Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By IVES GALARCEP
The U.S. Men’s National Team takes on Guatemala tonight in San Diego (11pm, NBC Sports) in the team’s lone tune-up match before the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup, and the lineup Jurgen Klinsmann trots out tonight should offer us a good glimpse of the team Klinsmann will lean on to help the U.S. win a sixth Gold Cup title.
Landon Donovan and Oguchi Onyewu are back in the national team fold and will be looking to fight their way back into the full national team conversation. Donovan is expected to eventually re-take his place in the full first-team fold, but this Gold Cup will be key for him to show that he can still be a dominant force. Onyewu’s task is a different one. He must show that he is not only good enough to be among the four best centerbacks in the national team pool, but also a player capable of starting.
While Donovan, Onyewu and newly-minuted U.S. Gold Cup captain are easy enough picks to start tonight’s match, and the Gold Cup group stages, there are several other tough decisions for Klinsmann to make with his lineup. From the varied options on the right wing, and in central midfield, to just how he will deploy Beasley and Edgar Castillo together, assuming he will even go that route.
So who will start tonight for the USMNT? Here are SBI’s projected starters:
PROJECTED USMNT LINEUP vs. GUATEMALA
——————Landon Donovan—————-Herculez Gomez—————–
DaMarcus Beasley————-Stuart Holden—————————Joe Corona
———————————-Kyle Beckerman————————————–
Edgar Castillo—Oguchi Onyewu—–Clarence Goodson—-Michael Parkhurst
———————————Nick Rimando—————————————–
Some thoughts:
This lineup is contingent on Holden being fit enough to be ready for a starting role. If he does not start, Klinsmann could move Corona centrally, and start Alejandro Bedoya. Klinsmann could also go with Jose Torres in this lineup:
——————Landon Donovan—————-Herculez Gomez—————–
DaMarcus Beasley————–Jose Torres—————————Joe Corona
———————————-Kyle Beckerman————————————–
Edgar Castillo—Oguchi Onyewu—–Clarence Goodson—-Michael Parkhurst
———————————Nick Rimando—————————————–
Brek Shea is with the team for tonight’s friendly, but it’s tough to see Klinsmann giving him a start when he isn’t going to be a part of the Gold Cup team. If Klinsmann has chosen Shea as Josh Gatt’s replacement on the Gold Cup squad, he could start, but his lack of playing time lately makes it tough to see him start.
The defense should be the back four listed, but you have to wonder if Klinsmann would tinker with playing Beasley at right back, a position Klinsmann has mentioned that Beasley can play. The Gold Cup is a very important tournament for Michael Parkhurst to make his case to stay in the national team conversation though, and it seems more likely he is the right back for the duration. Tony Beltran is having a good MLS season, and could get the nod if Parkhurst is in poor form in U.S. camp.
Don’t look for Jack McInerney to start just yet. He is 20 years old and Klinsmann isn’t likely to throw into the mix just yet. He and Will Bruin should be able to see some minutes in the Gold Cup, but it’s tough to see McInerney starting any matches in the Gold Cup. That said, we should see McInerney get some minutes tonight.
So why isn’t Mix Diskerud in any of these projections? He should see playing time in the tournament, but I just don’t project him as a starter ahead of any of these other candidates at the moment. With Klinsmann likely to use subs liberally tonight, we should see Diskerud get some good minutes tonight.
What lineup would I like to see face Guatemala? Here’s an XI I’d be interested in watching:
——————Landon Donovan—————-Herculez Gomez———————-
Alejandro Bedoya——-Stuart Holden—Jose Torres——————-Joe Corona
DaMarcus Beasley–Oguchi Onyewu—–Clarence Goodson—-Michael Parkhurst
————————————Nick Rimando—————————————–
——-
What do you think of the lineup? What changes would you make to this squad?
Share your thoughts below.
