Dempsey-less USMNT roster for World Cup qualifiers poses questions

The United States men’s national team has had to begin contemplating a possible life without Clint Dempsey. He was omitted from Jurgen Klinsmann’s roster on Sunday for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago because of an irregular heartbeat that hasn’t been fully diagnosed yet.

Dempsey, the national team’s one-time captain and its leading career goalscorer among active players – his 52 goals trail only Landon Donovan’s 57 for the all-time lead – had apparently been dealing with “related health concerns” all year, according to a Seattle Times report. That had not stopped him from bagging eight goals in 17 Seattle Sounders games this season, or from leading the U.S. to the semifinals of the Copa America Centenario with a team-high three goals. But it’s unclear if the disorder could threaten the remainder of his career.

There had been speculation for some time that Dempsey, at 33, wasn’t terribly far from ending his national team career anyway. But his form at the Copa America demonstrated that the national team has yet to unearth a credible alternative for him in the final third, where Dempsey continues to be both the team’s spark plug and primary finisher. All three of his goals in the tournament put the U.S. up 1-0 in games they would win (those three were their only wins). The Texan had his most productive year for the national team in 2015, when he scored seven times in the U.S.’s failed Gold Cup campaign, leading that tournament.

“Clint Dempsey has been back scoring and we wanted to have him here, but of course his health comes first,” said Klinsmann in a statement. “We’re thinking of Clint and hoping that he will be OK.”

Certainly, but there isn’t yet any answer to who will create and score in a post-Dempsey era.

The Americans travel to Saint Vincent and then welcome Trinidad and Tobago to Jacksonville, Fla., for a pair of games they must win to guarantee a place in the final round of World Cup qualifying. Fail to win one of those contests and the equation grows more complicated. At present, the U.S. is second in a four-team group that also includes Guatemala with two games to spare. T&T has 10 points; the U.S. has seven; Guatemala has six and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have none. The top two teams will advance.

Of the 23 players who made up the Copa America roster this summer, 19 were brought back for the return of qualifying, the marathon two-year journey leading to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

“We definitely think that the group that got fourth in the Copa America deserves a certain priority going on to the next World Cup qualifiers because they did tremendously well,” Klinsmann explained. “The whole group learned a lot, playing teams like Colombia, Ecuador and Argentina. This is a big stage, and they deserve to come back and confirm what they did in the tournament in these upcoming, very important World Cup qualifiers.”

Captain Michael Bradley and Michael Orozco are both suspended for the St. Vincent game. Jermaine Jones is nursing an injury but was called up anyway. John Brooks was a late scratch and has been replaced on the roster by Sacha Kljestan.

The roster, however, also included several younger players getting a look with the senior team like Paul Arriola, Caleb Stanko and Rubio Rubin.

“It gives us a chance during a couple of days to work with a couple extra guys — younger guys — that we’ve had an eye on since quite a while, like Caleb Stanko or Rubio Rubin,” Klinsmann said. “They are players that are knocking at the door and are doing well in their club environment, so that’s nice to see them.”

Here is the full USMNT roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough), Ethan Horvath (Molde FC),Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids).

Defenders: Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City),Steve Birnbaum (D.C. United), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City),Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United).

Midfielders: Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake),A lejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Jermaine Jones (Colorado Rapids), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Caleb Stanko (FC Vaduz), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City).

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC), Rubio Rubin (FC Utrecht), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Wood (Hamburg SV).