US Squad for South Africa Friendly

A fairly veteran group of players was picked by US men's national team coach Bob Bradley for his team's friendly in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 17th. It's a squad comprised largely of European-based players, partly because the MLS season doesn't end until the 18th and partly because it's going to be those guys who make up the core of the team when World Cup qualifying starts next year. There are a few inclusions that I'm extremely pleased to see and I'm hoping they'll get a chance to play (Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu, and Jonathan Bornstein, for starters). More domestic-based players will also be added within the coming days.

Here's a breakdown of the current squad by position:

Goalkeepers (2): Tim Howard (Everton), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA)

Defenders (5): Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (AaB Aalborg), Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96)

Midfielders (7): Freddy Adu (Benfica), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Eddie Lewis (Derby County), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County)

Forwards (3): Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Jozy Altidore (Red Bull New York), Clint Dempsey (Fulham)

Of course, you can make the argument that Donovan and Dempsey are more midfielders than forwards, so that leaves Altidore as the only true striker on the roster (for now). As I said, more players will be added in the very near future, but one guy who normally would be in this squad that almost certainly won't be is Taylor Twellman, as his New England Revolution will play Houston in the MLS Cup the day after the US-South Africa game. I'm not sure who Bob Bradley what strikers (if any) Bob Bradley will call up but you can bet that he won't stick Altidore up there by himself.

Another Random Sight

Alright, so again, I'm sitting on the couch watching soccer this morning (no pizza this time though), and I see something else a bit out of the ordinary. For those of you watched Manchester United humble a Blackburn side that believes they can crack the top four, you may know what I'm talking about.

I can't exactly remember the situation but in the first half for some reason, the camera cut to a close-up of the back of David Bentley's jersey. Yes, it's spelled Bentley. However, the equipment managers or whoever puts the players' names on the backs of their jerseys must've missed the memo, as today it was spelled Betnley.

Goodness me. What is going on across the pond these days?? First they take the viewers away from the end of a passionate, exciting derby, now they can't even spell a player's name right. I would understand it if possibly the guy's last name was Johnson and they spelled it Jonson or something like that, but "Betnley" doesn't even make phonetic sense.

Oh you silly Brtis. Get it?