I want Wondo to start, as I don’t believe te small sample size of USMNT games tells us as much as people think it does. My preference, not my prediction:
————-JackMac—————–
——————-Wondo————-
Landon———-Holden——–Bedoya
—————-Torres——————-
Beas———Gooch—-Goodson—Parkhurst
Three points:
1. Wondo is a good paser and an hold the ball up
2. Left mid is where Landon can most help the first team
3. Just once I would like to see Torres at his natural position, as a safety valve for defenders
I think we see this…
—————Gomez——Wondo———
Castillo—Beckerman—Torres—-Donovan
Beasley–Goodson–Onyewu–Parkhurst
——————–Rimando——————
I just can’t see Holden going from playing the final 5-10 minutes of games to starting, as much as I would like to. I never like seeing Castillo at LB, I feel he is a big risk there. Plus, Beas has locked that position down as of late. I could see Klinsmann playing Corona over Torres here, as it seems he has lost the interest in Torres he used to have. Here is Parkhurst’s final chance to impress before final squad is locked in for World Cup. I’d rather see Jack Mac start over Wondo but seeing as how young he is I doubt Jurgen would do that. I hope hes has a good tourney though and gets himself a sub spot on the WC team. I want to see Gooch make a comeback to beast mode form (Confed Cup 2009) that way maybe he could play with Besler/Gonzo.
Not gonna happen, but a thought experiment – move LD back in place of Torres, looking toward CAM role for LD going forward, paired with Bradley. Biggest problem for MNT today is center back. Next-biggest is lack of creative flair and danger coming forward from center mid. Bradley would have great chemistry with LD, as he hasn’t with Picture an *attacking* central spine of Cameron (in center back, preferably with Besler)-Bradley-LD-Dempsey-Altidore. Send Zusi and hopefully Dolo or if not then Chandler marauding up right wing, DMB/Fabian/EJ/Shea/Holden up the left. May not be the strongest defending lineup, but definitely puts all our attacking players in their best roles. Just a thought.
i shared this last night, but this is probably the more appropriate thread. i will preface this by saying this is what i saw at one practice, so it’s not guaranteed.
in the 10v8 drill, which was the only part of the practice where you could get an idea of lineups, it started with yellow vs. red. yellow was the team of 8 first. the team of 8 was always 4 defenders and 4 midfielders (plus a goalie) in a simple 4-4. the yellow team was:
Rimando
Parkhurst, Gooch, Goodson, Beasley
LD, Beckerman, Torres, Castillo
the red team of 10 played what was essentially a 3-2-3-2 (plus two goalies as there were two smaller goals instead of one large one) and it was made up of:
Johnson, Hamid
Beltran, Orozco, Ashe
Holden, Mix
Bedoya, Corona, Shea
Gomez/Wondo
Gooch and Orozco switched at one point. when the red and yellow teams switched, the strikers put on yellow. the strikers just switched between Gomez/Wondo and Bruin/Jack Mac. i also remember Corona got put into the team with LD/Beasley/etc. but don’t remember who he swapped with.
official: Jozy Altidore headed to Sunderland
Per Jozy’s website
Anyone else bothered by this late start time? There’s no way I’m catching this entire game. What’s the rationale of alienating at least a half of your viewing audience?
lol seriously? it’s a friday night game on the west coast. it’ll be over by 1am on the east coast. i HIGHLY doubt 50% of the US audience isn’t willing to do that. my guess, less than 10%.
Why do it late? Why not Friday at 6pm PT? Why exclude the 10% who can’t?
because the west coast population is bigger than the 10%. and i would guess the large majority of us on the west coast like the 8pm kick off. can get home from work, get yourself together, and then head to the game/bar/etc.
i love 8pm kick offs.
Is it solipsistic in here, or is it just you?
Lol. I actually have a shirt that says this.
“i HIGHLY doubt 50% of the US audience isn’t willing to do that. my guess, less than 10%”
And I’m saying that *I* highly doubt that the portion of the EC US fans willing to stay up until 1am for a friendly against Guatemala is *more* than 10%.
See how useful that contention is?
I think we could split the difference and maximize the viewership. Turns out that folks with money on the line mostly agree with me, thus the broadcast times of the vast majority of games.
