Arena Names Bedoya and Pontius to USMNT Final Roster, Cuts Rosenberry

Chris Pontius, No. 13 (Photo by Double G Media)

The United States men’s national team coach Bruce Arena named his 23-man roster on Friday. Union fans especially will be surprised at the results. Alejandro Bedoya makes the team on the back of a year that saw consistent National Team performances while performing admirably in the middle of the park for the Union. The two biggest surprises of the roster were both from the Union team. Chris Pontius makes the cut in a crowded midfield while Keegan Rosenberry is sent back to the Union preseason camp.

“I have been extremely pleased with the effort and progress we have seen throughout the January Camp,” Arena said. “The entire pool of players has performed well and has made our roster decisions very difficult. We are excited to take the next step and look forward to the game against Serbia in San Diego.”

Bedoya makes all the sense, he was a workhorse at last year’s Gold Cup and is a valuable fulcrum between the defense and offense. Pontius is a nice addition to the team. A hard worker who has the ability to be a difference maker in the box. Arena will most likely use him as a second runner into the 18. Rosenberry however seems to have been beaten out of the right-back position by Graham Zusi.

Although Zusi comes with more proven talent and experience, he has never played the position before. It’s not the best thing that could have happened for him, as he will most likely be competing with Deandre Yedlin for most of his career. He should be back in camp to join the team when they head to Clearwater, Florida for preseason.

Continue to follow us for Media Day tomorrow and coverage throughout preseason.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION:

GOALKEEPERS (3): David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Luis Robles (New York Red Bulls)
DEFENDERS (8): DaMarcus Beasley (Unattached), Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Greg Garza (Atlanta United FC), Chad Marshall (Seattle Sounders FC), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna, MEX), Walker Zimmerman (FC Dallas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Sporting Kansas City), Jermaine Jones (LA Galaxy), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Chris Pontius (Philadelphia Union)
FORWARDS (3): Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution), Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC)

The USMNT will face Serbia this Friday at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Tickets are available for as low as $40, with Qualcomm Stadium parking starting at just $10. You can also find San Diego parking in other areas of the city for as low as $5.