Team USA Marches on to the Gold Cup

It’s been just over a week since the United States’ improbable run to the final of the Confederations Cup came to an end at the hands of Brazil, but any excitement around the team has faded with the arrival of the Gold Cup. At least for now.

The biggest reason, of course, is that the U.S. roster has been nearly completely turned over for the Gold Cup, with Bob Bradley giving his regulars a rest and packing the squad with youth. It’s an interesting decision, and an understandable one. Give your best team a chance to play the best in the Confederations Cup. And when your group stage opposition is more Haiti and Honduras than Brazil and Italy, give the youngsters a run out.

Besides, CONCACAF has effectively provided the U.S. with an insurance policy: it allowed the team to expand its roster by seven, meaning that some regulars could be added later in the tournament. That, combined with the caliber of most of the teams in the tournament, make it seem fairly obvious that the only team capable of stopping the U.S. on its way to a successful title defense is Mexico. (And even they’ve been erratic of late.)

So in the end, the summer of internationals should go down as a productive one for the U.S. camp a year from the World Cup. But there is still one side paying the price for all of this: the M.L.S. teams who are losing players for the better part of a month in the middle of the season. (It still mystifies me that M.L.S. chose to make itself a summer league, but then again playing on a European schedule would mean competing directly with the N.F.L. and the N.B.A. all season and dealing with some particularly harsh winters — Chicago in November, anyone?)

Still, the Gold Cup will be a rare opportunity to showcase some of the United States’ younger talent. Here are a few players to keep an eye on over the next couple of weeks:

• Robbie Rogers: The Columbus Crew’s dynamic 21-year-old midfielder was excellent in the United States’ opener against Grenada, setting up the first two goals. He has been on the fringe of the regular national team this season, and a quality year could see him squeeze into the squad for 2010.
• Stuart Holden: He scored in his debut for the men’s national debut against Grenada and looked impressive going forward, though his defensive skills might leave something to be desired. But Holden, who was born in Scotland, could yet grow into a real midfield presence on a strong Houston Dynamo side.
• Freddy Adu: The United States is still waiting for Adu to take the next step in his development. He is very much a marginal player at Monaco and was did not see a minute of action in the Confederations Cup. Though he is barely 20, it seems like Adu has been around forever, and it is time for him to prove that he is not falling too far behind other forwards such as Jozy Altidore and Charlie Davies.