Soccer News | World Cup News | May 13, 2010

Charlie Davies misses U.S. World Cup roster

By Jeffery Marcus
May 13, 2010


Charlie Davies, whose hopes of playing in the World Cup fueled his recovery from a serious car accident seven months ago, was left off the preliminary list of players for the United States roster Tuesday.

“He remained part of the consideration right up until yesterday,” Coach Bob Bradley said. “We just felt right now for Charlie it is in his best interest to continue his rehab and continue so that he can get back to the level that he was playing last year before the accident.”

Davies, who has not been granted medical clearance to play for his club team, Sochaux in France, was one of a number of injured players Bradley was considering. But his omission was the most noteworthy.

“We always understand and respect the players out there who have all contributed along the way,” Bradley said.

Defender Oguchi Onyewu, who has not played in seven months after having knee surgery, was included. So, too, was defender Jay DeMerit, who had his cornea replaced last year and had an abdominal strain that kept him out of the last few games of the season for Watford in England.

Midfielder Stuart Holden, Davies’s closest friend on the team, was invited to participate in his first World Cup training camp after he recovered from a fractured fibula and appeared as a substitute Sunday in Bolton’s last English Premier League game of the season.

The 30 players named to the preliminary roster will report to training camp Monday in Princeton, N.J., and will play two exhibitions before June 1, when Bradley must winnow the team to the 23 players he will take to South Africa.

Bradley had said that he was eager to settle on his team and begin preparations for the Americans’ first game, against England on June 12 in Rustenburg. But questions over the readiness of some of his players prolonged his decision.

Tim Howard is the No. 1 choice at goalkeeper.

Onyewu will probably be paired with Carlos Bocanegra, the captain, or DeMerit in central defense. Steve Cherundolo is the likely starter at right fullback, but there is a hole at left back. Bradley could move Bocanegra outside, or he could call on Jonathan Spector, who can play on either flank.

Bradley’s midfield corps illustrates the priority he places on versatility. Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, two of the team’s most creative players, can play as forwards or on the wing. Michael Bradley, the coach’s son, is capable of playing as a holding midfielder and scoring goals. Maurice Edu can back up Ricardo Clark as a defensive midfielder, or drop into the backline, where he played for the United States Olympic team at the 2008 Beijing Games.

DaMarcus Beasley, who played in the 2002 and the 2006 World Cup, has struggled to earn playing time in Scotland this season for Rangers, was also called in to camp.

Without Davies, Bradley enlisted a collection of forwards, including Jozy Altidore and two internationally untested strikers: Edson Buddle of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Herculez Gomez, an American who plays for Puebla in Mexico.

Among the stars who will miss the World Cup are Ronaldinho, a three-time FIFA world player of the year, who was excluded from the Brazil roster; Luca Toni, Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero, who were not picked by Italy, the defending champion; and Argentina’s Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso, who both play for Inter Milan.

Two other players from the United States were named to World Cup rosters: the New Jersey-born Giuseppe Rossi was selected for Italy, and Neven Subotic, who grew up in Utah, will play for Serbia, where he was born.

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