US World Cup Roster Breakdown & Rankings

Yesterday, USA Soccer coach Bob Bradley announced the 23 man squad to go to South Africa. Here's the list of players going, a breakdown of the roster including rankings from 1 to 23, and what the strategy might be as the Yanks go to South Africa. Here's the roster, with the names most likely to start or play a big role in bold and roster rankings to follow.

GK: Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Marcus Hahnemann

LB: Jonathan Bornstein, Carlos Bocanegra

CB: Oguchi Onyewu, Clarence Goodson, Jay DeMerit

RB: Jonathan Spector, Steve Cherundolo

LM: DaMarcus Beasley

CM: Ricardo Clark, Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber, Jose Torres

RM: Stuart Holden, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan

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

Just for fun, let's rank the US Roster from 1 to 23:

1. Donovan

2. Dempsey

3. Howard

4. Onyewu (hoping he's healthy)

5. Bradley

6. Altidore

7. Demerit

8. Bocanegra

9. Holden

10. Spector

11. Clark

12. Edu

13. Cherundolo

14. Gomez

15. Feilhaber

16. Beasley

17. Torres

18. Bornstein

19. Buddle

20. Findley

21. Goodson

22. Guzan

23. Hahnemann

The biggest roster surprise was Robbie Findley of Real Salt Lake ahead of the more accomplished and experienced Brian Ching. But, as SI's Grant Wahl astutely points out, Findley's inclusion is to replace Charlie Davies as a speedy striker (which Ching most certainly is not). Sadly for us, hometown guys Robbie Rogers and Chad Marshall of the Columbus Crew didn't make it either... but that means good news for the Crew in MLS!

One of the strengths of this team is its flexibility. Dempsey and Donvan can go forward, players like Holden, Feilhaber, and Torres can play anywhere in midfield, and veterans like Cherundolo and Bocanegra can play across the backline. The team appears to be a squad built on athleticism up front, a mix of craft and steel in the midfield, and veteran leadership in the back.

But there are clear weaknesses - at left back and second striker. The Czechs destroyed Heath Pearce and Bornstein in the exhibition earlier this week and it is clearly the US's weakest position. Therefore, I would expect either Bocanegra, Cherundolo, or Spector to fill the void... and maybe even, gasp, DaMarcus Beasley. Beasley's National Team renaissance has been a surprise, and while he doesn't have the danger going forward, he can help out in defense, which is why he's likely to start at LM on June 12 against England instead of Stuart Holden.

Bradley faces a more complex dilemma at the second striker position that was Charlie Davies'. He has three options: 1) Play a newbie like Gomez or Findley, 2) Move Donovan or Dempsey up from the midfield (very successful in SA at the Confed Cup w/ Dempsey) or 3) Change the formation to a 4-5-1/4-2-3-1 and play Altidore as a lone striker with Donovan and Dempsey in supporting roles.

The fact that Bradley chose 3 inexperienced forwards to go along with Altidore leads me to believe that he'll go with either option 2 or 3. Moving Dempsey alongside Altidore in the traditional 4-4-2 worked well in South Africa last year. Here's how they might line up in that formation...

Howard

Spector-Onyewu-DeMerit-Bocanegra

Donovan-Clark-Bradley-Beasley

Dempsey-Altidore

If they go with a 4-5-1, here's how it would differ slightly...

Howard

Spector-Onyewu-DeMerit-Bocanegra

Clark-Bradley

Dempsey-Donovan-Beasley

Altidore

This formation differs slightly because it places Donovan in more of a central role (ala Steven Gerrard at Liverpool) and places Dempsey back on the wing with Clark and Bradley slightly further back in front of the back 4. It also puts more pressure on Jozy Altidore as the "lone striker." But, that phrase is becoming more and more of a misplaced stereotype for a negative style of play. As one of the best soccer writers in the world, Jonathan Wilson points out, this formation is becoming more valuable with the majority of the teams at Euro 2008 going the lone ranger route.

Also, the lone striker method takes advantage of the flexibility and attacking prowess of Dempsey and Donovan in more natural withdrawn roles. It also puts another man in midfield to help out in defense, which might be a necessity in watching Tuesday's game against the Czechs. It might be advantageous for Bradley if he springs a surprise on England and the rest of Group C by tweaking his formation and going with the lone striker. Either way, I would expect the US to sit back a little bit, hope their defense/midfield get straightened out, and use their speed on the counterattack to strike.

Whatever the formation or the players on the field may be, this team definitely has the ability to beat England and advance as far as any US team has in recent World Cup memory. If they get a few breaks and a few breakout performances like last year in South Africa, it could be a great month of June for American soccer. Get juiced America!