Team USA World Cup 2010 preview

On Oct. 10, 2009, the boys in red, white and blue pulled out a gutsy 3-2 win in Honduras, securing their place in South Africa. 

Just three days later, the U.S. National Team was rocked with the news that up-and-coming striker Charlie Davies had gotten into a near-fatal car accident and would be out of soccer for at least nine to 12 months, if not for life. 

One day after that, top USA defender Oguchi Onyewu was carried off the field on a stretcher, his patella tendon torn right off the kneecap, forcing him to miss eight months of action. 

That was only the beginning of a seven-month span of injuries to key American players such as midfielders Stuart Holden and Clint Dempsey as well as defender Jay Demerit, who scratched his cornea while taking out a contact lens and needed laser surgery to correct the problem. 

But it hasn’t been all Bad News Bears for Team USA.

With the multitude of injuries to the regular starters, players such as center defender Clarence Goodson have proven their worth on the international level, and midfielder DaMarcus Beasley of Fort Wayne, who is finally back to his old self on the field, is now back on the USA squad for his third consecutive World Cup. 

But the greatest stories have to go to two of the forwards on the team, who took advantage of the Davies injury and have earned a spot from nowhere. Six months ago, both Herculez Gomez and Edson Buddle were afterthoughts on their own teams, never on the minds of the National Team bosses. 

Gomez, who had signed for Puebla F.C. in Mexico in January after being unable to find work in MLS, set the league alight with 10 goals and became the first foreigner to lead the league in scoring. Buddle, who was coming off a down year, exploded in the beginning of this season, scoring nine goals in nine games, earning himself a place on the roster for the World Cup.

Now, with the return of Onyewu, Dempsey, Demerit and more to full health and match fitness, it is time for the USA squad to come together and take on the world. 

Lets take a look at the USA roster for the 2010 World Cup:

Goalkeepers:

1 Tim Howard, age 31: 51 caps, 0 goals, Everton

18 Brad Guzan, age 25: 16 caps, 0 goals, Aston Villa

23 Marcus Hahnemann, age 37: 7 caps, 0 goals, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Tim Howard is arguably the best player on the U.S. team. Even though this is his first World Cup as the No. 1 goalkeeper, he has plenty of experience playing in England for seven years. Brad Guzan and Marcus Hahnemann are suitable backups to Howard for Team USA. Howard’s play in goal will be a key to Team USA’s performance at the World Cup.  

Defenders:

2 RB/CD Jonathan Spector, age 24: 25 caps, 0 goals, West Ham United

3 LB/CD Carlos Bocanegra (captain), age 31: 79 caps, 12 goals, Rennes

5 CD Oguchi Onyewu, age 28: 54 caps, 5 goals, A.C. Milan

6 RB Steve Cherundolo, age 31: 60 caps, 2 goals, Hannover 96

12 LB Jonathan Bornstein, age 25: 32 caps, 2 goals, Chivas USA

15 CD Jay DeMerit, age 30: 19 caps, 0 goals, Watford F.C.

21 CD Clarence Goodson, age 28: 14 caps, 2 goals, IK Start

This is arguably the weak link in the U.S. National Team’s armor. Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo and Jay Demerit have all missed considerable time this season due to injury, and though they are now fit and healthy, they might not be fully ready to play 90 minutes at the highest level. Outside backs Jonathan Spector and Jonathan Bornstein have both had shaky performances recently for the USA, and will need to step up in order to win games.  
 
Midfielders:

4 CM Michael Bradley, age 22: 43 caps, 7 goals, Borussia Mönchengladbach

7 LM DaMarcus Beasley, age 28:92 caps, 17 goals, Rangers

8 RM Clint Dempsey, age 27: 62 caps, 18 goals, Fulham F.C.

10 LM/RM Landon Donovan (vice-captain), age 28: 123 caps, 42 goals, Los Angeles Galaxy

11 RM Stuart Holden, age 24: 14 caps, 2 goals, Bolton Wanderer

13 CM Ricardo Clark, age 27: 29 caps, 2 goals, Eintracht Frankfurt

16 CM José Francisco Torres, age 22: 10 caps, 0 goals, Pachuca C.F.

19 CM Maurice Edu, age 24:  13 caps, 1 goal, Rangers

22 LM Benny Feilhaber, age 25: 32 caps, 2 goals, AGF Aarhus

This is the strongest asset of the squad, as there is strength and depth in all parts of the field. USA star Donovan will most likely play on the left or right, and he had a huge impact for four months this season with Everton F.C. in England. He has the most international goals already by a USA player with 42. Dempsey has also been playing very well this season for Fulham F.C. and helped lead his team to the Europa League Final. Michael Bradley, coach Bob Bradley’s son, will take up his familiar place in the midfield and will be paired up with Edu or Torres, depending on the opponent. Having capable backups like Feilhaber, Holden, and Beasley gives the United States extra options going into matches.  

Forwards:

9 ST Herculez Gomez, age 28: 4 caps, 2 goals, Pachuca C.F.

14 ST Edson Buddle, age 29: 3 caps, 2 goals, Los Angeles Galaxy

17 ST Jozy Altidore, age 20: 25 caps, 9 goals, Villarreal C.F.

20 ST Robbie Findley, age 24: 6 caps, 0 goals, Real Salt Lake

After the near-fatal injuries to striker Charlie Davies, Team USA had to find a suitable replacement for the World Cup. Davies almost came back fit but unfortunately never had the chance to feature with his club team in France. Thus, he was passed over in place of the on-fire duo of Buddle and Gomez and the speedy striker Findley, who has not had the best start to this season but still has the talent to play well on the international level. After the two goals from Buddle against Australia on June 5, expect to see him line up alongside Altidore for the red, white and blue, with Gomez coming in late in the game as a super sub.  

USA Game Schedule:  

USA vs. England, 2:30 p.m. Saturday  at Royal Bakofeng Stadium, Rustenberg

USA vs. Slovenia, 10 a.m.  June 18 at Ellis Park, Johannesburg

USA vs. Algeria, 10 a.m. June 23 at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria

When the USA heard its draw Dec. 4, many in the United States and England rejoiced knowing they got a lucky draw. Algeria (ranked 30 by FIFA) and Slovenia (ranked 25 by FIFA) are two teams the USA should be able to get results on and then progress from the group stage. 

The squad the USA has brought to South Africa is one of the best in history and are, for once, the favorites to win a couple of games.  

But as they say, you still need to play the game. Good luck to the USA — we’ll be watching.