Initial Reaction - US World Cup Squad

Ummm...I don't think I have any complaints regarding the US squad announced today (live on SportsCenter). Maybe Taylor Twellman instead of Brian Ching? Eh...I think Ching gives us more variety at forward. I like Chris Armas and Steve Ralston, but not enough to bump any of our midfielders out. I think we have good depth at midfield.

Anyway, here's my starting lineup, if I were the manager:

GK - Keller
D - Lewis, Bocanegra, Pope, Onyewu
M - Dempsey, Reyna, Donovan, Beasley
F - Johnson, McBride


I suspect that Arena will play Wolff over Johnson at striker, try to fit Hejduk into the defense, and bring Dempsey off the bench. But I think Johnson and Dempsey should start, because either could really have a breakout World Cup a la Beasley last time around. And we need one or more of our guys to breakout if we're going to do something big this year.

Anyway, I'm very optimistic. I love our midfield. I think we can play with the Czechs and Italians. Bring it on.