The United States men's national team's roster for its March 27 friendly against Paraguay is out, and it's one that should excite die-hard fans of the team looking to find some positives after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Interim manager Dave Sarachan called the following 22 players up:
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): Alex Bono (Toronto FC/CAN; 0/0), Bill Hamid (Midtjylland/DEN; 5/0), Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew SC; 1/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Ipswich Town/ENG; 1/0), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 14/1), Matt Miazga (Vitesse/NED; 4/1), Shaq Moore (Levante/ESP; 0/0), Erik Palmer-Brown (Kortrijk/BEL; 0/0), Antonee Robinson (Bolton Wanderers/ENG; 0/0), Jorge Villafana (Santos Laguna/MEX; 15/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United/ENG; 49/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls; 2/0), Marky Delgado (Toronto FC/CAN; 0/0), Weston McKennie (Schalke/GER; 1/1), Darlington Nagbe (Atlanta United FC; 24/1), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 2/0), Kenny Saief (Anderlecht/BEL; 1/0), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 3/0), Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA; 0/0)
FORWARDS (3): Andrija Novakovich (Telstar/NED; 0/0), Rubio Rubin (Club Tijuana/MEX; 4/0), Bobby Wood (Hamburg/GER; 36/10)
And of course, U.S. Soccer announced the team with a nod to March Madness:
Dancin' in Cary. Meet the 22 players called in for #USAvPAR on March 27.
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@ussoccer_mnt) March 18, 2018
Roster notes » https://t.co/nN4jhfoda7 pic.twitter.com/E4qWgBenem
Why should we be excited?
There are numerous reasons to be excited about this team, and mainly because there are some new faces - seven players who haven't been capped. But here are three you should be excited about:
Shaq Moore: He's a 21-year-old Georgia native who has been in Spain for a few years. He's a right back, has represented the U.S. at the youth level and has seen the pitch for Levante, including against Lionel Messi and Barcelona. He has six appearances for Levante and some potential, coming out of FC Dallas. Right back, behind DeAndre Yedlin, has been a position of concern for the national team when it comes to depth and he could be an important figure if he impresses.
Tim Weah: Weah is from New York and plays for one of the world's most famous clubs, Paris Saint-Germain. He's also the son of one of the world's greatest African soccer players of all time, legend George Weah. And even cooler, his dad is actually the current president of Liberia. This young, 6-foot gunner is a striker with a ton of speed and skills. He's a future staple of the national team.
Antonee Robinson: The 20-year-old England-born player has represented the U.S. U-18 team and belongs to Everton, though he is on loan at Bolton. He's a left back and has played 21 matches this season for the Wanderers and has thoroughly impressed. He's a guy that could provide some depth on the left and become a starter sooner rather than later.
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