“Turns out that folks with money on the line mostly agree with me, thus the broadcast times of the vast majority of games.”
My guess is that NBC Sports Network had a big say in the time of the broadcast, within certain parameters, and chose this start time. The reality is that only hardcore fans will watch a pre-Gold Cup friendly with a B squad. It’s one of those low elasticity of demand things.
Hehe, good point-not the A team. Man, I loved that show.
Obviously, you have upset someone at the USSF.
They contacted the NSA and came up with this game time based on your sleep schedule.
You should probably contact the USSF and get this straightened out so half the viewing audience don’t have to suffer anymore for what you did.
Yeah its not ideal for east coasters who aren’t young pups anymore. 10 yrs ago (ok 15) it wouldn’t have mattered, but now its a stretch for those of us with kids and work and etc. On the other hand, it is Friday night on a holiday weekend…
Yes
And any lineup that doesn’t have Beckerman… sorry, he’s a shoo in. Torres-Holden probably only happens if Beckerman has to sit due to cards in the tournament.
This is a strong B Team! Really hope Holden is ready to go, he’s been missed. Excited to watch these guys play, it’ll be very interesting thinking about World Cup team slots. What’s the world coming to – the Gold Cup AND the Confederation’s Cup are interesting???
At the practice yesterday it was all Torres/Beckerman in midfield. I think that’s what we see. Beasley played LB and Castillo was at LM all practice. Windows/Gomez were paired up but I just don’t see it. I think it’s LD/Gomez with Corona at RM.
I think we see the following
——————-Gomez————————
—————————–Donovan———–
Beasley——————————–Corona
———–Holden ——–Torres ————-
Castillo——Goodsen—–Fiscal—–Parkhurst
——————rimando—————
I expect them to play like the a team is playing , with Holden and Torres playing the roles of MB and JJ. Donovan as Dempsey.
The D is thin but I’m anticipating seeing some real nice combination play with a lot of mids that are comfortable in possession and let the ball do the work. I think we’re going to see some truly wonderful stuff entering the attacking third. I think Beas is at LB. I’d like to see LD at LM…I think that’s his best position for the nats. I’d rather see Orozco with Goodson and Beltran rather than Parkhurst at RB. Probably see the 4-4-2. Bruin is the only true target forward, but I think it’s a toss up with Wondo for playing time in that role. Herc has the other slot.
………………………Bruin/Wondo……………………Herc…………………….
……….LD…………………………………..Torres………………….Corona
…………………………Beckerman…………………………………………
Beas………………Orozco………….Goodson………………Beltran/Parkhurst
………………………………Rimando…………………………..
Holden is still a wild card, if he truly is ready to go major minutes, he’ll slot into the middle into either role 6 or 8 role…probably more likely as an 8 instead of Torres. I’m really curious to see what level Stu can get to post injuries…
Tough to tell if JK would rather see players at positions they could potentially play with the full side or if he would go with what ever combo works best to be competitive at the tourney. Torres for instance would probably be better than Beckerman as a deeper holding mid at the tourney, but he has no chance of playing that role for the full side. Another case would be LD possibly playing in Deuce’s role as drop forward at the tourney…
Wondering if Klinsi might go with a 4-3-3. Donovan was listed as a forward on the roster and Ives seems confident that’s where he’ll be, so maybe he plays one of the wide forwards to give the width with someone like Bedoya on the other side with Gomez in the middle. This would also jive with the seeming glut of centermids – think a triangle of Holden, Torres, Beckerman. Then the back four listed above.
