U.S. World Cup Squad Announced

U.S. National Team head coach Bob Bradley announced his 23-man World Cup roster this afternoon, with the only real surprise coming at forward. Bradley went with four forwards, Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle, Herculez Gomez and Robbie Findley, leaving off Brian Ching, a player that many journalists and pundits had penciled into their final 23 due to his past experience with the national team and his ability to serve as a target player. In going with Findley over Ching, Bradley seems to be valuing speed and quickness over aerial skills and the ability to hold the ball and lay it off for others joining the attack. Speed kills, as the saying goes. It is still unclear who will start at forward alongside Jozy Altidore, but Buddle and Gomez played extremely well for their club teams heading into the U.S. training camp, while Findley's speed could be a strong asset as a substitute in the last 15-20 minutes of a game.

Some other thoughts: DaMarcus Beasley is playing very well and is much more effective as an outside midfielder than as an outside fullback. He is a natural attacker and has never seemed comfortable in a defensive role. Bradley seems to value Jonathan Bornstein for his ability to attack from the left fullback position, but Bornstein has continually struggled defensively against international competition. If and when he sees the field in the World Cup, it should also be as an outside midfielder.

Here is the final roster:
Goalkeeper: Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, Brad Guzan

Defense: Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Clarence Goodson, Jay DeMerit, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector, Jonathan Bornstein

Midfield: Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Maurice Edu, DaMarcus Beasley, Benny Feilhaber, Stuart Holden, Jose Torres, Ricardo Clark, Michael Bradley

Forward: Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle, Herculez Gomez, Robbie Findley

Feel free to leave your comments on the final roster or email the newsroom at talkfooty@gmail.com