As you know, I was putting the finishing touches on a column tabbing who I think should USMNT boss Bob Bradley should call to the camp preceding July's Gold Cup. Well... thanks to the folks at CONCACAF, we now have an initial 30-man squad list for that gathering (a release that I can only assume will rankle our "mum's the word" coach).
In any event, I must now try to take what I have and morph into a column complaining about who is or isn't there and praising this or that and such. Obviously, this will take me a fair spell. Oh well... here is the roster:
GK: Brad Guzan, Marcus Hahnemann, Troy Perkins, Luis Robles
D: Jonathan Bornstein, Danny Califf, Steve Cherundolo, Jay DeMerit, Clarence Goodson, Eric Lichaj, Chad Marshall, Michael Orozco, Michael Parkhurst, Heath Pearce, Marvell Wynne
M: Freddy Adu, Davy Arnaud, Ricardo Clark, Benny Feilhaber, Eddie Gaven, Stuart Holden, Pablo Mastroeni, Robbie Rogers, John Thorrington, Jose Francisco Torres, Jeremiah White
F: Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Kenny Cooper, Charlie Davies
It has been a mighty battle with the computer demons and I have emerged victorious to live another day...
#1 - I have a sickness: I must link to any Jimmy Conrad interview... especially when he pimps the upcoming Arrested Development movie.
By the way, if they can't get the original actor for some reason, I think Jimmy would make for a fantastic Franklin Delano Bluth. #2 - FC Dallas is offering free tickets to the July 4th clash with New York to armed forces personnel. I love it. Every team should do this (erm... especially ones with so many empty seats at their games). #3 - If you're wondering what the current MLS allocation rank is, Columbus Dispatch all-star Shawn Mitchell has that, plus some news on The Dude and rumour mill talk. #4 - It may be Bouna Time for the Red Bulls, which would be a real thrill for the Senegal keeper. Seems to me Jon Conway is on the way out... #5 - Jason Davis stops by MLS Daily to talk about Toronto FC's wild 6-1 miracle advancement to the CONCACAF Champions League and what it means to MLS. #6 - FIFA honcho Sepp Blatter spouts off about MLS. Sadly, he's not terribly with it, is he? #7 - The Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation is having a 5K/10K run on Sunday, and your $35 registration fee includes a ticket to both a Galaxy match and a Sol match.
#8 - My promised "Who should make up the Gold Cup camp roster?" column is nearly done, but various story hunts kept pulling me off of if today. I will have that posted tomorrow at S365.
Are you enjoying the Cut of the Day? Sound familiar? You long ago heard it here:
Line-ups for what we hope will be a jogo bonito encounter between the USMNT and Brazil should be available around the top of the hour. For those of you getting up before work in the States, this game will be televised on both espn2 and TeleFutura, and you can also follow the action with stats on the U.S. MatchTracker.
We also are waiting to find out the status of nicked captain Carlos Bocanegra, but there was some good news from U.S. camp as Ricardo Clark will only miss today's game on suspension. It turns out several Italy players gave testimony on his behalf, nice gestures that.
For now, I will leave you early risers with a look back at the last meeting between these two teams (which was also the most recent USMNT match I attended)...
--
We have the 4-5-1 line-up card, the 'Nats will again be in white.
Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Miranda, Andre Santos; Felipe Melo, Gilberto Silva, Kaka, Ramires; Robinho, Luis Fabiano
I like the set, but I do not like Bornstein for this match-up at all and I do not like where Kljestan is being positioned. I'll be back near kickoff with my prediction...
--
8.42 AM (all CT) - The more I look at the left side, with small guys Beasley and Bornstein, and with admittedly less-than-superb defensive player Kljestan, the more frightened I become over the prospect of Maicon/Robinho Inc. storming that side. 8.46 AM - Piri piri chicken in the oven (yes, that's Portuguese, but it's close enough for my tastebuds), caeser salad all set for the dressing application, rolls baked up, Pepsi chilled... yup, I'm ready.
8.50 AM- Alright, teams out of the tunnel... I hate to do it... I know we almost always play them tight, but... gotta go with...... Brazil 3-1.
8.56 AM - A quick note: Bornstein is the only U.S. starter carrying a yellow card into the match.
--
FIRST HALF
1'
Plenty of USMNT fans in the stands as this one kicks off. The 'Nats have the first tap...
2'
Brazil CK cleared by Donovan.
5'
Brazil corner soars over everyone and out the other side.
7'
Melo beats Spector at the far post to nod home a Maicon free kick from the flank. 1-0 Brazil.
9'
U.S. actually in more of a "bucketed" 4-4-1-1, it seems. Let's see if they try more angled long balls to Jozy when a Brazil wingback is forward.
12'
Another danger Maicon FK is cleared by Kljestan, then Onyewu stuffs a Luis Fabiano chance near the spot, then a Brazil CK is softly headed by Lucio into Howard's waiting hands.
15'
Another Brazil corner is eventually, though not convincingly, cleared.
20'
The U.S. starting to come into the game a bit now, and they win their first corner kick. Donovan takes... short, and Beasley misses a soft roller, Brazil counter quickly and Robinho has an easy 1-v-the keeper finish at the end. 2-0 Brazil.
See the blog title. Good grief!
21'
A properly taken U.S. corner is nodded shockingly wide by Dempsey from a good position with the keeper out to sea. He should have done much better.
24'
Kaka hits the side netting after a long, unimpeded gallop.
25'
Spector does a good job of staying in front of Robinho the shooter, just after Ramires had squandered a fine pass from the Man City star.
29'
On the good side so far? Gooch has been massive, as you'd expect, while Bornstein is making some plays. On the other hand, Beasley and Donovan have been quite underwhelming on the ball.
31'
This tactical set-up is isolating Jozy from his teammates, yet surrounding him with yellow shirts. Urgh.
33'
Despite a poor Spector cross with space to work, the U.S. have a CK.... it's cleared easily, but the 'Nats persist and a dangerous Bradley cross must be cleared.
34'
Yellow to Onyewu for a foul on Melo. A bit surprisingly, FIFA says we've had 48% of the ball thus far.
37'
Gooch mini-flub allows Luis Fabiano to fire from the right channel, but Howard is more than equal to the unspectacular effort.
40'
Gilberto Silva nods over from a Maicon cross when he should have scored.
43'
A Maicon free kick from near the corner bounces through to where Melo clumsily scoops over from an angle. The U.S. defense is disorganized at the moment and the 2-vs-5 long balls aren't working.
45+1'
Mercifully, only one minute is added.
HALFTIME
--
Time to eat. I'll be back to whine and moan before we start back up.
--
We have one: Casey in for Beasley. 'Nats in their standard 4-4-2 now.
46'
Game on...
49'
Jozy bursts into Brazil's area from a Casey combo, but fires over.
51'
More U.S. attack possession ends with Bradly shooting over from distance.
53'
Howard comfortably handles a curled Robinho try.
55'
Kaka stings Howard's hands from 20. As the play developed, Kljestan caught Ramires with a sloppy late challenge and he is sent off. Zero tolerance, apparently. Both the Dutch announcer and U.S. players are stunned, but it was worse than Clark's foul. Was it enough for straight red? Naaaah, it probably wasn't.
Feilhaber is getting set to come on...
60'
Onyewu makes saving tackle as Kaka enters the area. The Real Madrid catch seems to disagree with the non-call.
Benny on for Jozy, another forced 4-4-1.
62'
An intricate combo from the right ends with Maicon roofing a deflected shot. 3-0 Brazil.
69'
Brazil replace Kaka and Luis Fabiano with Julio Baptista and Nilmar. It won't get any easier.
70'
Long Donovan free kick serve is just too tall for DeMerit and just behind Bradley at the far post.
Luisao is on for Lucio.
80'
Feilhaber blasts over from long range. The U.S. have played much more solidly the last 10 minutes or so.
83'
Expertly worked combo play from Spector and Donovan leads to the former teeing up Feilhaber with a cutback... his screamer from the top of the area cracks the bottom of the bar and bounces away. Harsh.
87'
I gotta say, I like Dunga's jacket.
That is the first time in the history of the world that sentence has ever appeared in print.
88'
A danger Donovan FK from the left flank is nodded off the bar by Casey.
90+2'
After Feilhaber is punished for a silly late slide near the USMNT area, Julio Baptista smacks an awful free kick over everything. It may still be going...
90+3'
One last USMNT free kick from over 35, Dempsey wants it... it lamely glides off target.
FULL TIME
--
Considering we hit the bar twice, I'm going to count my 3-1 prediction as essentially correct. My Player Ratings will go up at S365 in the afternoon, and I'll add a couple of clips here when they surface.
Now, hurry up and get to work!!! You're already late!!
UPDATE: The ESPN highlight package is up:
UPDATE UPDATE: Egypt have beaten Italy 1-0, so believe it or not, the USMNT still have a very slim chance of reaching the semifinals... of course, they will need to beat Egypt by at least a three goals and have Brazil smack the mess out of Italy enough to where the Americans make up a total of no less than seven goals in differential on the Azzurri.
Easy, right? In any event, here are my depressing Player Ratings.
The Brazilians are coming! The Brazilians are coming!
And they may be mad after needing a last gasp penalty kick to beat Egypt. Meanwhile, the USMNT is in need of a result if they want any chance of a third group game that matters.
My elbow is killin' right now, but I'll be back with a few thoughts on tomorrow's clash after I have a nice break. For the time being, kick your feet up in the reading/media room:
Another side note: I was asked by email if Jermaine Jones would be able to train with the USMNT before his switch is approved by FIFA's Player Status Committee. The answer is a definite "no, absolutely not".
Has anyone else seen Eastbound & Down? I've just discovered it and can't wait to see what happens with Kenny Powers in season two. Danny McBride always makes for such an oddly endearing jackass. Oh, it's quite vulgar, but it's also deceptively sweet-natured and wickedly hilarious...
#1 - A funny thing happened, it seems: the U.S. Soccer was apparently told the wrong information on Jermaine Jones' USMNT door-open date. At least, that what the FIFA rep I spoke to today figured. I even had him double check with the legal department over there.
Turns out the rule change does go into effect on August 2nd, and not in October. You can't really fault any other report, though, because they got their word from the USSF.
Strange stuff.
#2 - Meanwhile, in the USMNT of now: Carlos Bocanegra seems set for another late fitness test, but the skipper did train with his teammates on Tuesday.
#3 - I will have my new MLS Club Ladder finished by the time you folks wake tomorrow. U.S. matches don't usually happen on Mondays, so I got a little backed up in my video viewing.
Fortunately, Lars Lifrak fills today's top bill over at S365 with an exclusive Cat Whitehill chat. A classy lady and player, she's always been one of my favorite USWNT'ers.
It's definitely not just because I'd sometimes run into her at Johnny Ray's BBQ when I lived in Birmingham, Alabama... Kenny Powers would love that place.
#4 - Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash is back with another Showdown in Chinatown. I sure hope Adam Spangler makes it out to this one as well.
#5 - The Red Bulls are looking at several familiar names in first team training this week, including erstwhile Colorado keeper Bouna Coundoul.
#9 - We've kinda followed this whole Portland stadium serial, and it's been a while, so let's send it over to Jason Davis in the situation room for a refresher summary.
#10 - Almost forgot: recovering USMNT & Rangers midfielder Mo Edu took some time to answer fan questions on his website this weekend.
Said Landon Donovan: "Anybody watching the game will know it wasn’t a red card. The referee, after the game when he watches it, will know it isn’t a red card. Eleven guys from each team were prepared to play the game, but the guy in the middle wasn’t. That was unfortunate because we wanted to put on a good show."
The line-ups will be up in about 30 minutes, with kickoff between the USMNT and world champs Italy set for 1:30 CT. As with last time, I will time-stamp in CT until kickoff, mainly because no matter how hard I try to use ET, I end up thinking automatically in CT - a glitch for my hometown, if you will.
We are still awaiting word from Carlos Bocanegra's fitness test, but we do have a new four-layer Studio 90 edition.
Back in a bit...
12.19 PM - By the way, you can now follow the latest NSC posts on Facebook. On that note: I don't accept friend adds from people I don't know, but you guys have my email if you need to either holla or holler at me.
12.30 PM - Via the USMNT Twitter (I still won't do it!):
Hmm, I have a few concerns. Back in a moment with Italy's.
Also, in my Top 5 List, I mentioned that Bob Bradley should definitely be sure to dress both left backs, completely forgetting that all 23 dress for this tourney. Dur.
12.46 PM - I've just received an email chuckle over my prediction. Face it, man, I'm on a roll!
1.23 PM - The teams are out of the tunnel, kickoff after the anthems...
1.26 PM - Donovan has either fallen asleep standing up or he's really intently focused.
1.27 PM - Unsurprisingly, the Dutch broadcast has laid the USMNT selection graphic out in a 4-3-3. And also Italy. Neither is in one, of course. You know how it goes.
--
1'
Italy kick off, game on...
1'
The Dutch announcer suspects Gooch is headed to Fulham. More interestingly, he is lined up on the left central spot.
2'
Zambrotta with room to cross, but it's poor and Gooch stoops to clear.
4'
Jozy splits two to come out of the corner, but then has his pocket picked from behind.
5'
The U.S. are fouling early and often.
7'
DeMerit wins a hearty challenge, and a foul, from Camoranesi in midfield. He looks into this one.
8'
Another U.S. free kick, closer in and on the left. Donovan serves... short for Dempsey, whose long shot is awry. Urgh. Put it in the box!
10'
Donovan slow to get up after sparking a rush that falls apart near the box.
11'
LaGrottaglie was booked a moment earlier for the kick on Donovan, by the way.
11'
A bad angle Camoranesi shot is way off. Then, Bornstein gets forward for a deep cross, but it's over everyone.
13'
A very speculative long, low drive from Gilardino is handled easily by Timmy.
14'
Grosso slips past Spector, who eventually recovers after help arrives. The U.S. spacing in the back half has been good so far.
15'
Jozy takes a Gooch long lob nicely, but he's offside.
16'
Onyewu nods away a dangerous Camoranesi cross for Gilardino.
19'
The defensive players on each end are having their way right now.
20'
Bornstein booked for tugging on Camoranesi when he absolutely didn't have to. The resulting long Pirlo serve from the flank is nodded well wide by Legrottaglie from a great position. Oof! Spector last track of him and he was wide open.
23'
Legrottaglie dumps Dempsey late. He'll probably be on high alert for a red before long.
24'
Bradley steals, outlets to Donovan, then takes a return slip pass in the area, but his lefty shot is weak and easily dealt with by Buffon. He'll want that one back.
28'
Italy corner, Iaquinta nods softly to Howard from about 15, falling away from goal.
30'
Donovan with another probing entry pass, this time Jozy totally flubs his shot - from the same location as Bradley. It literally squibbed sideways. That should have looked much different.
31'
Gilardino is prowling the U.S. area, but Onyewu recovers to pick his pocket on the chalk.
32'
Long Pirlo free kick knocked away by Howard. Then, an Italy corner is cut short by a Gattuso foul.
33'
Clark gets an unbelievable red card for catching Gattuso's knee. Dude cannot be serious.
35'
Donovan elbowed in the mouth by Grosso chasing a long ball. Only yellow. Erm...
The resulting free kick is from about 26 out, slightly right... he fires it over.
37'
Bornstein loses track of Zambrotta, but his cross is once again poor, and once again Gooch escorts it away.
38'
By the way, the USMNT are now in a flat 4-4-1
39'
Bornstein appears to commit an own goal, carving a long pass for Camoranesi past the mobile Howard, but the flag is correctly up.
40'
On the loose again, Altidore held by Chiellini and a soft PK is given. Donovan does his routine and... wrong-ways Buffon! 1-0 USA!
41'
Onyewu clears a Grosso cross. On the next cross, Iaquinta is called for an awry bicycle attempt high boot.
42'
Bradley stings the hands of Buffon from distance, but he is able to grab it on the bounce.
44'
Zambrotta fires well over from long range off of a constructed free kick that starts on the flank.
45'
Two minutes added time begins.
45+2'
Italy corner kick knocked away by Gooch, and Zambrotta fires the clearance waaaay over on the volley.
HALFTIME
Well, we've kinda seen this movie before, (super gravitas movie trailer guy voice) except this time... it's different. Watch for Lagrottaglie to get sent off in the second half, I wish I could bet on it. As for the U.S., Onyewu, Bradley and Donovan have been the top performers. I'm thinking we may see Torres come on for Benny at some point and I'd bet Davies will be a later sub.
--
46'
Game on...
The Dutch announcer feels both the red card and the PK decision were excessive. I agree.
48'
Italy come up empty on successive corners.
49'
DeMerit strips Iaquinta as he tries to break in alone.
52'
Dempsey works out of a tangle near the Italy area, but they cut off his return slip pass from Benny.
53'
Zambrotta throws Jozy to the ground over his back. Free kick on the left, Donovan to serve... it's cleared to Spector, who has his long try blocked away at the source.
56'
Another Italy corner, Iaquinta nods it well wide.
Camoranesi leaves for the lively Montolivo, while Gattuso departs for Giuseppe Rossi. The Azzurri are now in an atypical 4-3-3.
59'
An ill-advised pass through traffic from Dempsey sees Benny lose the ball - and a few seconds later, Rossi buries a stunning equalizer from nearly 30. Italy are even,1-1.
62'
The seventh Italy corner kick is cleared by Dempsey.
63'
Is it just me or did Rossi look just a little too happy in celebration?
66'
Donovan does well on the ball to relieve some pressure.
Davies is on for the clearly knackered Altidore.
68'
Iaquinta narrowly misses with a stab shot, then Howard has to block away a long Pirlo blast. The pitch is fully tilted now.
69'
Toni replaces Gilardino. Lippi wants this game.
A long Pirlo free kick serve is blocked by the wall.
71'
DMB set to come on...
72'
Just after DeMerit handles Toni on a Montolivo cross, De Rossi fires a long screen shot bouncer last Howard and inside the far post. 2-1 Italy. The keeper couldn't see it until it was in on him and he was late over.
Beasley on for Feilhaber.
74'
Italy corner kick eventually cleared by the combo of Bornstein and Bease.
79'
Howards calmly handles a Montolivo drive from distance.
80'
Long Dempsey shot give Buffon more trouble than you'd have thought, but he smothers it on the bounce.
81'
Bradley diagonal ball unleashes Davies on the right. Dempsey passes up a shot (when he shouldn't have) to give back to Davies, who crosses far post. Legrottaglie completely bowls over Donovan, and no call. That was a more convincing (and stupid) foul than Chiellini's.
84'
The 4,317th Italy corner kick is nodded well over by Chiellini.
85'
Kljestan is set to enter...
86'
... for Bornstein.
88'
Toni heads directly at Howard.
With the U.S. pushing forward well, Kljestan send a screaming dipper just over the bar from over 25.
90'
Beasley wins the first USMNT corner by running the flank. Donovan's serve finds Davies in prime position, but he nods well over.
90+1'
Four minutes added time starts with Howard stuffing a Rossi try up close.
90+2'
Long Gooch throw bounces through, with no one able to get on it.
On the counter, Toni is stopped by a big, onrushing Howard wall.
90+3'
Pirlo makes a sick spin to beat DeMerit on the flank line, works to the endline and lobs in a left cross for Rossi to run onto - 3-1 Italy.
FULLTIME
Gee... I really would have liked to have seen the game we were meant to see. The ref mangled it. All the assorted videos up later and my Player Ratings will be up over at S365 by the time you fine folks wake up tomorrow. Thanks for hanging out today, NSC will be back with another LIVE for the Brazil match.
UPDATE: With another angle at my disposal, the Chiellini call wasn't quite as soft as I originally thought.
As promised, here is a Confederations Cup kickoff T5L to get you all set for tomorrow. I will be doing a detailed LIVE so all you 9-to-5'ers won't miss a single shot, save or smarmy wisecrack.
This time around, I'm basically tabbing the most important positional showdowns that await for Monday's World Cup 2006 rematch with Italy.
Some of my book for these choices can be read from that meeting, but considering that contest turned into an oddball near halftime, the trend sheet is shortened.
Being that Italy face the U.S. first and Brazil last in group play, I am assuming that Marcelo Lippi will send out his top available line-up in the opener. The manager has asserted his desire to win this trophy on several occasions and having Egypt as the middle game allows him to freshen star legs.
I've made my picks based on my stab at both formations and line-ups. I was so close to the U.S. starters last time that I'm feeling good about what I've guessed the teams will do.
Of course, I say all this and now how he'll throw us out there in a "3-4-3 Rhombus" and make obsolete 80% my list...
#5 - Clint Dempsey v. Fabio Grosso
At World Cup 2006, MC Deuce did a fine job occupying Gianluca Zambrotta for about an hour until leaving in a tactical switch that gave the Azzurri ace a fast track down the wing for the remainder. The next match saw Zambrotta switched to the right side, and Grosso went on to be a key player as Italy won the title.
The Lyon star likes to raid the opposite end even more freely than Zambrotta, so Dempsey should find a little room to run on the counter - but he will also need to be more vigilant in denying Grosso's outlet lanes when Italy is on the ball. Expect Jonathan Spector to provide some help.
Grosso can blow you apart or be taken out of the game and everything in between... not unlike his opposite here.
#4 - Jozy Altidore v Gianluigi Buffon
It may not happen often, but chances are Altidore will get a good look at goal at some point in the match. With the Italy fullbacks eager to push forward, there should be an opportunity to get off some crosses.
Thanks to terrific body control in the air, the teen phenom has already shown USMNT fans that he can direct a header firmly and shrewdly. He will need both to beat Gianluigi Buffon with a nod.
Of course, Jozy also can slip away from his man on the dribble and provide a dangerous long ball target. If he does have the occasion to break in on Buffon, timing is nearly everything. The long-armed Italy keeper closes down the shooter quickly, so both decision and release must be prompt.
#3 - Landon Donovan and whoever starts at left back v Gianluca Zambrotta
Some might consider this a cheat, but I disagree. Donovan will need to run his tail off, providing more defensive work and close cooperation in moving the ball forward with Bornstein, Pearce, Beasley, Regis, O'Brien, Mayor McCheese, the guy with the glasses in the Verizon ads, Heckle, Jeckle or whomever the coach stations out in left field.
All things being equal, I'd select Heath Pearce for this assignment. Of course, his lack of recent games kinda tilts the needle towards Jonathan Bornstein. It would be difficult to fault coach Bradley either way, but either way, I'd highly suggest dressing the back-up. This is not the match-up for improvisation if a replacement is required.
#2 - Carlos Bocanegra v. Alberto Gilardino
Most U.S. fans may focus on the possibility of Oguchi Onyewu and Luca Toni clashing as they did three years ago on top of a mountain in Kaiserslautern. Naturally such a battle would be key, but Gooch matches up well with the Bayern striker. However, the quicker, snakier Gilardino will present the U.S. skipper with a very tricky assignment.
Footwork and anticipation will be key for Bocanegra, because every lost step is a problem against the Fiorentina forward - and he surely doesn't need all the room in the world to begin with, as acrobatic a finisher as he is.
It's also wise to stay fully alert, because if there is a guy in Italy's strike pool that can disappear for 87 minutes and then destroy you, it's Gilardino. Being that 'Los is in doubt, this might shoot up to a co-#1 if Jay DeMerit gets the call.
#1 - Michael Bradley v. Daniele De Rossi
We can go on and on about tactics and wingbacks and run of play offense 'til Tuesday, but the fact remains that the game emanates from central station. The result could hinge on which of these two-way tooth-and-nail battlers can get behind the other with the ball more often.
Bradley will need to choose his steps wisely and make his decisions quickly, perhaps in addition to evading the seemingly inevitable chippy play by De Rossi.
And not only will he be without the lightning quick cover of Mo Edu, but Bradley could well be charged with dispensing his outlet passes from inside a collapsing triangle composed of DDR, Pirlo and Genarro Gattuso. May the sling of your arrows be true, Mikey, because you are the pressure valve on Monday.
And just to get you fired up for "the return leg"...
NSC is run by "handsome American" Greg Seltzer (MLSsoccer.com/ Soccer365), "continental Englishman/unofficial yank" Sean O'Conor (Soccerphile) and Texan ('nuff said) Will Parchman. Combined, the three have reported on soccer across the globe for well over two decades, covering MLS, U.S. Men, Women & Youth National Teams, the FIFA World Cup, Gold Cup, Confederations Cup & U20 World Cup, the UEFA European Championship & U21 Championship, UEFA Champions League and Europa League, UEFA Cup, CONCACAF and UEFA qualifiers, Premiership, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, various second-tier leagues, domestic cups and international friendlies, NCAA and high school soccer.
As you know, I was putting the finishing touches on a column tabbing who I think should USMNT boss Bob Bradley should call to the camp preceding July's Gold Cup. Well... thanks to the folks at CONCACAF, we now have an initial 30-man squad list for that gathering (a release that I can only assume will rankle our "mum's the word" coach).
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