Quick reaction: U.S. World Cup team preliminary roster

We still don’t have a complete picture of who will be on the final 23-man roster for South Africa. But we know a whole lot more about who won't be.

Start with Charlie Davies, who was always facing tremendously long odds in his recovery bid. I wrote long ago that Davies was simply asking too much of his body. It's one thing to recover from the automobile accident related injuries to a place where he could perform daily, mundane human chores.  But getting to a place where he was fit enough and strong enough to play soccer at the highest level, in such a demanding tournament, was simply never going to happen.

So, Bradley made it official on Tuesday when he announced the preliminary list of 30 -- no Davies.

(Remember, the 23-man roster must come from this list; the final selections are due into FIFA on June 1.)

Credit Davies for fighting back to a point where Bradley, apparently, needed to make an 11th hour choice.

Said Bradley of the Davies situation: "That’s been incredibly difficult. Charlie has shown so much heart in this, in his work to get back from his injuries. We've monitored his workouts, we have had people there (at Sochaux in France), we have observed him and he remained part of the consideration right up 'til yesterday. … It’s in his best interest to continue his rehab so he can get back to the level he was playing at before."

Also significant Tuesday: no Freddy Adu. It's no big surprise to everyone following the program over the last couple of years. (Although late rumors surfaced that Adu would be in the camp. Well, rumor-schumor.)  It will be a head-scratcher for two sets: the "casual sports fan" who will ask their soccer friends, "Hey, I thought Freddy Adu was, like, the next Pele or whatever?"  And it will rile the risk-takers among U.S. Soccer supporters. You know the kind. They like to say things like, "Why doesn't he try this?" or "Well, he should give so-and-so a try." 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It's easy for fans to throw that crap out there because they don't have to answer to anyone (including those guys inside the locker room) when things go sideways. One coach after another has struggled to manage Freddy Adu. Bradley didn't want to be next on the list, especially when Adu has failed to clearly demonstrate that he can make a difference at this level.

Meanwhile, Alejandro Bedoya, a Miami native playing in Sweden that 99.8 percent of all U.S. Soccer fans had never heard of before he popped up in January's national team camp in California, has a place. Freddy … geez, man … if this isn’t the wake up call you so desperately need, then what will be?

All 30 players are not necessarily reporting to the training camp next week in Princeton, although it's possible that they will.  Late last week, U.S. Soccer officials said 26-28 would report. So, there still could be some winnowing of the true list of candidates. The 3-4 players named Tuesday who do not report remain important; should anyone in camp be injured or deemed unfit enough to continue (several are dealing with injuries, after all), then a replacement would come from the list of "alternates."

Finally, the question that just won’t go away is really no closer to, well, going away: who will play forward on this team. Bradley essentially eliminated Conor Casey and Jeff Cunningham, which should come as no surprise considering their flagging from in MLS of late. Still, look for at least two of the six named on Tuesday to fall off the list, and possible even three.

GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton)

DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

MIDFIELDERS (12): DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), José Torres (Pachuca)

FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki)