General

Getting To Know The 23 Men Who Will Represent The U.S. At The World Cup

May 26, 2010, 7:20 PM UTC

â†µThe list of 23-men who will wear the American flag into the 2010 World Cup has been announced. Here’s a look at the United States squad (Note: number of caps courtesy USSoccer.com, tallied before World Cup camp).â†µ

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â†µGOALKEEPERS
â†µTim Howard: 6-3, 210, DOB: 3/6/79, Club: Everton, USMNT Caps: 49â†µ
â†µHoward is the clear number one goalkeeper for the USMNT. This is some of his work for Everton this season.â†µ

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â†µBrad Guzan: 6-4, 210, DOB: 9/9/84, Club: Aston Villa, Caps: 15â†µ
â†µGuzan seems to be the most obvious heir to the USMNT goalkeeping throne, but Howard doesn't seem to be slowing down soon. To say Guzan plays for Aston Villa is a bit of a stretch as he's seen action in just nine matches in Europe. Bradley has hedged when asked who the number two goalkeeper is, and he hopes to not have to worry about that decision with regard to putting one of them on the field.â†µ

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â†µMarcus Hahnemann: 6-3, 220, DOB: 6/15/72, Club: Wolverhampton Wanderers, Caps: 15â†µ
â†µThe 37-year old Hahnemann saw action in 25 games this season for the Wolves and had previously worked his way up the ranks with Reading. He also looks remarkably similar to Dana White, so if there's a fight on the field at the World Cup, I'd hide behind him.â†µ

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â†µDEFENSE
â†µCarlos Bocanegra: 6-0, 170, DOB: 5/25/79, Club: Rennes, Caps: 77â†µ
â†µCarlos Bocanegra is the team captain, which takes some of the pressure off of Landon Donovan to be everything for the team. Oh, and if you are Jenn Sterger, Boca is, "part Mexican, which means he's all tan and all man." No, seriously, I could not make this up.â†µ

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â†µâ†µOguchi Onyewu: 6-4, 210, DOB: 5/13/82, Club: AC Milan, Caps: 51â†µ
â†µGooch went from being a stalwart on defense to being a World Cup wild card. If he's back in form, he's perhaps the best defender – and maybe the best player – on the U.S. Team. And if he can get off the ground, he's lethal in the air:â†µ
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â†µSteve Cherundolo: 5-6, 145, DOB: 2/19/79, Club: Hannover 96, Caps: 57â†µ
â†µCherundolo has played his entire career for Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga. This is actually the third World Cup squad he's been named to, as he played in 2006 and was an injury replacement for Chris Armas in 2002 but was hurt during training and not able to play.â†µ

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â†µâ†µJay DeMerit: 6-0, 185, DOB: 12/4/79, Club: Watford, Caps: 17â†µ
â†µThe biggest issue with DeMerit is whether or not he has fully healed from his eye injury. Alexi Lalas mentioned before the friendly with Czech Republic that DeMerit was complaining about a lack of depth perception. That seems important. Oh, he has nice tattoos as well.â†µ

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â†µJonathan Spector: 6-0, 180, DOB: 3/1/86, Club: West Ham United, Caps: 24â†µ
â†µSpector was in the Manchester United system, playing in three matches before getting loaned out. Since 2006 he's been a mainstay for West Ham United. Spector was a very important piece of the Confederations Cup puzzle for the USMNT.â†µ

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â†µâ†µClarence Goodson: 6-4, 170, DOB: 5/17/82, Club: IK Start, Caps: 10â†µ
â†µGoodson is tall. Unless Onyewu is unable to go, that's all we should probably know about him during the World Cup.â†µ

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â†µJonathan Bornstein: 5-9, 145, DOB: 11/7/84, Club: Chivas USA, Caps: 28â†µ
â†µNo comment. Well at least no good comment.â†µ

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â†µMIDFIELD
â†µâ†µLandon Donovan: 5-8, 158, DOB: 3/4/82, Club: LA Galaxy, Caps: 121â†µ
â†µWell here's an amazing compilation of Donovan's goals for the USMNT:â†µ

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â†µâ†µClint Dempsey: 6-1, 170, DOB: 3/9/83, Club: Fulham, Caps: 60â†µ
â†µChances are, Dempsey will be playing up front for the squad, but the official release had him as a midfielder so here is where he goes. Oh, and this goal, that ESPN's Bob Ley called a "YouTube sensation" is how one defines wonderstrike.â†µ
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â†µMichael Bradley: 6-2, 175, DOB: 7/31/87, Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach, Caps: 41â†µ
â†µBradley is much more than just the coach's son, having started his career with the MetroStars at the age of 16 years old. Now at 22, he's a stalwart in the USMNT defensive midfield now, and for years to come.â†µ

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â†µRicardo Clark: 5-10, 150, DOB: 5/10/83, Club: Eintracht Frankfurt, Caps: 27â†µ
â†µClark spent most of his career in MLS before recently moving to the Bundesliga. Like much of the club, Clark has been hobbled by injury this season.â†µ

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â†µâ†µDaMarcus Beasley: 5-8, 145, DOB: 5/24/82, Club: Rangers, Caps: 90â†µ
â†µBeasley is just 28 but it seems like he's 40. He started n MLS in 2000 at the age of 18 and spent five seasons with Chicago before going to PSV in the Netherlands. From there he played for Man City for a year, making 22 appearances before landing with Rangers in the Scottish Premier League. This is his third World Cup.â†µ

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â†µâ†µMaurice Edu: 6-0, 210, DOB: 4/18/86, Club: Rangers, Caps: 12â†µ
â†µEdu is Beasley's teammate in Scotland, and became a folk hero after this stoppage time goal to lead Rangers over Celtic:â†µ
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â†µStuart Holden: 5-10, 160, DOB: 8/1/85, Club: Bolton Wanderers, Caps: 11â†µ
â†µHolden seemed like a nice pool player for the program but used his experience in the Gold Cup to really impress Bradley. Now he could see significant minutes during the World Cup. That's called taking advantage of the opportunities you are given.â†µ

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â†µâ†µJosé Torres: 5-7, 135, DOB: 10/29/87, Club: Pachuca, Caps: 8â†µ
â†µTorres was elibigle to play for the United States or Mexico, because of his father's heritage and the fact that he played in the Mexican league.â†µ

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â†µâ†µBenny Feilhaber: 5-9, 150, DOB: 1/19/85, Club: AGF Aarhus, Caps: 31â†µ
â†µFeilhaber was born in Brazil and lived there until he was six when he moved to Scarsdale, N.Y. Talk about a culture shock. He has international experience on the world stage, having played for the U.S. team in the Maccabiah games in 2005.â†µ

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â†µFORWARDS
â†µâ†µJozy Altidore: 6-1, 175, DOB: 11/6/89, Club: Villareal, Caps: 24â†µ
â†µAltidore is listed as property of Villareal, but played on loan for Hull City. His performance with the USMNT has been far more stellar than his club team efforts. Another 732FootballFilms production highlights his career:â†µ
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â†µEdson Buddle: 6-1, 185, DOB: 5/21/81, Club: LA Galaxy, Caps: 1â†µ
â†µâ†µRobbie Findley: 5-9, 165, DOB: 8/4/85, Club: Real Salt Lake, Caps: 4â†µ
â†µâ†µHerculez Gomez: 5-10, 165, DOB: 4/6/82, Club: Puebla F.C., Caps: 2â†µâ†µ

â†µâ†µThe remaining three strikers get lumped together because, let’s be honest, they’ve totaled seven caps between them. Findley beat out Brian Ching for the last spot, filling the need for speed vacated by Charlie Davies. Gomez and Buddle are two of the hottest strikers in their respective leagues, but will that be enough on a stage as big as the World Cup? We should probably stress more that, even with Altidore, the four players listed at striker for the national side have logged just 30 matches in an American jersey. There’s something to be said for new blood, but experience does help. Let’s hope someone makes a name for himself out of that group.â†µ

â†µâ†µIf the United States is going to make an international statement about the class of this country’s soccer, these 23 lads (had to do it) are the ones faced with that challenge. Now go win.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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