The Copa America lineup

As you all know, Bob Bradley has made his selections for the Copa América, and it was notable for who was absent.  No Donovan, no Dempsey, no Onyewu, not even Michael Bradley.  When you look at the list, some observations stand out:

• Out of the 22 player roster, THREE have never been capped.
• Another FIVE players have only one cap.
• FOUR more have 2-5 international caps.
• The average number of international appearances in the squad is 11.4, and the median is much lower (3).

I recognize that Bob Bradley was in a very difficult situation.  His position has been that the Gold Cup is the more important of the two competitions -- it's the USA's continental championship, and victory gives entry to the Confederations Cup in South Africa.  And this Confederations Cup would give its participants an important head start by acquainting them with playing conditions in southern Africa.  But at the same time Copa America not only carries more prestige but also offers a higher level of competition than the Gold Cup.  So it would have been nice to have more experienced players in the lineup. 

Ives Galarcep was apoplectic about the selections at first, then calmed down later and said that this lineup still has a chance to reach the second round.  They could advance as a third-placed team, but I'm not very optimistic.  The Argentina game is as good as lost, Paraguay will be difficult, and Colombia may or may not matter by that point.

So color me underwhelmed about the Copa América selections.  And the sooner the North and South American confederations merge, the better. 

Comments

[Manuel Hernandez]

Sure the squad Bob Bradley's picked is a bit weak, but I still think they can give a good showing at the Copa America. Hercules Gomez, Taylor Twellman, and Eddie Johnson make for a pretty potent attack. The midfield is a young, but the questionable part is the defense. Argentina is taking there full squad, so forget about that game. I am not too convinced about Paraguay. They tied 0-0 versus Bolivia and barely squeaked by Mexico 1-0 in a game they did not deserve. Colombia is not that great a team. So do not count the U.S. out, hope that little training they have together helps!!!