Jermaine Jones declined an invitation to play for the US national squad citing his Bundesliga priorities after a protracted injury lay off.
Jones had this to say to those looking forward to his debut:
“I would like to thank Bob Bradley and the U.S. federation greatly for my first official invitation,” Jones said in a prepared statement. “It is an honor that I have been working towards for over a year, and while I initially felt like I was ready to make my first appearance, it is also extremely important to me that I am 100 percent fit for my first national team game and that I make a good impression on the manager and my teammates. I hope to receive another invitation and finally fulfill my goal of playing with the U.S. national team in the very near future.”
Chad Marshall will also not suit up as the Columbus Crew central defender has a sore knee which he intends to rest after the club heads into a nine day break after today’s Philadelphia Union match. 
In his place, Omar Gonzalez gets a call up and in a surprise, Jozy Altidore was also included – a striker for a holding midfielder is a bit strange. Plus with Altidore’s future unsettled at Villareal, his priority would be to find out the whereabouts of his next destination, rumoured to be the Turkish Super Lig.
One comment on “Altidore and Omar Gonzalez in US squad”
I’m a little disappointed with the squad. On paper it’s a pretty good one for giving us at least a shot at a win or draw, but from a development standpoint for kicking off the 2014 cycle I’m not very thrilled. I would’ve liked to see a lot more experimentation on the back line. And you’re right about Torres. Our midfield is our most talented pool of players but we still have trouble setting the pace of matches, so it would be nice to see someone like him get a central role.