Scott Olmos-USA Today Sports
The US Men’s National Team has had a busy eight days. From a Friday friendly against Guatemala to a 4-1 victory against Cuba, USMNT has played three games in eight days. Through the busy week, one player has stood out – San Jose Earthquakes and USMNT striker Chris Wondolowski, not Wondowlowski, as his jersey said during their game against Belize.
While the United States’ play has been somewhat unimpressive especially against Cuba, Wondolowski has been a spark as both a starter and a sub. Jurgen Klinsmann placed him in the Starting XI against Belize before subbing him in against Cuba.
Wondolowski’s hat-trick against Belize helped the United States cruise by Belize, and added two goals against Cuba. His solid and on-fire play has us wondering one thing. Should Wondolowski be called-up to September 2014 World Cup qualifying? Based on the past week, yes, but the 2013 Gold Cup is not over yet. These matches were by far the easiest matches in this tournament.
Let’s see how Wondolowski and the rest of USMNT does against possible better opponents like Mexico and Costa Rica. Those potential matches will be true tests for the United States and players like Wondolowksi trying to get Klinsmann’s attention for a possible September call-up.
For now, Wondolowski needs to keep being Wondolowski and finding the net. In addition, Landon Donovan and Wondolowski have done a good job linking-up in these first two Gold Cup matches. If Wondolowski keeps tearing it up in the 2013 Gold Cup, it will be a no-brainer to call him up for World Cup qualifying.
Phil Naegely is a sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Like him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @pnaegelyRS and add him to your circles on Google.
