World Cup Ladder

On the Plane

Kasey Keller – No. 1 Goalkeeper, no questions asked.
DaMarcus Beasely – Playing very well for PSV often described as the best player in camp.
Landon Donovan – Golden boy.
Claudio Reyna – Captain America.
Brian McBride – Still the best forward we have.
Eddie Pope – Back to being steady Eddie. Experience is worth a lot.
Steve Cherundolo – Might be useful as a tour guide in Hanover.
Gregg Berhalter – The only real organizer the US has in defense.
Eddie Johnson – Goal against Guatemala seems to show no ill effects of injury.
Eddie Lewis – Left back, left mid; Lewis makes it three Eddies in the squad.
Pablo Mastroeni – Leadership and bite in the midfield

Must Fancy Their Chances

Bobby Convey – Doing well for Reading.
Clint Dempsey – In great form, versatile and confident.
Carlos Bocanegra – Might play in central defense or on the left.
Oguchi Onyewu – Only concern is discipline.
Frankie Hejduk – Work rate, versatility and tenacity, not to mention the step-over
Jimmy Conrad – Played himself into contention through friendlies.
Steve Ralston – Lack of better options on the right see Stevie making the team.
Josh Wolff – Speedy and smart if not clinical.
Taylor Twellman – Finally able to break his mental block, but is it a false dawn?
John O’Brien – Slipping down the order due to injuries, but goes if fit.
Marcus Hahneman – Regular playing time puts him in at #2 behind Keller.

Bubbling Under

Cory Gibbs – Injuries see him fall behind Conrad, can he recover in time?
Chris Albright – Either outside back position and size make him a strong contender.
Tim Howard - #3 Keeper unless he gets some more games.
Kerry Zavagnin – Consistent DM, but there are better options if they’re fit.
Ben Olsen – In a war with KZ to see who’s the #1 backup.
Todd Dunivant – Looks a good prospect, not enough experience
Santino Quaranta – Injury bug hit just when he most needed to impress.
Pat Noonan – Showing more skills, but will it be enough to find a role on the team?
Chris Klein – Playing a weak position puts him in contention, but hasn’t impressed enough.
Jonathan Spector – Not enough experience. Yet.
Brian Ching – despite finally scoring hasn’t shown enough in games to merit inclusion.

On the Outside Looking In

Kevin Hartman – Hot MLS GK sits at #4.
Jeff Cunningham – Hasn’t shown at the international level, personality questionable.
Chris Rolfe – Currently the #6 forward out of 4.
Greg Vanney – Too slow, with Arena choosing to deploy Lewis at LB instead.
Ricardo Clark – Injury hit when he needed to be in camp.
Freddy Adu – Not enough maturity shown in brief minutes.
Conor Casey – Injuries again.
Eddie Gaven – Perhaps 2010
Justin Mapp – Injury kept him out of camp, but would only have a chance on the right.
Kyle Martino – Didn’t show enough in his minutes (or practice, evidently)
Heath Pearce – Probably going to be a factor in 2008.

Received a look in 2005, but won’t be going

Brad Davis – Not good enough at Gold Cup.
Tony Sanneh – Past it.
Chad Marshall – Too much quality at CB in front of him.
Brian Mullan – Ahem. No.
Ritchie Kotschau – See above.
Nat Borchers – See Marshall.
Matt Reis – Behind Harman in the pecking order.
Danny Califf – See Borchers
Nate Jacqua – not enough from camp.
Clint Mathis - 'nuf said.
Brad Guzan - No.
Zach Wells - no.