Jurgen Klinsmann has made it clear he plans to invite all 30 players who are named to the preliminary United States’ World Cup roster to the start of next week’s training camp.
The U.S. head coach might have to wait a few extra days for a few of the World Cup hopefuls to arrive, including forward Aron Johannsson.
While the club season ends this weekend for many of the Americans playing abroad, several players have club commitments extending beyond the opening of camp next Wednesday.
“It has priority that they get the job done with their club teams before they come into camp,” Klinsmann said in a recent interview with the U.S. Soccer Federation website. “So, we might have a few guys coming in a couple of days later than we expected them, but that’s all right.”
Johannsson, who has 26 goals across all competitions this season for AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league, has battled an ankle injury lately and missed the first leg of a semifinal playoff game at home against Heerenveen on Wednesday, with the return match scheduled Saturday.
If Alkmaar advances to the finals, which determine placement in European competition next season, he likely would miss the opening of training camp at Stanford University.
Another American hopeful who could be delayed by his club’s season is Timmy Chandler.
The Nuremberg right back returned to action April 26 after knee surgery in February, and he played the entirety of a 2-0 loss to Hannover last weekend. However, with one German Bundesliga game remaining, Chandler’s club is in danger of relegation.
Nuremberg, which will close its league season against Schalke on Saturday, currently is 17th out of 18 Bundesliga teams – one point ahead of last-place Eintracht Braunschweig and one point behind Hamburg.
The bottom two Bundesliga teams are relegated to the second division, while the 16th-place team will face a home-and-home playoff against the third-place team from the second division for a Bundesliga spot next season.
Other potential players in the U.S. pool have final league games that overlap training camp. Seasons will end May 17 for Alejandro Bedoya and Nantes, and Jermaine Jones and Besiktas. Sacha Kljestan and Anderlecht will finish the next day, and Mix Diskerud and Rosenborg will end May 24. If picked, Diskerud would be allowed to report for the start of U.S. camp.
Preliminary 30-man World Cup rosters are due to FIFA by May 13, while the final 23-man roster must be submitted by June 2.
The host country, Brazil, announced its 23-man roster Wednesday, but Klinsmann has said he prefers the competition and depth the extra players will provide during camp.
“It makes it a little bit more tricky with the training sessions, but we prepared them already so we have good quality work there prepared for them,” Klinsmann said. “But definitely we’ll take advantage of all 30 players.”
How healthy are Chandler and Green?
Klinsmann recently sent national team fitness coach Masa Sakihana to Germany to check on the health of Chandler and Julian Green. Klinsmann said he was pleased with the reported progress of Chandler after knee surgery, as well as with Green, who has been out of action for Bayern Munich’s second team since dislocating a shoulder during his debut for the U.S. against Mexico on April 3. The 18-year-old forward has returned to limited training and is expected to be ready for the U.S. training camp.
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Forward Terrence Boyd continued to take steps toward a spot with the U.S. next month. The 23-year-old forward scored for the fifth time in three games for Rapid Vienna on Sunday, giving him a career-high 19 goals across all competitions this season. Boyd is scoreless in 12 national team appearances for the U.S., but he’s earned praise of late from Klinsmann for his recent form.
