USA names roster to face Mexico, Costa Rica in World Cup qualifying

Jurgen Klinsmann has decided on the list of players who he’ll be bringing to Columbus for the beginning of the CONCACAF Hexagonal, the 10-match final round of World Cup qualifying.

As expected against two difficult opponents, there are very virtually no surprises on the roster. Captain Michael Bradley will lead the side once again when they play Mexico on Friday (7:45 p.m., FS1). He’s joined by his club teammate at Toronto FC, Jozy Altidore, who will be relied upon bang in the goals with Clint Dempsey out with a heart condition.

Fresh off of back-to-back starts in the Champions League and Bundesliga this week, Christian Pulisic gets the call. Will he get the opportunity to start against Mexico? It would be quite the story if he did.

One surprising addition is 18-year-old Cameron Carter-Vickers from Tottenham Hotspur. He is a dual-national and has yet to be cap-tied to the USA. This could be his chance. The same can be said for Lynden Gooch as well who gets the call.

Overall, it’s a pretty young and adventurous roster with a lot of younger talent and few veterans like Kyle Beckerman and Chris Wondolowski not called up.

One notable absence is Darlington Nagbe, who reportedly turned down a call-up last month due to his unhappiness with the way Klinsmann was using him (or not using him). It doesn’t appear we’ll be seeing him again anytime soon.

Full USMNT roster:

Goalkeepers (4): Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough), Ethan Horvath (Molde FK), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids), William Yarbrough (Club Leon)

Defenders (9): DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham Hotspur), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach)

Midfielders (9): Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Caleb Stanko (FC Vaduz), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Forwards (4): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Bobby Wood (Hamburg), Aron Johannsson (Werder Bremen), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders)