Thoughts on the USA World Cup Squad

So Bob Bradley and I agree pretty much with who should be representing the United States at the World Cup in South Africa; my team had 21 of the 23 players who will board the plane for Johannesburg on Sunday. I also predicted one of my players who would not make Bradley’s squad. Unfortunately there was no place for Robbie Rogers, who simply put should be on the team instead of defender Jonathon Bornstein. Bornstein is benefiting from Bradley’s defensive mentality, along with the apparent necessity of a seventh defender on the squad. It also doesn’t hurt when your competition is Heath Pearce who I’m pretty sure could’ve been beaten consistently by the lesser players in the travel soccer League I participated in when I was 12. Oh well, it isn’t the worst thing in the world. It’s not like Bornstein is expected to get any sort of playing time in South Africa, it’s just unfortunate that a player of Rogers’ quality has to miss out on an excellent opportunity because of the position he plays.
The major shock of the squad was the absence of forward Brian Ching, and the inclusion of speedster Robbie Findley. I thought Findley’s chances were dead and buried after not playing last night, but a second look at that game shows me that he may have benefited from not playing. Eddie Johnson, his rival for a spot, was unable to get involved in the game enough to make the plane. I interpreted Findley’s absence as not impressing in the camp prior to the game, but apparently Findley was much safer than I thought. It looks as if Bob Bradley had made up his mind when he named the 30-man provisional roster that he was going to take one forward who is a speedster, clearly a replacement for the injured Charlie Davies. Although skill wise I would take Ching over Findley, Findley offers something and I think that’s why he will be going to South Africa while Ching watches from home.
Ching’s absence was good news though for forwards Herculez Gomez and Edson Buddle, who are on the team despite having two International caps between them both going into last night’s match. Gomez scoring against the Czechs I thought guaranteed him a spot on the roster, along with his impressive scoring record for his club. Buddle I thought performed well enough to make the roster, same as Ching, but apparently Ching wasn’t up to snuff. Something that may have made Buddle stand out was his desire. After having his lip busted open in the leadup to the Maurice Edu goal, Buddle had to step off the pitch for a few minutes to be stitched up while his teammates had to carry on without him. Upon his return to the pitch, Buddle made sure to make up for lost time, battling consistently with the Czech defenders and doing a good job of getting involved in the flow of play. His heart and desire might’ve carried him through, along with his impressive linkup play with Landon Donovan at the LA Galaxy, which Bob Bradley may hope to exploit at some point during the tournament. No matter the reason, it is a sad blow for the flyin’ Hawaiian Brian Ching, as this was most likely his last chance to play at the World Cup.