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There's no doubt in anybody's mind that Bill Hamid had the best week of any goalkeeper in MLS during Rivalry Week this past weekend (actually the best player this week, as he's just been named MLS Player of the Week). Nor is there any doubt that many American soccer fans have been pining to see Chris Pontius don the Red, White & Blue. But neither of them will be traveling to Denver or Mexico City this week for the U.S. Men's National Team's World Cup Qualifiers, as they have both been left off of Jurgan Klinsmann's 23-man roster for the matches.
That actually isn't all that bad for D.C. United fans, though, as there is the small matter of this weekend's match against the Columbus Crew, which for some reason is scheduled right in the middle of a FIFA window. It's also not to say that United will have its full complement of players available Saturday, as two other players will be absent for their own national team duty. We've known for a while that Dejan Jakovic will be flying to Dubai for Canada's friendly with Japan, and Ben Olsen confirmed today that Marcos Sanchez will be joining Panama for their matches away to Jamaica and at home against Honduras.
The full U.S. roster is listed below, via U.S. Soccer. Give us your thoughts on Klinsy's player selections down in the comments.
Goalkeepers (3): Brad Guzan, Sean Johnson, Nick Rimando
Defenders (6): Tony Beltran, Matt Besler, Geoff Cameron, Omar Gonzalez, Clarence Goodson, Justin Morrow
Midfielders (9): DaMarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman, Michael Bradley,Joe Corona, Maurice Edu, Jermaine Jones, Sacha Kljestan, Brek Shea,Graham Zusi, Danny Williams
Forwards (5): Jozy Altidore, Terrence Boyd, Clint Dempsey, Herculez Gomez, Eddie Johnson