Jurgen Klinsmann is giving young kids a chance with USMNT roster for Cuba friendly
Jurgen Klinsmann has named a 23-man roster for the United States' upcoming friendly on October 7 against Cuba. He's opted to leave his starting goalkeeper duo of Tim Howard and Brad Guzan at home, but has most of his other stars like Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore, to go along with youngsters Christian Pulisic, Jordan Morris and newcomer Lynden Gooch.
The young players are the headliners on this roster. Pulisic is obviously a budding star and Morris has carved out his role on the national team, but Klinsmann made a point of calling in several others this time around. Ethan Horvath is once again in the team, but with Howard and Guzan out, he might get the chance to play instead of serving as the third stringer like he has in the past. Gooch also gets his first call-up after breaking through and becoming a starter for Sunderland this season. Paul Arriola is another young player on the roster, while Julian Green returns to the senior team.
The friendly against Cuba, and then one four days later against New Zealand, are the Americans' only matches between the semifinal and final round of World Cup qualifying. With the U.S. taking on Mexico on November 11 in their first match of the Hex, they get thrown right into the toughest part of World Cup qualifying too, so Klinsmann doesn't have much time to experiment. He basically only has these two friendlies and he's taking the chance to get looks at a few more young players.
The most notable omissions are Howard and Guzan, but Klinsmann is clearly intent on giving other goalkeepers looks. Bill Hamid could have been an option to step in with the starting duo out considering he has been arguably the best goalkeeper in MLS for several years now, but he didn't make the team either. Also missing out is Clint Dempsey, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the MLS season because of a heart issue.
Goalkeepers: David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes), Ethan Horvath (Molde FK), William Yarbrough (Club Leon)
Defenders: Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moenchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle)
Midfielders: Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland), Perry Kitchen (Hearts), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Danny Williams (Reading)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (Hamburg SV)
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