Will Oguchi Onyewu be apart of the Gold Cup roster? (Photo by ISIphotos.com)

We’ll know on Monday who Bob Bradley picks for the US National team for this summer’s Gold Cup and for the upcoming friendly against Spain. I figured today would be as good of a day as ever to throw out my 23-man roster that I think Bradley could select come Monday.

As we know this is a big Gold Cup for the US as they’ll want to get the crown back from Mexico in hopes to qualify for the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil.

Keepers (3)

Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, and Nick Rimando

The first two are locks in my mind while Rimando would easily be beaten out by a younger keeper that Bradley wants to give some experience to for the training camps and what not. We know Howard is the starter no matter what here so this area is really the easiest to pick I would think. David Yelldell could see his name called as he saw time with the US against Paraguay earlier this year.

Defenders (9)

Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Timothy Chandler, Heath Pearce, Jonathan Spector, Tim Ream , Eric Lichaj, Jonathan Bornstein

Another group that seems fairly easy to figure out. I know Bornstein hasn’t played a lot in Mexico but you know there is a familiarity factor between him and Bradley. Believe me I hate even the thought of him in the mix here but it will likely happen since he is still one of Bradley’s guys. Lichaj was a toss up for me as I think Zak Whitebread could be a good idea for a call-up too. Chandler can also slide into the midfield if needed here too which makes me a lock for me.

I would like to see someone like FC Dallas defender George John get a look for this roster but I’m sure Ream will have beaten him out even though Ream has looked shaky at times this season for New York.

The big question for me comes down to Onyewu. He hasn’t played well since his injury in 2009 in a US kit and really he hasn’t played a lot of minutes since joining AC Milan. But like Bornstein, Bradley sees him as one of his guys and that’s why he falls into this camp.

Midfielders (8)

Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Jermaine Jones , Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Benny Feilhaber, Mixx Diskerud, Alejandro Bedoya

A tough group to predict outside the obvious (Dempsey, Donovan, Bradley, Edu and Jones). I think Feilhaber is an easy pick, but Diskerud and Bedoya are toss-ups for me. I could easily see Bradley take a chance on Sacha Kljestan here over Diskerud and someone like Brek Shea over Bedoya.

I’d love to see Shea here but his lack of big international experience hurts him here I think for such an important tournament. I know his explosiveness off the bench would be great to have but given how well Diskerud does with the forwards that will be taken, its hard to pass up on chemistry for a risky move like Shea.

Forwards (3)

Jozy Altidore, Juan Agudelo, Teal Bunbury

I don’t think this one needs any explanation. Altidore is a lock while Agudelo and Bunbury have formed quite a bond together with the US. Charlie Davies saw his chances go away last weekend when Bradley was in D.C. to watch him and United play Colorado. His chance fluttered away quickly when he went out of the game early with an injury.

I see no reason to even consider Eddie Johnson, Edson Buddle or even Herculez Gomez here. I’d say Gomez is really the only other player that could have a chance here to make the roster but it would be an outside one at best.

Bob Bradley has a lot of thinkin' to do right now. (Getty Images)

I realized I’ve slacked on my World Cup hype duties these last couple months and now that the big event is a month and a half away I need to pick it up here. Today just seems like a good day to talk about the USMNT and who Bob Bradley will call into camp next month.

We know Bradley will be calling in more than what will ultimately become the final 23-man roster for the World Cup. He’s gotta do this to evaluate the final few roster spots that aren’t finalized just yet. Most would agree that a good chunk of the roster is probably already set in Bradley’s mind. He knows his keepers and likely most of his defense and midfield. But up top things get dicy with the slew of injuries and lack of quality form out of some guys in the pool.

Bradley has a lot to consider in the form of guys coming off of injuries too at this point, which in a way is a good thing. Sure their form could be off but having a few main guys back will go a long way in getting out of the group stages in June.

You’ve probably seen plenty of these rosters guesses but this is my take at it. Feel free to agree or disagree below in the comments section. I’ll give you my 26-28 guys I think that could be called in next month (obviously not all will be called here).

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, Brad Guzan

There’s really no dancing around this one unless one of these guys goes down in the final weeks of the English season. Howard is the easy pick for starter and really if we had to go with the other two in any game I’d feel okay with that as well.

Defense: Jonathan Spector, Oguchi Onyewu, Jay Demerit, Carlos Bocanegra, Clarence Goodson, Jonathan Bornstein, Steve Cherundolo, Heath Pearce

This area is fairly set in my mind. Having Onyewu back in training at AC Milan is huge for him and the US. I’ve gone back and forth in my mind over Bornstein’s inclusion with the team but he’s a Bradley guy so he’s in no matter what really. I won’t go into who should start on the right or left back but with this group we should be ok. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Spector at left back at this point but Bocanegra could end up there as well based on his play in France this year.

