Why Chris Wondolowski Shouldn’t Be the Odd Man Out for Team USA

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: April 30, 2014

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When United States men's national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann whittles down the U.S. player pool to his final 23-man roster for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, one player who shouldn't be left off the list is forward Chris Wondolowski.

But surprisingly, for a man who led Major League Soccer in scoring in 2010, 2011 and 2012, Wondolowski is far from a guarantee to make the team.

And there are many reasons for this.

One is a psychological condition known as confirmation bias, probably more common in soccer than any other sport in the world. Confirmation bias is the act, often unconsciously, of only accepting evidence that fits in with our already preconceived notions and dismissing any evidence that contradicts these views.



Because Wondolowski got off to a very slow, and very late, start to his international career, many fans simply assumed he wasn't good enough for the U.S. national team. Wondolowski played his first nine games for the U.S. not scoring in a single match. And the one image that is still burned into many fans' minds is the miss he had against Panama in the 2011 Gold Cup.

Because of this slow start, and his miss in 2011, it became accepted among USMNT fans that while Wondolowski was a top goal scorer in MLS, he would never be productive at the international level.

And any evidence contradicting this belief was largely dismissed.



In the 2012 All-Star game against Chelsea, Wondolowski opened the scoring to put MLS ahead 1-0. After the game, Chelsea defender John Terry said to Wondolowski, "Your movement is incredible" and described defending him as a "nightmare."

But, because the game was an exhibition and Chelsea was in their preseason, no one paid much attention.

Then this summer, in the 2013 Gold Cup, Wondolowski finally got on a roll, scoring in three straight games including a brace in one game and a hat-trick in an...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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