So, does that mean that JKs plan all along is to move to the 4-1-3-2 when Donavan gets back into the fold. That would probably end up looking like
——Donavan—–Altidore
Jones—-Dempsey—Zusi
———-Bradley
FJ–Besler–Omar–Dolo
This lineup would definitely score goals.
but would definitely leak goals too
no doubt
Yea I wouldn’t feel confident defensively in a 4-1-3-2, and it would eliminate Bradley from pressing forward. I like that group, but in a 4-2-3-1 instead
——————-Altidore———————
Zusi————Dempsey———–Donovan
—————Jones—–Bradley————-
F. Johnson–Besler–Gonzalez–Cherundolo
———————Howard——————–
he’s already used it seems to me, the 4 1 3 2 that is
More likely 4231
Altidore
Donovan Dempsey Zusi
Jones Bradley
———————————————GOMEZ———————————————————–
——BEASLEY——————–DISKERUD———————-DONOVAN———————
———————–BECKERMAN————-TORRES———————————————-
——-CASTILLO———–ONYEWU————-GOODSON————–PARKHURST—-
——————————————-RIMANDO———————————————————-
I have a feeling this gold cup is going to bring players like Diskerud, Onyewu and Parkhurst out like Beasley, Especially Gooch. Donovan will do well but I’m not so sure about Bedoya and Torres, 2 players that I really hope will turn it up and move up to the A-Team level of play. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see
I would be very excited to see this lineup. I hope, however, that Beltran gets another shot at RB over Parkhurst.
Here is my projection:
Gomez
Beasley Corona Donovan
Holden/Torres Beckerman
Castillo Onyewu Goodson Parkhurst
Rimando
I think Klinsi prefers Holden if fit, but if not Torres. Castillo and Beasley could certainly be switched, but I think Castillo needs a run of games to really see if he is an international caliber LB, so lets give him that. We know Beas can slot in there if necessary. Although Beckerman is not going to the WC (and I believe Klinsmann knows this too), he has become indispensable in these B-team situations. He is experienced in JK’s system, solid if not spectacular, and JK has praised his ability to do what is asked of him, and his role as a great team/locker room guy. I think he acts as a constant in these camps, and gives JK the ability to test out new players around him.
cant wait fo tonite
wondoluski–macinerny–bruins
—–badoya——beckerman—
———–donavon—————
ash–pankhurst–orosco–beasly
————hamed—————-
This guy is awesome ^^
seriously, i love this guy’s comments.
Yes I like.
Can’t believe MLS teams have to lose players for a month for this mickey mouse tournament. Should be only one gold cup every four years, the year after the world cup.
These Gold Cups help run CONCACAF and CONCACAF needs the money. If you think this is a mickey mouse tournament then feel free to not watch it.
Word.
where’s boca, gooch instead of boca, come on!
If you had read any previous SBI posts on the topic, or any stories on JK press conferences explaining the roster you would know Boca was left off such that he would be able to figure out his transition to a new club.
————————————–Herculez Gomez—————–———————–
DaMarcus Beasley————Landon Donovan-————————Joe Corona
———————-Kyle Beckerman——Stuart Holden——————————
Edgar Castillo—Oguchi Onyewu—–Clarence Goodson—-Michael Parkhurst
———————————Nick Rimando—————————————–
nix that
————————————–Herculez Gomez—————–———————–
Landon Donovan-———–——Jose Torres—————————–Joe Corona
———————-Kyle Beckerman——Stuart Holden——————————
Beasley—-—Oguchi Onyewu—–Clarence Goodson—-Michael Parkhurst
———————————Nick Rimando—————————————–
I have a question to all, how close has Ives lineup prediction been so far?
Ives is generally pretty close. Maybe one or two positions might be off at times.
Which makes a lot of sense given that he typically observes (or has contacts who observe) any and all open practices leading up to matches. So he can base his predictions on what he sees on the practice field, and his impression of coaching staff comments in press conferences.
I think putting Castillo in the starting lineup is a waste of time. I don’t believe he has the ability to become a starter, even in this squad. With this player pool, i would love to see a 4-2-3-1 as follows (from left to right of field):
Defense: Beasley, onyewu, Goodson, parkhurst
Mid (holding): Holden, beckerman
Mid attacking: bedoya, corona, Donovan
Striker: Gomez (jack Mac subbed at half)
I’m a fan of Holden playing close to defense to help move the ball in transition/ change of possession. I also want to see bedoya out wide because he is capable of getting past defenders. I’m not beckerman’s bigger fan, but I do think he is good enough to start vs Guatemala.
