The 21 man roster for the upcoming United States friendly in East Hartford, Connecticut was announced today and we now know Landon Donovan will be joined by Omar Gonzalez in camp for the Friday friendly. Robbie Keane will also play two matches with Ireland over the international break. The US roster is heavier on the younger and foreign side, which makes Omar Gonzalez' involvement a bit puzzling.
Gonzalez isn't the only MLS World Cup veteran to get an unexpected call-up to the friendly, DeAndre Yedlin and Nick Rimando will be there too. RSL also loses the services of Luis Gil for the week.
"We look at these two games as an opportunity to take a picture of the player pool as it stands now," said Klinsmann. "Already the hierarchy starts to shift in some ways, which is normal at the beginning of a cycle. We are excited to look at this group against a very competitive team like Ecuador, and then we will have a chance to bring some different faces for the game against Honduras. Obviously, it's going to be a special night on Friday as everyone in the U.S. Soccer family will have the chance to honor the amazing career of Landon Donovan."
That roster turnover between friendlies will allow Donovan and Gonzalez to join the LA Galaxy in Dallas, though with added fatigue on their legs. We wrote about the Donovan call-up and it's intent to honor him here. Needless to say squeezing him into a youth focused friendly for a curtain call isn't the most honest way to honor someone with his record.
Robbie Keane will not rejoin the team, which along with Marcelo Sarvas' suspension are our confirmed absences for the match in Dallas. Hopefully the fatigue sustained by the added travel and playing time will not burden them too much.
The full roster is as follows:
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (7): John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Greg Garza (Club Tijuana), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Michael Orozco (Puebla), Tim Ream (Bolton Wanderers), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg),
Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Julian Green (Hamburg), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Joe Gyau (Borussia Dortmund), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United FC), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich)