30 Called in for Jan. Camp

For those of you who missed it, Bob Bradley released the list of players that have been called into the USMNT's January camp. The 30 that will be making the trip to Carson are comprised of solely MLS and Scandinavia-based players:

GOALKEEPERS: Kevin Hartman (Kansas City), Troy Perkins (Valerenga), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)

DEFENDERS: Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Jeff Larentowicz (New England Revolution), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (D.C. United), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

FORWARDS: Justin Braun (Chivas USA), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Brandon McDonald (San Jose Earthquakes), Marcus Tracy (Aalborg)


Of the 30 players, the most intriguing names on the list are Marcus Tracy, Alejandro Bedoya, and Robbie Findley. All three players are under 25 years old and have caught the eye of Bob Bradley with good club performance. Bedoya had a good year with Swedish side Orebro, earning a decent amount of playing time in his first professional season. Tracy, meanwhile, had a strong finish to the 08-09 season with Aalborg, while also enjoying a nice run of form to close out the first half of the 09-10 Danish Superliga campaign. Findley, of course, finished his club season with a trophy, as he helped lead Real Salt Lake to an improbable MLS Cup title.

Though the January friendly usually does not carry too much weight because the usual level of competition, this year's edition will likely be under a little more scrutiny given the proximity of the World Cup. With Charlie Davies still far from a certainty for South Africa, many American fans will focus their attention (for better or for worse) on the forwards being called into this camp. The two names that seem to be carrying the most potential are the aforementioned duo of Tracy and Findley, who both possess great athleticism and strength in the box, not unlike Davies. If either can impress against Honduras, they likely would be able to parlay that performance into another call up soon after.

There are several guys currently on the fringe of Bob Bradley's World Cup roster that will be looking to bolster their case with a solid showing against Honduras. Clarence Goodson, Troy Perkins, Chad Marshall, and Robbie Rogers are among the players that have recently played for Bob Bradley but have yet to nail down firm positioning in the conversation for the final 23. While a great performance is not guaranteed to carry too much weight, a poor showing could very well push someone off the 2010 radar.

The friendly against Honduras will be on January 23, kicking off at 9 PM ET.