Bruce Arena calls in 6 replacements for USMNT Gold Cup roster

Bruce Arena has made six changes to the USMNT roster ahead of the Gold Cup knockout round.

Managers of teams in the Gold Cup are allowed up to six roster changes after group play ends and before the knockout round begins. USMNT manger Bruce Arena decided to use all six.

Arena is bringing in some of his most experienced veterans in order to make a push for the Gold Cup championship: Tim Howard, Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey were all called in. The other two selections are Darlington Nagbe, who has become a USMNT regular since Arena took over, and FC Dallas goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez, fresh of his finalized FIFA one-time switch.

Most of these were expected to happen, but it is still nice to see Arena call in the big guns ahead of their quarterfinal.

What was unexpected about the announcement is the players Arena chose to send back to their club teams. Brad Guzan, Sean Johnson and Cristian Roldan received their plane tickets home, which wasn’t surprising. But Alejandro Bedoya, Kelyn Rowe and Dom Dwyer – probably the U.S.’s three best players from the group stage – were also sent home.

It is certainly understandable that their respective MLS sides, who are in the middle of their league season, would want them back, but it felt like each of them earned the opportunity to get a shot at playing time in the knockout round.

Rowe was arguably the best USMNT midfielder during the group stage. In the two games he started he assisted on goal and scored one of his own. He consistently got into dangerous positions and created scoring chances. Dwyer had a chance to score in his first three appearances for the Yanks but had a penalty saved against Nicaragua.

Bedoya, the veteran leader of the original roster, was probably the best all-around soccer player Arena selected for the tournament. He had two giant assists on Saturday, helping the Yanks to the three-goal win they needed to take the top spot in Group B.

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Having said all that, most USMNT fans will be excited about the reinforcements called in. Howard, Bradley, Dempsey and Altidore are the spine of the full-strength USMNT lineup. The U.S. should be favorites to lift the trophy after their inclusion.