Midfield: Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Stuart Holden, Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber, Ricardo Clark, Alejandro Bedoya, Jose Francisco Torres, DaMarcus Beasley

Things get a little tougher here. In a way I consider both Deuce and Donovan more as strikers than as midfielders but I know they’ll be listed here when the roster comes out so I won’t even try arguing it. There is a thought too that Edu could slide into a centerback role as well which could free up another spot for another midfielder or take away from one defender.

Holden is getting healthy and that’s a real positive thing to see for this group of players. I think Bedoya has made some major strides in getting close to winning a roster spot, he’s one of my darkhorse picks here. Beasley is another guy that is on the fringe for me but I just got a gut feeling that he’ll make it.

Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Edson Buddle, Herculez Gomez, Charlie Davies, Eddie Johnson, Brian Ching

This group is the hardest to figure out. Part of me thinks Brian Ching will make it if he returns from injury in time, the other part of me figures at this point its a long shot. With the way that Buddle and Gomez have played recently we know at least one of them should probably make it to South Africa.

I put Casey up there because I see him as another one of those Bradley guys. His form hasn’t been great this season but its been good enough. I don’t love the idea of Johnson here but he’s really finding his own way in Greece right now which should boost his confidence. He’s one of those guys that rides good confidence to the bank and if he is sailing high right now in Greece it will only make things tougher on Bradley, which isn’t a bad thing either.

Not a bad showing by the US against Holland. (Getty Images)

I won’t go too into the match just yet, I have a plan on re-watching some of it later on today but I did want to give my initial player ratings from this afternoon’s 2-1 loss to the Dutch in Amsterdam.

WVH USMNT Player Ratings:

Tim Howard – 7
Jonathan Spector – 5
Carlos Bocanegra – 7
Jay DeMerit – 5
Jonathan Bornstein – 2
Stuart Holden – 5
Michael Bradley – 5
Jose Francisco Torres – 5
Landon Donovan – 4
Jozy Altidore – 6
Robbie Findley – 4

Subs:
Maurice Edu – 4
DeMarcus Beasley – 7
Alejandro Bedoya – 6
Heath Pearce – 4
Eddie Johnson – 4
Clarence Goodson – 5

Top Three Players for US:

1. DeMarcus Beasley – Off the bench he was very good today, probably much better than he’s been in recent games that I’ve seen him in. I like the idea of him still coming off the bench though instead of starting for the US.
2. Tim Howard – He made his usual few big saves but got unlucky with the PK and the other goal. Still can’t blame this loss at all on Timmy, he worked his ass off as usual.
3. Carlos Bocanegra – Got the lone goal on a great free kick by Beasley. He was so freakin’ open on that play it was ridiculous. He also did well in the back today for the US.

Overall it wasn’t a terrible game by the US. I thought Donovan was a ghost most of the game but that could be due to poor service from out of the back for him. Early on the US was too predictable in the midfield and in the final third. Robbie Findley was okay but really showed he has no shot at a roster spot in South Africa after getting over powered in this game by the Dutch defense. He has the speed to beat them but never really took people on like we would have liked.

Bad day for Bornstein though. First the penalty late in the first half and then the deflection for the second Dutch goal in the second half. I thought Bob Bradley should have subbed him at half for someone like Pearce but he’s got too much of a love fest for Bornstein.

Again, I hope to have more later on this game.

Bob Bradley has some tough choices to make for tomorrow's friendly against Holland (Getty Images)

Honestly I need to amp up my USMNT cover on here. I’ll admit I don’t get to see every game like I would like and I honestly nearly forgot the El Salvador game last week. In fact I didn’t even get to watch all of it but what I did see what the final 20 minutes or so which were fun to view since it was a nice comeback for the US.

What we know is this Holland game tomorrow is a biggie. Its in Holland and the Dutch are easily one of the best squads in the World right now. But this is more than a high profile friendly for Bob Bradley it is a chance to really finish filling out his roster for June at the World Cup in South Africa.

A good chunk of the roster is probably set but for those bubble players this is a big test. The two friendlies so far this year were definitely for the MLS talent to show their stuff and while they did a decent job only a couple of that B or C bunch will make an sort of dent in this roster come June.

Bradley has a couple areas to hammer out before June. The nearly all his defense needs to be figured out, his defensive midfield spot, and a striker.

