JURGEN KLINSMANN TODAY announced his U.S. national team roster for the upcoming friendlies against Colombia and Ireland and it consisted of both surprises and familiar faces.

While Klinsmann again will not have his best team, he took advantage of an opportunity by giving a look to some key young players. Yes, he could have done better in that department but there are enough call-ups that can offer something different and perhaps address some key weaknesses that have been apparent in the past three friendlies. Here is my take on the roster.

1. Bobby Wood is the mystery call-up

Miguel Ibarra plays in NASL and Jordan Morris is in college and yet neither of these two are the biggest surprise on the roster. That distinction belongs to Bobby Wood. Wood, 21, is having a terrible start to the season for an 1860 Munich team that is in a relegation battle in the 2.Bundesliga. He is benched at 1860 Munich and he hasn’t made the matchday roster the past three games. Not only has he not scored a goal this season, he hasn’t scored a goal since May 13, 2013.

Are there alternatives? Yes. And you don’t even have to look far. Even granting that Aron Johannsson and Terrence Boyd are only now just returning from long injuries, there are much better options.

Take Andrew Wooten. Like Wood, Wooten plays in the 2.Bundesliga...but the 25-year-old has five goals this season playing both as a winger and a central forward. On Friday, Wooten registered a goal and an assist for Sandhausen in a 2-1 win. When I last spoke with Wooten in October, he told me he had yet to even hear from U.S. Soccer.

Ibarra and Morris are at lower levels right now but they are at least playing well for their teams. There are also other MLS strikers on teams that failed to make the playoffs who are producing. Wood’s call-up is beyond a mystery.

2. Jermaine Jones, Central Defender

Last month, Jermaine Jones got the run out in central defense against Honduras in a 1-1 draw and the results were mixed. He looked solid at times with distribution but he was exposed on a set piece that led to Honduras’ equalizer, and he was also caught up field a few times.

I am skeptical this experiment is going to be successful and it comes at a time when there are good, young MLS defenders who warrant national team consideration. Central defense is a position that needs a lot of repetition and Jones is unlikely to get it at New England where Jay Heaps has very little incentive to play him there. Jones is dominating the league in the midfield. Why move him?

Also, Jones is a player who likes to move into the attack. He can’t do that playing central defense. He also likes to make sometimes rash tackles and isn’t afraid to pick up a card here and there. That kind of approach only creates an added risk of penalities. Finally, there is little evidence that Jones can dominate an aerial game the way a solid central defender should.

Playing against Honduras was one thing. Colombia will be another test entirely.

3. Too soon for Johannsson, Williams, Boyd

Aron Johannsson, Danny Williams, and Terrence Boyd were all left off the roster, and that's OK. All three have only returned to first-team soccer within the past two weeks after long-term injuries. All three are surely on the radar but all are best served remaining with their respective clubs.

4. The Snubs

Aside from Andrew Wooten’s puzzling omission, there are a number of players who qualify as official snubs.

Luis Gil and Wil Trapp are two players who could certainly use the experience. Like Jordan Morris, both Gil and Trapp are going to be integral parts of the 2016 Olympic team. Both would make the roster younger and add skillsets that have been missing from the team.

Perry Kitchen is a solid defensive midfielder for D.C. United and he was crucial to the team’s worst-to-first turnaround in the Eastern Conference. If Jones is going to be playing central defense and Williams is still recovering, Kitchen would have been a smart replacement.

Tim Ream is also particularly odd given that he continues to be an important player for Bolton and he plays with a smooth-passing style that Klinsmann wants from his defenders. With two of the central defenders in Cameron and Jones not even being set in those positions for their respective clubs, another pure central defender might have helped.

5. Lee Nguyen could pay huge dividends

Lee Nguyen is a testament that players can emerge later in their careers. Nguyen struggled in Europe and in MLS throughout his career. Yes, he had some hype when Bob Bradley called him up in 2007 but he had been mostly forgotten about.

He has worked hard for this call-up and it is great to see him get the nod. He plays with an aggressive and attacking mindset that has been missing from the U.S. national team for quite some time.

His play against the Columbus Crew in the playoffs was a sight to behold. He’s a worthy MVP candidate and if he can translate that over to the U.S., it could be huge benefit.

Michael Bradley, who should play further back, struggled in that attacking midfield role at the World Cup and Joe Corona did not look like the right player for the part in the recent friendlies. Nguyen looks like one for that role.

6. Where will Geoff Cameron play?

Geoff Cameron is a good player but his versatility has been almost as much of a liability as an asset. He has always managed to find minutes but he has never been able to settle into a role where he can grow as a player. He is listed as a defender on the roster but it would not be surprising to see him shift up to central midfield, where he has done well recently for Stoke City.

7. First cap awaits Rubin

Rubio Rubin’s call-up is justified after his very strong start to the season with Utrecht. He has shown the ability to help not just as a forward, but also as either a winger or a central attacking midfielder. His vision is sound. While it is his second call-up, his first cap should likely come in one of these two games, and U.S. fans will be given a look at a player who has a long and very bright future ahead of him.

8. Graham Zusi needs rest

Graham Zusi was left off the roster and it was a surprise given that he was part of the World Cup, and the most recent friendlies. It hasn’t been made public if Zusi is carrying any injuries but his performances of late were definitely subpar.

He appeared to be exhausted after really only having about two or three weeks off since the start of the 2013 January camp. Since that time, he has played in two grueling January camps, won 2013 MLS Cup, had little offseason, played in the World Cup, until finally seeing Kansas City bounced from the playoffs. He looks like a player who could use two months off.

9. End of the road for some?

There were a few omissions on the roster that could perhaps signal the end of the line for some U.S. national team veterans. Brad Davis saw minutes in the 2014 World Cup but is now 33 years old. Eddie Johnson was a surprise when he was left off the preliminary World Cup roster in May and Sacha Kljestan has never quite fit into Klinsmann’s system despite playing Champions League soccer—most recently in a 3-3 draw against Arsenal last week in London.

The door is never fully closed but it is safe to say that it would take a surprising turn of events for either of these three to get back into the picture.

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Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.