a mainstay of the team four years ago, completing an unlikely comeback having looked out of the picture a year ago.

Up front, Bradley surprisingly dropped Hawaiian-born target-man Brian Ching, whom Landon Donovan has said is his play bazaar preferred partner up front, in favour of Real Salt Lake speedster Robbie Findley. Fulham’s Eddie Johnson, who at one point seemed the future of US forwards, also misses out. With Charlie Davies injured, American striking options look thin, with a reliance on support from the attacking midfield talents of Clint Dempsey, Donovan and Bolton’s Stuart Holden, the one intriguing face to emerge in US ranks in the last year.

Only four of the 23 play in the US’ domestic league, MLS.

A first choice US eleven to play England on the 12th of June could look like this:

Howard, Spector, Bocanegra, DeMerit, Onyewu, Holden, Feilhaber, Bradley, Dempsey, Altidore, Donovan.

The US face England, Algeria and Slovenia in Group C.