not recognize is 23-year-old defensive midfielder Caleb Stanko, who comes into the national team from Liechtenstein club FC Vaduz where he was sent on loan from parent club Freiburg. Stanko is uncapped, and was called into camp in May but did not appear in the subsequent friendly against Puerto Rico.
ROSTER
GK: Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough), Ethan Horvath (Molde), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids)
DEF: Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle)
MF: Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Caleb Stanko (FC Vaduz), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FWD: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders), Rubio Rubin (FC Utrecht), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (Hamburg SV)