Goalkeepers: Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Tim Howard (Manchester United), Marcus Hahnemann (Reading).

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Cory Gibbs (ADO Den Haag), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Eddie Lewis (Leeds Utd), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake).

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Bobby Convey (Reading), Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), John O'Brien (Chivas USA), Ben Olsen (DC United), Claudio Reyna (Manchester City).

Forwards: Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Brian McBride (Fulham), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Josh Wolff (Kansas City Wizards)


Looks pretty good. Excited for the midfield, Beasley, Donovan, Reyna and Mastroeni starting probably.

McBride will have to come up big (like he usually does in international play) but I am expecting either Ching or Wolff to really assert himself.

Goalkeeping is of course strong, and defense as well.

Can't wait til June 21 in Nuernburg.

I really don't know what to expect from these guys. I'd like to say I'm confident after last time and our current FIFA ranking, but they fell flat on their ass the last time the WC was in Europe.
I'm hoping they come out strong against the Czech's in the first game. If they lose that one, they might bet 0-2 by the time they face Ghana in what will most likely be a meaningless game.

Has Friedal retired? Always thought he was a good keeper.

Can't see the US getting out their group which is one of the harder ones.

The only real top quality player they have is Claudio Reyna. Beasley is good but too lightweight for top level football. Landon Donovan has always promised to deliver without ever quite managing it at the higher levels of the game.

I like Brian McBride, he's the kind of player I'd play up front if I was a coach but Italy and Czech Republic are much stronger overall. Ghana are a bit of an unknown quantity but I'm not sure if their style of play will flumox the US a bit.

Real Salt Lake? Ha!

Friedel retired. The group is totally tough...what they have to do is do like they did in 2002 when they took Portugal by surprise in the first game. If they show up against the Czechs and somehow get a win, they will be in incredible shape...all set for a let down against Italy and then a win against Ghana to get them into the knockout stage. What I fear is that if they don't show up against Nedved and company that the Italy performance will be even worse and none of it will matter.

what of course sucks about the whole deal though is that even if we finish second in our group, the second place team in our group plays the first place team in Brazil's group...so an early exit is due for us. Unless we can somehow get first in ours or if Brazil drops to second in theirs.

Optimistic after opening draws, I'm now singing a completely different tune - this one's over before it even starts for the US. I love our team, but we're not nearly the caliber to compete in this Group (let alone the tourney). If we win one, I'll be happy.

fightin'lib, stop putting stock into those FIFA rankings - they mean absolutely nil.

As a Collegiate sports fan, I know ratings mean nothing, but you have to have something to point to for your optimism.
I personally hope we go 2-0-1 with a tie against Italy. A loss to the Czech's probably means an 0-2-1 or 0-3 record.
An unbeaten mark would be astounding, but I'm not holding my breath. I don't wish for a major injury to occur on the Italy or Czech side, but it would help alot.

the fifa rankings are absolute bullshit, everybody knows that.

i'm glad we agree on the pivotal importance of the czech game. we lose that it's all over.

Barring a win against the Czechs giving momentum, our best chance is Italy pulling a France '02. This is their group to lose.

dont underestimate ghana. it would not surprise me in the least if ghana gets out of this group. they have a lot of talent, especially in the midfield with appiah and essien.

i'm not underestimating ghan. i wouldn't be surprised at all to see czech and ghana go through from this group.

ha, it looks like the revs won't be risking a summertime slump after all as only dempsey is being pulled for international duty. i'm surprised to not see twellman or ralston in the lineup.

Really surprised about Twellman.

We came THIS CLOSE to renting his house last year. Bro used to kick it for FC Dallas, whose stadium is a stone's throw from our subdivision. But he was out of pocket overseas and had a buddy trying to serve as property manager, rather than a legitimate realtor. That's ultimately what queered the deal. We ended up renting a place down the block, although it is not owned by a soccer player or any other professional athlete. The very fact that this guy had lived in our subdivision shows just how little MLS actually pays.

np: Ike Reilly - "B.I.G.O.T"

Anybody?

Hedjuk is out with a torn ACL. They named his replacement, but he escapes me.

I would have like to have seen Twellman as well... but with Johnson, McBride and Ching... there's no room for him.

Anyone?