2010 Today

What if the 2010 World Cup was next week? Who would the 23 man USA roster be comprised of? Now that Bob Bradley's had a few months at the helm, and two games under his belt, we can start to see who he's favoring as of now. YanksAbroad.com has their "23 Tickets to Africa" feature, where they predict what the roster then will look like. This post is not meant to be a prediction, but rather what our team would look like at the current moment. It's decided based on playing time, selections to camps, and the ability of the players, and assumes full health. Goalkeepers Picks: Hahnemann, Howard, Keller Others: Cannon, Guzan, Perkins, Reis Until they're unseated, it's a no brainer. Those are the top three. Who's next? Reis started against Denmark, while Cannon was on the bench for that game and also against Mexico. So those two appear to make up fourth and fifth. Defense Picks: Albright, Bocanegra, Bornstein, Boswell, Conrad, Cherundolo, Gibbs, Onyewu Others: Califf, DeMerit, Dunivant, Namoff, Parkhurst, Pearce, D.Robinson, E.Robinson, Spector Bornstein was given the start in both friendlies, and certainly he'll be playing in one of the big tournaments this summer. Pearce and Spector haven't got much of a shot yet, so who knows where they stand. I think Pearce is overhyped; let's wait until he actually does something to get excited about (like a move to a bigger club). That goes for DeMerit too. Starting for Watford is not a huge accomplishment. If Gibbs is healthy, he would definitely get the nod over him. Midfield Picks: Beasley, Carroll, Clark, Convey, Dempsey, Mapp, Mastroeni Others: Adu, Beckerman, Bradley, Feilhaber, Gros, Kljestan, Mullan, Noonan, O'Brien Clark and Mastroeni seem to be the pairing of choice for Bradley. Mapp has impressed too, while Carroll got playing time in both friendlies. I suppose Convey and Dempsey would be the starters on the left and right. Forwards Picks: Ching, Donovan, Johnson, Rolfe, Twellman Others: Cooper, Eskandarian, Jaqua, Wolff No surprises here. Ching and Twellman both have had injuries this offseason, and I was going to pick one, but I just decided to put down both. Rolfe has started both friendlies so far, while Johnson continues to get opportunities. Roster - February 18, 2007 G-Hahnemann, Howard, Keller D-Albright, Bocanegra, Bornstein, Boswell, Conrad, Cherundolo, Gibbs, Onyewu M-Beasley, Carroll, Clark, Convey, Dempsey, Mapp, Mastroeni F-Ching, Donovan, Johnson, Rolfe, Twellman