Philadelphia Union: Bedoya and Others Called up for WCQ’s
By Chuck Booth
Jurgen Klinsmann has named his final 26 man shortlist for the beginning of world cup qualifiers that includes Philadelphia Union midfielder Alejandro Bedoya.
Bedoya has been a fixture in the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) over recent years and will look to be an integral part of this world cup cycle. Due to the timing of the games, Bedoya will miss the Philadelphia Union’s game against the Chicago Fire but will be back in time for a crucial matchup with the Montreal Impact on September 10th.
This is good for the Philadelphia Union because they have looked like a different team with the inclusion of Bedoya and it could be detrimental to playoff seeding in he was to miss the Montreal game.
A surprising omission is MLS Rookie of the Year candidate, Keegan Roseberry. Roseberry is enjoying an excellent season at right back and could be a serviceable backup to DeAndre Yedlin. Depending on the needs of the situation Roseberry could even be seen starting over Yedlin.
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Another key cog of the Philadelphia Union’s success that deserves another shot with the national team is winger Chris Pontius. Pontius has enjoyed bounce-back season this year in which he has scored 10 goals and assisted on six others. His industrious work rate is something that could endear him to coach Klinsmann but his best quality for meaning games is his ability to pop into space and score vital goals.
Pontius’ ability to get into space and move without the ball are things to be marveled at as well as his dominance in the air. CJ Sapong is the final member of the first team that could state a case for inclusion in the USMNT but he hasn’t had the total package this season to merit inclusion.
Other members of the Philliedelphia Union to receive callups.
Andre Blake has been called up to Jamaica as expected. Blake is the clear number one for both club and country as he does his best to shield their back lines. Blake is having an improvement season in goal and it’s only a matter of time until he attracts interest from abroad especially with his Generation Adidas contract running out this offseason.
Cory Burke has also been called up to the Regge Boyz from Bethlehem Steel. Burke is on loan to the Steel from Rivoli United FC in Jamaica.
The forward has trained with the Jamaican National Team and will look to get officially capped during this round of WCQ’s. It’s nice to see players from both MLS and USL getting the call currently.
With MLS there’s the constant conflict about wanting your players to participate in National Team fixtures but not wanting them to miss domestic fixtures. With the Philadelphia Union in the midst of a playoff push on the hotly contested Eastern Conference, it raises the stakes on this.
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Because of that, it’s good that the team will only be missing two first team regulars but in the future, MLS will have to consider adding international breaks to the schedule as it pushes to become a more global league.
USMNT roster for World Cup qualifiers:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough), Ethan Horvath (Molde FC),Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids)
DEFENDERS (9): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City),Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), John Brooks (Hertha BSC), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City),Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake),Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Caleb Stanko (FC Vaduz), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC), Rubio Rubin (FC Utrecht), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (Hamburg SV)