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USMNT January Camp: Six Notable Snubs

By Zach Galloway

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Oct 25, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; FC Dallas defender Matt Hedges (24) during the match against the Portland Timbers at Toyota Stadium. The Portland Timbers shut out FC Dallas 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Hedges

For those that are unfamiliar with Matt Hedges, he plays defense for FC Dallas, and quite well I might add. Hedges has been anchoring down the back line for Dallas for a couple years now, and it is time he gets his call up to the USMNT.

Many people, including me, believed that Matt Hedges would get his chance to prove himself to Jurgen Klinsmann in this January camp, but it looks like that will not be the case. In my opinion Hedges is one of the bigger snubs on my list. He has played extremely well for FC Dallas, and has definitely earned at least a chance.

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    • The folks over at Big D Soccer published an article a few days ago about Matt Hedges and his case for a USMNT call up. You can check out the article HERE. They made the case for Matt Hedges to be included in this January camp (which now we know he was not).

    Hedges has shown statistically well compared with other MLS defenders over the past year or two. At Big D Soccer, they compared Matt Hedges with two established USMNT players and World Cup veterans in Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez.

    Matt Hedges compared very well with Gonzalez and Besler and were right up with them in various metrics. Now Besler’s scores may be skewed just a bit due to a poor second half of the season which we know is not the real Matt Besler, but at the very least, Matt Hedges has proved he is one of the better defenders in MLS.

    Whether or not Matt Hedges would be a USMNT stalwart is another story, but it is not one I or anyone else can answer until Hedges gets his chance to show if he can be. What I am saying is this January camp was the perfect opportunity to get Hedges in and see what he can do, firsthand.

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