Gold Cup gives Team USA chance to assess roster
Younger players are looking to make impression
The U.S. men’s national soccer team will have a different look when it opens play in the Gold Cup against Panama here Saturday. But it’s not what you think. It’s not that the team needs a shake-up. The Americans are undefeated (four wins and four ties) since Bruce Arena took over as coach in November.
It’s not that Arena is trying to send a message to his veterans. Michael Bradley and Geoff Cameron were the keys in a crucial 1-1 tie vs. Mexico in last month’s World Cup qualifying match.
And it’s not that key players are injured. The team is as healthy as it has been in a year.
It’s that the U.S. team has young players who are pushing for playing time and an opportunity to show where they stand compared to mainstays.
“The general assumption is that all of these guys are pretty good players,” Arena said Tuesday after a training session at Lipscomb University. “So it’s how they make that adjustment from the club level to the national team, to the international level. Because they play different roles.”
The Gold Cup has three groups of four teams from the CONCACAF region, with the first- and second-place teams and the top two third-place squads advancing to the quarterfinals. That’s another way of saying the Americans should stick around beyond the group-stage play. In fact, they are among the favorites to win the tournament, along with Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama.
But nobody will confuse the Gold Cup for the World Cup.
“There’s no actual significance for this championship,” Arena said. “But it’s important to win your confederation championship, and we’re certainly setting our sights on that.”
That makes this a perfect opportunity to adjust the roster. Of the 23 players on the team for the Gold Cup, three are playing in their first international tournament for the USA and five others have one or two caps.
Goalkeeper Bill Hamid — along with Sean Johnson — is backing up Brad Guzan while Tim Howard gets a rest. Chris Pontius, 30, Justin Morrow, 29, and Matt Hedges, 27, are older players getting their first extended run with the national team.
Matt Miazga, 21, and Cristian Roldan, 22, as well as Kelyn Rowe, 25, are younger and potential regulars down the road.
Miazga is property of Chelsea, the European giant that won the English Premier League. He spent last season on loan to Vitesse in the Netherlands. After making his way through the U.S. national program, the New Jersey native has achieved a goal in making a senior squad.
“You always have a timetable in mind, and playing in Europe and playing at a high level, I’ve always wanted to be part of the national team,” Miazga said. “But I can only worry about what I can control, and if I get called up, I get called up.”
Dom Dwyer, 26, also is a newcomer and recently tied himself to the USA. Born and raised in England, he came to America to play in college and eventually married Sydney Leroux, a member of the U.S. women’s team. Dywer has played for Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer since 2012 and became a U.S. citizen in March.
He is quick and energetic up front and made an electrifying debut for the U.S. team Saturday in a friendly vs. Ghana, scoring its first goal in a 2-1 victory.
“I’m pretty comfortable with (the new players), but there are some news faces for me,” Arena said. “They’ve all been pretty impressive.”
Joe Corona, 26, is new in that he hasn’t appeared for the USA since 2014. He played in 14 matches from 2011 to 2014 and then disappeared into Mexico’s top league. But like many of the players on the current roster, he always had aspirations of wearing the red, white and blue.
“The national team is something I always have on my mind,” Corona said. “But I just work hard and do good things and know that the U.S. team will keep an eye on me. It’s a good opportunity for a lot of us who haven’t been here in a while.”