WASHINGTON -- When the CONCACAF Gold Cup ended for the U.S. national team, one of the glaring takeaways from the competition was the underwhelming showing of he team's center backs. Jurgen Klinsmann's decision to stick with the young pairing of John Brooks and Ventura Alvarado was widely panned as one of the key reasons the U.S. endured such a lackluster tournament.

Though Klinsmann has never come out and admitted that his defense wasn't good enough at the Gold Cup, a look at the roster for the U.S. team's first post-Gold Cup camp suggests he knows he has to take a longer look at his options. A total of eight players who have played central defense for the U.S. before are in camp, and while some of those eight are being used at different positions, the evidence is clear that Klinsmann is being thorough about trying to figure out his best options in the middle of his defensive line.

“We’re blessed with a lot of good center backs in different leagues, different environments, so that battle is ongoing since I took over, for more than four years," Klinsmann said. "We continue that because we want them to be on their toes. We want them to be accountable for things that they’re doing with their club teams and, especially, when they’re with us.

“There’s no guarantee to anybody. It’s ongoing and we evaluate every training session - very intense training sessions - and we want to see their personality, their soccer-specific qualities and then we put the puzzle together as a team as well. So it’s fascinating, but it’s not easy for the players.” 

It is unclear just which central defenders will get the call when the U.S. faces Peru on Friday night at RFK Stadium, but Klinsmann has made it clear the competition level in camp has been high,

"Of course everybody wants to play, but there's only two spots for the games and of course it's a good competition," John Brooks said. "Everybody pushes hard, and everybody wants to play."

Brooks went on to say that the competition is always fierce for the starting spots. 

"I think it's normal," he said. "Okay, it's not normal that we have like eight center backs, but the competition is always high."

Brooks will be looking to improve on what was a lackluster Gold Cup for him, a tournament that was a far cry from the showing he had at the 2014 World Cup, when he impressed defensively and scored the winning goal against Ghana.

“Of course I was a little bit disappointed because everybody wanted more,” Brooks said. “But for me, it was good to learn. It was a new competition, a new type of soccer. They were very tough games, very hard games and I got a lot out of it."

Brooks joins Alvarado, Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez, Geoff Cameron, Tim Ream and Michael Orozco as central defenders in camp, and while some like Cameron and Ream could be used to fill the void at fullback, all indications are that Klinsmann has had a very thorough look at his central options. The evaluation process has presented its own set challenges.

"It's obviously not ideal, but it's our job as professionals and players to adapt as best you can," goalkeeper Brad Guzan said of the crowded center back competition. "Being a goalkeeper, you want to have some continuity, some solidarity in terms of knowing what they're going to do almost before they're going to do it, and vice versa. It is what it is, it's a situation we have to deal with and you have to get though it."

Guzan has been named the starting goalkeeper for the immediate future, and it will be up to him to help whichever center back tandem gets the call, and working in his favor is the fact he has played alongside all of the central defenders on the squad. 

"For the most part you have tendencies and what they like and don't like, and different styles," Guzan said. "You've got guys playing all over the world in different leagues and different styles from different club teams so you bring them all together and try to get on the same page as quick as possible."

The U.S. will face a good challenge from a Peru side that finished in third place in the recent Copa America. That challenge has been made easier by the absence of star striker and Copa America Golden Boot winner Paolo Guerrero, who is out with an injury. Despite Guerrero's absence, Peru still has enough weapons to give the U.S. defense a good test ahead of the Confederations Cup playoff against Mexico in October.

"Them and Brazil are two teams that like to keep the ball, and we know that throughout the game tomorrow they're going to have stretches where they do keep the ball," Guzan said. "It's going to be on us to make sure we're compact, and solid, and make it difficult for them to penetrate and break us down."

As much as it may be a friendly, the mood surrounding this U.S. camp has been a much more competitive and spirited one as players find themselves in tough battles for playing time. Klinsmann's proclamation that nobody's job is safe (well, except for Brad Guzan's) has set a very intense mood in camp.

"It has to be," Jermaine Jones said of the added level of competitiveness in camp. "It's not two normal friendlies, it's two important games we have coming now. I feel like everybody has to fight for his position and everybody is trying to push himself into that team."