Jurgen Klinsmann Finalizes 22-Man USMNT Roster for South Korea Friendly
By Cody Maggard
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Jurgen Klinsmann has selected 22 players of the original 26 for the upcoming South Korea friendly on February 1. Klinsmann has also added Columbus Crew defender Michael Parkhurst to the roster. Those who are excluded from the penultimate LA camp are Chris Klute (Colorado), Chance Meyers (KC), Shane O’Neill (Colorado), Seth Sinovic (KC), and Tally Hall (Houston).
Among those who made the cut are DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle), Luis Gil (RSL), Michael Harrington (Portland), and MLS MVP Mike Magee (Chicago), who will finally get his chance to make an impact with the U.S. national team. The 29-year-old Chicago Fire forward scored 15 league goals in 22 appearances last season. However, it’s difficult to see him breaking into the Brazil picture when the current pool of US strikers is so deep, with the likes of Jozy Altidore, Aron Johannsson, Eddie Johnson, Terrence Boyd, etc. But nothing is impossible.
The player of these 22 that can make the biggest case for Brazil is DeAndre Yedlin. Klinsmann kept Yedlin due to a very, very thin right-back pool. The 20 year old has blazing speed, and a tremendous upside. Let’s face it, Brad Evans is not the answer at the right-back spot for the US. Evans will get torched by world class players like Ronaldo in Brazil. Yedlin may be the answer for the USMNT at right-back.
It is disappointing to see Chris Klute sent home though. The 23 year old Rapids defender trained with Everton this December and has shown promise in MLS after being purchased by the Rapids in July. Klinsmann commented on his roster decision in a statement from US Soccer:
"“All of the players have put in a tremendous amount of work and effort these past two weeks,” said Klinsmann. “We had a great opportunity to introduce some new players into the Senior National Team Program and they have done extremely well. I think they have a bright future, and now they go back to their clubs with a better understanding of what it takes at the international level. We now move forward with the chance to finish off the camp with the goal of getting a result against Korea.”"
Klinsmann’s roster choices for this friendly gives the opportunity for certain players to shine. As I stated earlier, DeAndre Yedlin can be the one player from the “bubble” who can make it all the way. So it will be interesting to see how he performs at the international level. With a good showing we may see him in March for the Ukraine friendly. (I know that’s usually European based players, but it’s a great opportunity for more international experience.)
This is not the usual “camp cupcake” January for the USMNT, serious opportunity awaits a handful of players going into the World Cup.
The friendly against South Korea will be on February 1 from the Stub Hub Center in Carson, Califronia. The match will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 5 pm eastern.