Copa America US at Argentina

[NajdorfDefense]

USA is not taking most of their best players to Argentina, no Donovan, no Beasley, not Dempsey, etc, only EIGHT Gold Cup players on the roster.
They start off at Argentina, who is the favorite, Argy is -230 to win at Bodog. I think this is value up to -300, even at 3-way odds.

' AP National Writer

CHICAGO -- DaMarcus Beasley remembers fans tossing a chicken head at him as he readied to take a corner kick. Carlos Bocanegra was unnerved when he climbed on the bus and saw armed guards.

Away games can be a nerve-racking adventure for the U.S. soccer team, and there's no way to prepare besides playing them. What better place than Copa America, the South American championship?

Coach Bob Bradley went heavy on youth in his 22-man roster released Friday. There's no Beasley, Bocanegra, Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey. In their place are 16 players with 10 or fewer appearances for the national team, including three who've never played a game. Fourteen players are under 25, the youngest being 20-year-old midfielder Eddie Gaven.

"It'll definitely be a good learning experience for players who haven't been in that situation," said goalkeeper Kasey Keller, by far the veteran of the Copa America squad.

"You have to start somewhere," Keller said. "Much better than in the first stage of (World Cup) qualifying."

The Americans begin play Thursday in Venezuela against Argentina, which is ranked fifth in the world and is bringing its best players. The United States plays Paraguay on July 2, followed by Colombia three days later.

"Copa America is going to be a great opportunity for our younger players to gain invaluable experience at the highest international level," Bradley said. "This group has many of the faces that could play a role in 2008 and 2009 when our focus turns to our ultimate goal of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa."

This is a time of transition for the U.S. team. Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride, Eddie Pope, guys who were seemingly around forever, are gone. The 37-year-old Keller has dropped behind Tim Howard, and Donovan and Beasley qualify as the "old men" of the team.
...
The United States brought its best players to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, where the Americans will play rival Mexico on Sunday for the title. But with the U.S. team going straight from Chicago to Venezuela and European-based players having only a few more weeks before their training camps start, Bradley opted for youth in South America.

Only eight players from the Gold Cup are on the Copa America roster, Keller being the most recognizable name. Keller, who played his 100th game for the United States on Thursday night, also is one of only four players on the roster who was at last summer's World Cup. Defender Jimmy Conrad, midfielder Ben Olsen and forward Eddie Johnson also played in Germany, with Keller and Conrad the only two to start....
But there's a big difference between playing a bunch of teenagers and a squad that has Lionel Messi, Juan Roman Riquelme and Carlos Tevez.

"It's good," Beasley said. "For one, you're playing against some of the best teams in the world. Second, you get experience playing away from home when people are not with you.

"They've done it at the youth level, but it's not in front of 60,000 fans," he said. "That'll only help in (World Cup) qualifying."

The roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany)

Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Bobby Boswell (D.C.), Dan Califf (Aalborg BK, Denmark), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Drew Moor (Dallas), Heath Pearce (Nordsjaelland, Denmark), Marvell Wynne (Toronto)

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Colorado), Ricardo Clark (Houston), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburg SV, Germany), Eddie Gaven (Columbus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (Chicago), Lee Nguyen (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Ben Olsen (D.C.)

Forwards: Charlie Davies (Hammarby, Sweden), Herculez Gomez (Colorado), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City), Taylor Twellman (New England)'

I 'cap this at 2-0 Argy or even worse for the US. I bet you've never heard of the new guys even if you follow soccer. The new coach is [perhaps wisely] not caring about winning in Venezeula and just going to see who can play at the highest level. I doubt the US backups can keep it close versus perhaps the best team in the world right now.