The Roster

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Tim Howard (Everton)

DEFENDERS: Ventura Alvarado (Club America), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Matt Miazga (New York Red Bulls), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), Tim Ream (Fulham FC), Brek Shea (Orlando City SC)

MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Mix Diskerud (New York City FC), Miguel Ibarra (Club Leon), Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Darlington Nagbe (Portland Timbers), DeAndre Yedlin (Sunderland)

FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC), Alan Gordon (LA Galaxy), Jordan Morris (Stanford), Bobby Wood (Union Berlin), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy).

As with most U.S. national team rosters, there were interesting tidbits to dissect. Ventura Alvarado is no longer seeing the field for Club America but he continues to get calls. John Brooks is not on the roster despite starting for Hertha Berlin on Friday (although it would be understandable for Klinsmann to conclude that Brooks needs to cement his starting spot by remaining with his club).

Danny Williams is a regular starter for Reading FC, but he did not get a call after his poor performance against Costa Rica last month. Timothy Chandler is no longer starting for Eintracht Frankfurt and his Gold Cup performance did not help his cause. It's no shock he is not on the national team this time around.

Dempsey omission the biggest surprise

The U.S. underperformed at the Gold Cup, but Clint Dempsey did not. At the CONCACAF Cup against Mexico, however, the Texan had a very poor night and was completely invisible. After nearly a decade of being an important part of the team is Dempsey’s status fading? 

Klinsmann tried to downplay the issue when announcing the roster. "At this point in time, I want to give the younger strikers a chance to prove themselves and this is a good stage to do it,” he said. “I communicated with Clint about it and it’s all fine.”

While there comes a time to phase out every player, this is World Cup qualifying. Just last month Klinsmann said that the priority is to get the results first followed by working in younger players.

"There might be moments where you can give a young player an opportunity, an opportunity to grow and then there are moments when you have to get the job done,” Klinsmann said before October’s Costa Rica friendly in New Jersey. “The most important part certainly is that you've gotta get the points. The second part is, 'OK, how do we put the puzzle together?' Is there an opportunity then, as a third point, to give some time to younger players to grow into this whole environment? But World Cup qualifying is all about getting the job done."

Leaving Dempsey off the roster doesn’t really line up with his statement last month. If World Cup qualifying is “all about getting the job done” as he put it, then why give younger players a shot now? Perhaps this is designed to be a wake-up call for Dempsey. He has been through a long season and is now in the playoffs. Maybe it's the right time to both give him a break and send a message.

Miazga and Nagbe earn first calls

Klinsmann has been the head coach of the national team for over four years and during that time just one MLS player has made his national team debut in a game outside of January camp (Alan Gordon in a World Cup qualifier against Antigua & Barbuda in 2013). In these two upcoming World Cup qualifiers, there is an opportunity to double that number as Matt Miazga and Darlington Nagbe have been called up for the first time.

It shouldn’t come as surprise that both players are dual nationals with interesting backgrounds. Matt Miazga has been part of U.S. youth national teams and was one of the best defenders at the recent 2015 U-20 World Cup. The Clifton, NJ native has parents from Poland, and the Polish federation has been after him for a long time. Playing in these games would eliminate that possibility. Darlington Nagbe only recently acquired his American citizenship despite having lived in the United States for many years. His father was the former captain of Liberia’s national team.

Both players, however, give some much needed new blood into the team. Matt Miazga is still young. but he is a very emotional and passionate player. With so much turnover in the backline, perhaps Miazga can give the team some consistency in the back.

Nagbe, 25, gives the team speed and technical ability in the midfield. He drifts in and now of games too frequently, but when he is on his game, he is explosive. 

Johnson makes quick return to team

Johnson is back after being dismissed from the previous camp following the CONCACAF Cup. Since that time, Johnson has played terrific soccer for Borussia Monchengladbach, which has been on a role in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League. Johnson, 27, is the only American player in the group stages of the Champions League and his versatility gives Klinsmann options.

Klinsmann wanted Johnson to “rethink his approach to the team” as he put it after his dismissal in October. Is it now water under the bridge, or will this linger? From the team’s perspective, will Johnson continue to play at fullback or will he move up to the midfield where he has had so much success playing the game at the highest level?

Miguel Ibarra Resurfaces

Last year, Klinsmann shocked many fans when he called up Miguel Ibarra who was then on Minnesota United of the second tier NASL. The experiment seemed to go nowhere, however, as Ibarra continued to get call-ups but rarely saw the field. By the summer, he was not in the picture.

Ibarra, 25, has since transferred to Club Leon in Liga MX but has only played 125 league minutes all season. That being said, 78 of those minutes came last weekend and Ibarra played well as he started and scored a goal in a 2-1 win over Atlas.

Klinsmann clearly rates Ibarra, and believes he can help the team. It’s an ongoing experiment and there are other American players who are playing more and who can bring many of the same strengths Ibarra brings.

Klinsmann makes call-ups that don’t always make sense to many: Julian Green, Ventura Alvarado, Jordan Morris. Sometimes they work out and sometimes they don’t. Ibarra is one where we just don’t know yet.