Left Back: It will either be Jonathan Bornstein or Heath Pearce come June in this spot. That I am certain of. Pearce had a nice game against El Salvador and really seems to be doing well in Dallas right now. Having quality playing time has certainly helped him out too. Depending how they look tomorrow will go a long way in determining who gets a roster spot in June. My money is on Pearce right now.

Center Back: I still have a guy feeling Oguchi Onyewu will be available come June but some how if he isn’t it will be between Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson and Carlos Bocanegra to pick up the slack. I think the bigger story will be if Goodson can continue to impress Bradley. I think should Onyewu return to full health and Goodson continue to impress it will make Bradley’s life tough but in a good way. I’m not saying that he’d take Goodson over Onyewu here but having an improving Goodson only helps our chances in the back.

Right back: I worry about the wings in the back but if Pearce can get up to speed on the left I think so can Jonathan Spector on the right. But let’s not sleep on Frank Simek here, this game could be his big chance to make it in June.

Defensive Mid: It will likely be a WVHooligan favorite Maurice Edu to go in the midfield along side Michael Bradley. I think at this point this is Edu’s spot to lose. With Ricardo Clark on the outside looking in for a roster spot at this point I think Edu is a good bet, which I am happy with here too.

Striker: Ok we know Jozy Altidore is set and if Charlie Davies doesn’t return in time it will come down to three guys: Jeff Cunningham, Robbie Findley or Eddie Johnson. If that is the case my money is on Findley here. I’m curious to see which gets the start tomorrow with Altidore though because both need a strong start to do well.

Again tomorrow is a big deal. We must find a way to stop the Dutch on the wings. I’m very worried that Arjen Robben and Rafael van der Vaart will eat our boys alive on the wings. If we find a way to stay in front of them and keep them honest we’ll be fine. If not it could be a very long night in Amsterdam.

The Dutch also like to shoot from range, so guys in the midfield and in the center part of the pitch must be on guard. One slip up will put Tim Howard in some jeopardy. Protecting the ball in the midfield will be key for the US.

I expect a high tempo to this game from both sides but the US will be wise to slow it down at some points to keep the pressure off the defense. Our forwards will need to work together to get quality looks on goal. The Dutch defense is a savvy one, but isolating one of them at a time can help work wonders. A big game from Landon Donovan also wouldn’t hurt!

This won’t be an easy game by any stretch for the US. Holland is damn good and they are very tough to beat in Holland. Forcing mistakes early will boost our confidence if we can get them but giving up silly passes in the midfield and on the wings will doom us. I hate going against the US but until we show up on the road, particularly in Europe I have to go against us. It should be fun to watch…key word is should.

WVH Prediction: Holland 2, US 0

Disappointing yes, but proud of the US national team nonetheless. (Getty Images)

No one ever said this game was easy. The highs and lows of soccer have never been more noticeable until today.

It is always amazing how a game can be so different from one half to the next. The first half in the FIFA Confederation’s Cup final against Brazil showed the world that the US is here to stay and could be a power on the biggest stages of them all. But the second half showed that the US is just not all the way there quite yet.

Yeah, it was an emotional game to say the least and I wonder at times if the guys just ran out of steam emotionally late in the second half along with running out of steam physically and mentally. We knew Brazil would make their run in the second half and that they would more than likely score. Its never easy to go into the half with a 2-0 lead. Never easy.

But looking back the first half was more than a dream. For 45 minutes the US pressed hard and got their chances early and often. Clint Dempsey’s first goal was a bit of class between him and Jonathan Spector. The second half on the counter-attack with Charlie Davies and Landon Donovan was something else entirely. Usually the US is on the end of those kind of crazy counters, but this time it was our guys sticking it to one of the world’s best.

Let’s face it though, we should be able to say that we are emerging as a soccer power in some degree. Getting big time results across the pond, even if it is in Africa is still a big deal. Scoring two quality goals on a country like Brazil is something to be happy about. I’m not usually one for moral victories but in a way the US can hang their hats on a few quality things. I don’t believe going into the negatives in this one because I really felt a lot of the same passion and energy from the Spain game was carried over to this one.

I do believe we are getting very close to what a lot of people expect out of this group now. If anything this last week was a total confidence boost to the US national team program as a whole and going forward into next year. I know there is still some qualifying left on the menu for the year but I fully believe the US will now show less fear against those that they have struggled with before. Biggest step for this bunch will obviously be the Mexcio game in a couple months down in Mexico City. If the boys play anywhere near the level that they did against Spain and the first 45 against Brazil then we should expect our first win in Mexcio.

The US has announced to the world that they are for real here and that we aren’t just a fluke. Before this week I don’t believe we could have said that. I can say too that I have never been more proud of this bunch until now. We know where we need to get next and that is a huge step going forward.