Mexico Names Squad for Columbus

Mexico head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has named 24 players for the squad that will face the United States in Columbus next week. As expected, the roster includes many high profile names, including team captain and Barcelona-based defender Rafael Marquez -listed as questionable for the match-, long-serving midfielder Pável Pardo, also nursing an injury, and young forwards Giovanni Dos Santos and Nery Castillo. Fans will also recognize long-time U.S. nemesis, goalkeepers Oswaldo Sánchez, and Guillermo Ochoa. Mexico has begun training with their domestic based players in Mexico City, and will be joined by their foreign contingency in Columbus this coming weekend.

Mexico Roster:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Oswaldo Sánchez (Santos Laguna), Guillermo Ochoa (Club América), José de Jesús Corona (Tecos)
DEFENDERS (7): Juan Carlos Valenzuela (Club América), Julio César Dominguez (Cruz Azul), Carlos Salcido (PSV Eindhoven), Ricardo Osorio (VFB Stuttgart), Rafael Marquez (FC Barcelona), Aaron Galindo (Guadalajara), Leobardo López (Pachuca)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Fausto Pinto (Cruz Azul), Pável Pardo (Club América), Leandro Augusto (Pumas), Luis Perez (Monterrey), Israel Martinez (San Luis), Antonio Naelson (Toluca)
FORWARDS (8): Alberto Medina (Guadalajara), César Villaluz (Cruz Azul), Giovanni Dos Santos (Tottenham Hotspur), Matías Vuoso (Santos Laguna), Carlos Ochoa (Guadalajara), Nery Castillo (Shakhtar Donetsk), Guillermo Franco (Villarreal), Omar Bravo (Deportivo La Coruña).

On the other hand, there have not been any announcements by head coach Bob Bradley, nor U.S. Soccer, about the American foreign-based players who may be called for next Wednesday. This leads us to believe that Bradley may be thinking of facing Mexico with the training camp roster he is currently working with in Carson, CA. If that ends up being the case, it would be a sure suicide decision by Bradley. But, if he was thinking of bringing back any European-based players, such as Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Freddy Adu, or Tim Howard, that announcement should have been made already. FIFA mandates that clubs release their players called for national team duty 5 days prior to match-day, and that day would be Saturday. We can only hope Bradley brings some of these players back for such a crucial and important match. Meanwhile, the roster which has been training in Carson is:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Jon Busch (Chicago Fire), Will Hesmer (Columbus Crew), Matt Pickens (Colorado Rapids)
DEFENDERS (5): Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Ugo Ihemelu (Colorado Rapids), Chris Wingert (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Brian Carroll (Columbus Crew), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Jack Jewsbury (Kansas City Wizards), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), John Thorrington (Chicago Fire)
FORWARDS (4): Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire).

Truthfully, we do not stand a chance of beating Mexico with these players, even if Mexico has been struggling to find their form lately, but the experience of the Mexicans would prove to be the decisive factor at the end. Let us know what your thoughts are.