Freddy Adu makes the Confederations cut
Coach Bob Bradley has named the U.S. National Team’s 23-man roster for the FIFA Confederations Cup later this month in South Africa. The U.S. plays defending World Cup champion Italy on June 15 (ESPN, 2:25 p.m.), then powerhouse Brazil on June 18 (ESPN2, 9:55 a.m.) and finally finishes grou play on June 21 vs. Egypt (ESPN2 2:25 p.m.).
“The FIFA Confederations Cup is a great opportunity to play against top level competition and gain further experience competing in tough games,” said Bradley, 25-9-4 since taking over in 2007. “Equally important is the chance for our team to experience the environment in South Africa, everything from travel to food to weather. We believe the experience will be invaluable if we qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.” The biggest news is target man Brian Ching and high-energy fullback Frankie Hejduk won’t make the trip, but Colorado striker Conor Casey _ who leads MLS in scoring this year _ has gotten a much-deserved call-up. The lack of a target man was glaringly obvious in last week’s 3-1 World Cup qualifying loss at Costa Rica. The full roster is below:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Luis Robles (Kaiserslautern)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (Midtjylland ), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Xerez), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Charlie Davies (Hammarby), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)