Friday kicks: Chivas USA’s Agudelo cut from U.S. WCQ Roster & more

Good news for Chivas USA, perhaps, if they had wanted Juan Agudelo to settle in with the team as quickly as possible after his trade from New York.

Now he will have ample opportunity to do so with the lengthy MLS hiatus because of the international fixtures helping, too, after Chivas USA’s Saturday game against Seattle at Home Depot Center.

The 19-year-old returned from a week in Florida with the U.S. team and is practicing this morning in Carson with Chivas USA.

And look which club team can claim the most U.S. internationals.

Here’s more on the U.S. roster announced today ahead of Saturday’s game against Scotland in Florida, which have seen advance ticket sales of 36,000 so far:

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Forward Juan Agudelo, defender Alfredo Morales and midfielders Danny Williams and Graham Zusi were cut Friday as U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann picked his 23-man roster for upcoming exhibition games and World Cup qualifiers.

The moves leave the U.S. with seven defenders, seven midfielders and six forwards for their five matches.

“We have chosen the 23 players who are in the best form right now and ready to get the job done,” Klinsmann said. “These guys have put in a tremendous amount of hard work in the last 10 days, and they are hungry to get started with the matches.”

Corona is the only player on the roster for the first time. He scored four goals in qualifying as the U.S. under-23 team failed to make the London Olympics.

Five players are from Major League Soccer. Four each are based in Germany and Mexico, three in England, two each in Scotland and Denmark, one apiece in Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal.

The Americans have exhibitions against Scotland on Saturday at Jacksonville, Fla., Brazil on Wednesday at Landover, Md., and Canada on June 3 at Toronto. Seeking their seventh straight World Cup berth, the Americans open qualifying on June 8 against Antigua and Barbuda at Tampa, Fla., then play at Guatemala on June 12.

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake);

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Geoff Cameron (Houston), Edgar Castillo (Tijuana, Mexico), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Clarence Goodson (Brondby, Denmark), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon, Portugal), Michael Parkhurst (Nordsjaelland, Denmark)

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona, Italy), Joe Corona (Tijuana, Mexico), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim, Germany), Jermaine Jones (Schalke, Germany), Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico)

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands), Terrence Boyd (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Landon Donovan (Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Santos Laguna, Mexico), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose)

Incidentally, Glasgow Rangers defender Carlos Bocanegra – I almost wrote former Rangers player and that may not be too far off – gives us a little insight to living in Scotland ahead of the game via this video from U.S. Soccer:

Bocanegra is seen as one of the keys to the game in this video preview from MLS:

*It appears that in Seattle, ahead of Saturday’s game against Chivas USA, fans and critics are asking the same questions of the Sounders supporters and reporters are asking down here of the Galaxy.

In fact, if you replace the references to Seattle with the word “Galaxy” in this Seattle Times story from this morning the similarities are downright eerie.

*Finally, U.S. Soccer announced this morning that it has sold out 18,500-capacity PPL Park, home of the Philadelphia Union, for Sunday’s 4 p.m. USWNT game against China
The game will not be televised.

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About Nick Green

South Bay-based Los Angeles News Group soccer columnist and blogger Nick Green writes at the 100 Percent Soccer blog at www.insidesocal.com/soccer and craft beer at the Beer Goggles blog at www.insidesocal.com/beer. Cheers!