Alfredo Morales, Daniel Williams, Juan Agudelo, and Graham Zusi were the four players cut from Jurgen Klinsmann's roster
U.S. national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann named a final 23-man roster for his team's upcoming group of matches that will include three friendlies and two World Cup qualifiers.On Friday, Klinsmann cut four players from the 27-man roster he called in last week: Alfredo Morales, Daniel Williams, Juan Agudelo, and Graham Zusi.
"We have said from the beginning that these games are all about results, and we have chosen the 23 players who are in the best form right now and ready to get the job done," said Klinsmann.
Klinsmann spoke about his decision to keep Terrence Boyd over Agudelo on a conference call later in the day.
"He's ready for the next big step," Klinsmann said about Boyd. "He's kind of adjusting to our way of doing things. He's a very curious kid, very energetic, and that's why he made the cut."
The U.S. coach also addressed Agudelo, who was recently traded to Chivas USA from the New York Red Bulls, where he was struggling for playing time.
"He hasn't played many games this year," Klinsmann said. "You could see that he's slightly behind the other strikers. That's why we told him it's better to fly back to Chivas now and get sharp and get fitter every day. It's up to him. He's got to prove it. He's got to score goals and play every game."
Williams had been battling a shoulder injury, and apparantly failed to win his race to become fit ahead of the five-match period.
The U.S. will face Scotland on Saturday night in Jacksonville, before heading to Washington D.C. to play Brazil on May 30. The squad then heads to Toronto to face Canada on June 3.
The team begins World Cup qualification on June 8 against Antigua and Barbuda in Tampa, then travels to face Guatemala in Guatemala City on June 12.
Full roster:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Jose Torres (Pachuca)
FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Santos), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
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