U.S. player pool looking much deeper 
"The players are still the same."
You heard variations of that theme constantly when Jurgen Klinsmann took over as U.S. coach last month. A coach is only as good as his players, and with the inevitable injuries and slumps that the game brings, an elite team needs far more than just a good starting 11.
It's a painful truth that depth has always been an issue for the national team, and the injuries to Charlie Davies and Oguchi Onyewu on consecutive days in October of 2009 created the biggest "what if?" of the Bob Bradley era, followed closely by Stuart Holden's knee surgery last March. And with stalwarts Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard having begun what could be their final World Cup cycle, many fans have been lamenting the apparent dearth of new blood flowing into the senior squad.
But all of a sudden, the U.S. player pool looks deeper -- a lot deeper -- than it did just a month ago.
To read more about the expanding pool of U.S. players, become an ESPN Insider.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
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U.S. National Soccer Team Blog
We're your regular source for all the inside info on the U.S. national team. Whether it's breakdowns of player pool developments, news and notes from the club soccer world and its impact on the American side, or game coverage, we'll bring you consistent, exclusive access and insight. Contact us with comments and tips at ESPNUSSoccerblog@gmail.com.
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Doug McIntyre
Doug McIntyre has watched or attended almost every U.S. national team game since Paul Caligiuri's "shot heard 'round the world" in 1989. He is a staff writer for ESPN The Magazine and has covered American and international soccer since 2002.
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