January Camp

Who Will Bruce Arena Call Up to the United States January Camp?

In a Facebook Live Question and Answer session, Bruce Arena revealed the names of many players who he will call into the United States Men’s National Team’s January camp. This distinguished Arena from Jürgen Klinsmann, who would conceal the names on his roster until the very last minute. Klinsmann’s preference differed greatly from the top national teams in the world.

Arena quickly revealed that Benny Feilhaber and Darlington Nagbe would be in camp, and that gives the United States a playmaker and a box-to-box midfielder of the more attacking variety respectively. The coach also listed Sacha Kljestan again, so Kljestan and Feilhaber make two playmakers or attacking midfielders specifically mentioned. Arena also listed Dax McCarty who is a defensive midfielder, so this gives the United States two defensive midfielders: Bradley and McCarty. It seems likely than Jermaine Jones will still play a part on the team on account of being too good to leave off, even if he does partner badly with Bradley.

Oddly, Arena has never mentioned Sebastian Lletget who stood out for Arena’s LA Galaxy team as both a wing and a central midfielder. Lletget is ideally suited to play as a playmaker, and perhaps Arena does not want to be accused of hyping up his former club players.

In the defense, Arena listed Walker Zimmerman and Matt Hedges, two center backs from FC Dallas. Keegan Rosenberry, the Philadelphia Union right back was also listed along with the Houston Dynamo left back, DaMarcus Beasley.

In the attack, the coach listed Juan Agudelo, who is arguably the most talented striker in the player pool after Bobby Wood, and Agudelo is likely more skilled and deadly. Chris Pontius, the DC United winger, was listed, but Arena said that Ethan Finlay was a good player, who would not be in camp. But, Kekuta Manneh, the electric winger from Gambia who is now a U.S. citizen was listed.

Here’s a list of 30 players who Bruce Arena may call into January camp:

Goalkeepers

Brad Guzan, David Bingham, Clint Irwin

Center Backs

Steve Birnbaum, Walker Zimmerman, Matt Hedges, Andrew Farrell

Outside Backs

DaMarcus Beasley, Keegan Rosenberry, Kofi Sarkodie, Robbie Rogers, Greg Garza

Defensive/Central Midfielders

Michael Bradley,  Dax McCarty, Jermaine Jones, Fatai Alashe, Kellyn Acosta

Attacking Midfielders/Wings

Benny Feilhaber, Sacha Kljestan, Darlington Nagbe, Lee Nguyen, Kekuta Manneh, Chris Pontius, Sebastian Lletget, Kelyn Rowe

Forwards

Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, Jordan Morris, Gyasi Zardes

 

Who Should Bruce Arena Call into the United States Men’s National Team’s January Camp?

Although the United States Men’s National Team’s January camp is over a month away, Bruce Arena has likely already made a list of domestic players that he plans to call up, and certainly he is still working on expanding and evaluating that list.

While it’s difficult to predict Arena’s list, it is possible to think of who deserves to make the list, and of course this list wouldn’t necessarily be comprehensive.

Let’s start from the goalkeepers and move on down to the forwards, and let’s consider just some of Arena’s best option. Here are 30 names instead of 23 names as several additional midfielders and an extra forward were included.

Goalkeepers- Clint Irwin, Brian Rowe, Zack Steffan, Bill Hamid

The American player pool features many excellent goalkeepers. Zack Steffen stood out with the youth national teams, and Clint Irwin and Brian Rowe have been excellent in MLS along with Bill Hamid. Tim Howard should still be injured in January.

Center Backs- Andrew Farrell, Maurice Edu, Steve Birnbaum, Matt Besler

Andrew Farrell played right back this past season, but his best position is at center back. Nevertheless, he’s a quality right back that can help Arena at that position as well. If Maurice Edu is fit, then he is a center back and defensive midfielder who has proven ability. Edu is a more technical and athletic center back than most of the United States’ options.

Outside Backs- Kofi Sarkodie, Robbie Rogers, Chris Tierney, Chris Klute

Three of the best American outside backs (DeAndre Yedlin, Eric Lichaj, Fabian Johnson) play in Europe, so here are four domestic outside backs who stand out. Chris Klute has been seeing limited playing time since playing so well with the Colorado Rapids under Oscar Pareja. Chris Tierney and Robbie Rogers are two left backs worth looking at, and Kofi Sarkodie has impressed in MLS for several seasons when used.

Midfielders- Michael Bradley, Dax McCarty, Kellyn Acosta, Fatai Alashe, Victor Ulloa, Dillon Powers, Will Trapp, Darlington Nagbe, Benny Feilhaber, Lee Nguyen, Sebastian Lletget, Kelyn Rowe, Ethan Finlay, Benji Joya

This list includes several extra midfielders because the United States’ midfield has been weak, and it’s important to really test out more midfielders. This list also includes plenty of attacking midfielders and playmakers as the United States’ level of technical ability and creativity in the midfield is way too low. This list also features a log jam of central midfielders. May the best ones win.

Here we have multiple playmakers in Benny Feilhaber, Lee Nguyen, Sebastian Lletget, Darlington Nagbe, and Kelyn Rowe. Nagbe has really thrived as a box-to-box midfielder because he can use his running endurance and speed to have his skill be useful all over the field, and he has also proven to be a good tackler and ball-winner.

Lletget and Rowe also excel as wings, and Christian Pulisic will need someone to play on the opposite side of the field from him. Feilhaber and Nguyen were the playmakers that Jürgen Klinsmann should have been using every game, but now the question is whether or not Sebastian Lletget is better than both. Still, these players aren’t mutually exclusive, as having both Feilhaber and Nguyen on the roster makes sense because Lletget also plays as a wing or second striker.

Ethan Finlay is also too talented and quick to overlook. The Columbus Crew winger and second striker has performed well for the United States already, and his skillset is needed. Finlay is also aggressive and looks to score or play final balls.

Forwards- Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, Jordan Morris, Bradford Jamieson IV

Bradford Jamieson IV was included because of his compelling combination of skill, creativity, directness, and athleticism. Among young American players, Jamieson’s talent has really stood out along with Christian Pulisic and Rubio Rubin. Assuming Clint Dempsey can play, he can play second striker, attacking midfielder, or wing. The other center forwards are almost instant inclusions.