Who's on the bubble for the U.S.?
There are 30 players in the U.S. national team's pre-World Cup training camp at Princeton University, but only 23 places on the final roster. Which players need to step up this week and earn a spot?
I spent this morning checking out the first day of the U.S. national team's World Cup training camp at Princeton University. I am sure you will read plenty about what goes on there from all kinds of websites: Inquirer staff writer Kate Fagan's blog, the Washington Post, Ives Galarcep, you name it.
So I don't want to repeat all the stuff they've said, especially the basic news of the day. Kate has the injury information, and Steve Goff has Bob Bradley's reaction to Charlie Davies' criticism of what he thought was Sochaux's keeping him out of the World Cup.
What I want to focus on is the competition for those last few spots on the 23-man roster. There are 30 players in camp. We know Tim Howard, Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey and Carlos Bocanegra will be there. There are plenty of others whose places are probably safe too.
But what about a guy like forward Herculez Gomez, who has been lighting up the Mexican League this year? Or maybe even a guy like Stuart Holden, who will probably come off the bench if he makes the final squad?
I talked to Gomez and Holden about the big question, and you can hear their answers in the audio player below. You can also hear from Bocanegra, Dempsey, Ricardo Clark and U.S. coach Bob Bradley.
There are also two videos in the player at right. One has highlights of player interviews, and one is a preview of the U.S. camp with Kate.
You really should bookmark Kate's blog, Kickin' It. And follow her on Twitter at @deepsixer3. It's the same handle Kate uses for her 76ers coverage, but she'll be focusing on soccer this summer.