Nostradamus

Grant Wahl recently made his predictions of Bruce Arena's World Cup roster. Several of my fellow American soccer bloggers have weighed in with their lists, while the illustrious posters of BigSoccer weighed in with their own. I figured it's about time that I take a crack at this as well, I only wish that there was some price given out to the winner.

Goalkeeper(s): Kasey Keller, Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann
Possibilities? The only open spot is that third one, which may also go to an MLS keeper like Cannon or Reis, but it's unlikely.

No one will question Kasey Keller's status. Barring injury, he's an absolute lock for the World Cup. While many have questioned Tim Howard's Manchester United status, Bruce Arena still sees a future for Tim with the national team (and why not? Tim is still in his twenties), and bringing him along to Germany would be a great experience for a player who may yet become the United States' No. 1 keeper. As for the third spot, I think it's Hahnemann's to lose at this point. He played well against Guatemala on Wednesday night, and will probably continue to get time with the national team throughout the rest of qualifying.

Defenders: Steve Cherundolo, Frankie Hedjuk, Oguchi Onyewu, Cory Gibbs, Carlos Bocanegra, Greg Berhalter, Eddie Lewis, Albright
Possibilities? There are several. If Jonathan Spector gets considerable playing time with Charlton this season he could be a possibility. Eddie Pope might still be in the mix, as are Chad Marshall, Jimmy Conrad, etc.

Most of the defenders are now locked in. Our first choice backline is made up of Cherundolo on the right, two of Onyewu, Gibbs, or Bocanegra in the middle, and Eddie Lewis on the left. I have a very strong feeling that Hedjuk will be with us in Germany, not only because of his veteran experience and versatility, but also because he fits Bruce's system to the T and has a habit of showing up in big games. Albright backs up Cherundolo on the right. Greg Berhalter has surprisingly played himself back into the picture in the last few months of qualifying. With Pope in the twilight of his international career, it's looking more and more likely that the veteran centerback won't be brought to Germany. As I mentioned above, Spector is still a possibility but that's contingent on several factors, so the jury's still out on him.

Midfielders: Claudio Reyna, Pablo Mastroeni, John O'Brien, Chris Armas, DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan, Bobby Convey, Steve Ralston
Possibilities: Again, several, including Steve Ralston, Santino Quaranta, and Clint Dempsey, not to mention a number of players that could still be capped/called up, including Ricardo Clark, Justin Mapp, Pat Noonan, Eddie Gaven (!) and Chris Klein.

I first put question marks where Steve Ralston is, but I think the question marks are a better approximation of what's going through Bruce Arena's head. Quaranta looked terrible Wednesday night and Ralston has struggled against faster, better competition, and would doubtless be in over his head in the World Cup. Our first choice midfield is probably a box with Reyna and O'Brien sharing the defensive duties, and Landon and Beasley free to attack. However, in a true diamond midfield (Bruce's preferred formation), we have no right midfielder. That's troubling. We'll probably see Chris Klein again, as well as a lot more Quaranta, and maybe other players we haven't even yet thought of. It's still possible that Bruce will start Cherundolo at right midfield and put Albright or Hedjuk behind him defensively. The left side of midfield is secure with Convey and Beasley, and Lewis in a pinch. The one player other than Ralston whose position on the roster isn't secure is Armas. It's still possible that Bruce opts for another winger, or brings along a younger player like Ricardo Clark. We'll find all that out in the next few months as well.

Forwards: Brian McBride, Eddie Johnson, Josh Wolff, Brian Ching
Possibilities: Taylor Twellman, Jeff Cunningham, Conor Casey, Chris Rolfe (!), and Freddy Adu (!)

McBride and Johnson are likely locks for the World Cup. It's after these two that things get a bit fuzzy. Twellman and Cunningham will probably get at least one more chance to prove they belong, but those two are quickly playing themselves out of the picture. Ching is really the only heir apparent to McBride and he has scored in World Cup qualifying. Wolff has had a bad year internationally, but Arena still feels he has something to offer the team, and with our dearth of quality forwards I'm sure that Wolff will be brought along to Germany. Casey's injury hurt in a myriad of ways, but most importantly it seems to have taken him off Bruce's radar, at least for the time being. This leaves a bunch of young guys (Rolfe and Adu were sort of my humorous homage to Bigsoccer), who probably won't get called up in the next year, let alone put on the World Cup roster, but more surprising things have happened.

MLS Weekend Preview:

New England Revolution v. Columbus Crew: New England is coming off a gritty victory over Real Salt Lake while Columbus has been on a torrid winning streak, destroying Chivas last week 3-0. With many of their players returning from national team duty, New England might have its first full roster in months. Prediction - Revolution 2:1 Crew

Kansas City Wizards v. Metrostars: These teams played to a 2-2 tie in the Meadowlands last weekend (I didn't see that one coming or anything), and I would suspect a similar result this time around were it not for the return of Diego Gutierrez and Jimmy Conrad to the starting eleven. Prediction - Wizards 2:1 Metrostars

FC Dallas v. D.C. United: Ah, there's nothing like watching two slumping teams face off against one another. However, Dallas will be as close to full strength (sans Mulrooney) as they've been in months. Will it solve their defensive problems? Probably not, but they need to start getting three points at home, and no better time to start than against a team that lost to Colorado in Colorado last weekend. United might have something to say about the matter though. Prediction - Dallas 2:2 United

Los Angeles Galaxy v. Colorado Rapids: Landon's back, but Landon doesn't play defense. Watching Justin Mapp absolutely shred the Galaxy's defense last week left me pretty giddy, but they won't have to face anyone even close to possessing Mapp's skill on the ball this week. But the Rapids have been playing good soccer lately and have been very tight in defense. Prediction - Galaxy 1:1 Rapids

San Jose Earthquakes v. CD Chivas USA: Chivas, just when you thought they were turning things around, they drop three points at home against Columbus. They could've used those three points, because they'll be travelling to San Jose this weekend. If people think San Jose have become complacent since wrapping up a playoff berth, think again. Prediction - Earthquakes 2:0 Chivas

Last week: 3-3
Season: 8-7