I like the 11 ives projected, except i would start orozco over onyewu just so we have some distribution out of the back, im not a huge orozco fan but u cant start two of the big lumbering centerbacks in our pool together (goodson, gooch and gonzalez). Or he could push parkhurst in for onyewu and then start beltran on the right
Also id like to see beltran (if he doesnt start), holden/torres (whoever doesnt start), shea, mix, bedoya and jack mac
I would personally like to see something like this:
——————Gomez—————–
Beasley——–Corona——-Donovan
———Diskerud——Holden———
Castillo–Goodson–Onyewu–Beltran
—————–Rimando—————
But from what I heard on who has been practicing with the first team this week, I am expecting to see something like this:
———-Gomez—–Wondolowski——-
Castillo—Beckerman-Torres—Donovan
Beasley–Goodson–Onyewu–Parkhurst
—————–Rimando——————-
I also wouldn’t mind seeing Donovan playing Dempsey’s withdrawn striker role.
Donovan + Gooch + Beasely + Goodson + Gomez + Romando + Beckerman…hello, stellar starting lineup from 2008.
We need a preponderance of younger talent on the field, i.e. Castillo, Orozco Fiscal, Hamid, Mixx, McInerney, Bruin, and Bedoya. Lets acknowledge that the Gold Cup is a middling international tournament that should be geared towards providing younger talent with international experience.
If the young were better they would play BUT they are not.
I think Gooch and Goodson have made it pretty evident they are unworthy but on the remainder I’d agree, it’s not a U23 or U20 team, it’s supposed to be our best senior players.
Now, I think there are a few U23 type players who will get their chance this Gold Cup, and some like Boyd and Lichaj I’d have liked to have seen as well. I’d have spent more time on trialists and less effort on people like Parkhurst/ Gooch/ Castillo/ Goodson/ Wondo who have proven they don’t belong. But if you’re looking at marginal players at least some of the Old School are as good as if not better than the other candidates.
“Lets acknowledge that the Gold Cup is a middling international tournament that should be geared towards providing younger talent with international experience.”
I would acknowledge that JK does not agree with you.
He is using this tournament to try and answer a list of questions he has regarding his 2014 WC teams. If the US had qualified for the Confederations Cup maybe this Gold Cup would have been more of an Under 23 thing but the US did not make it so this tournament will have to do.
We don’t know what JK’s questions are but it seems clear that they probably include:
Is Donovan ready to comeback and be included?
Who might be emergency depth in the event of last minute injuries?
Does Gooch have anything left?
JK doesn’t discriminate on an age basis. If Gatt hadn’t hurt himself again he would have been given a clear chance to make a case for WC inclusion.
JK is also clearly handing the CB reins over to Gonzo and Besler who have 11 and 7 caps respectively.
If you can play, JK will play you. If Boyd didn’t look like a chicken with his head cut off every time he gets minutes for the US, maybe he would be here or maybe he would have played more in this last run of qualifiers.
This team playing last months 1st eleven…
What would the score be?
1-1…or 2-1 A team. We have alot of depth, couldn’t say that years ago.
3-1 or 4-1, there would be a talent gap and the B team defense is pretty bad. I think the overall talent is improving but our defense has eroded and quality depth there is lacking.
I also think that now that we are down to the Gold Cup roster itself and no longer speaking about it while watching the A team, it is less defensible to be leaving Boyd or Lichaj or some others off. I buy Lichaj’s not proven his way into the top 6-8 backs for the A squad but not even the next 6-8? And Gooch/ Castillo/ Parkhurst/ et al. are in the next several?
Lichaj will be at Brazil, book it!
Over my dead body!
“ I buy Lichaj’s not proven his way into the top 6-8 backs for the A squad but not even the next 6-8? And Gooch/ Castillo/ Parkhurst/ et al. are in the next several?”
This is my first choice USMNT back four:
Fabian,Gonzo, Besler, DMB
These seven defenders are also in the conversation based on JK selecting them at various stages:
Dolo, Chandler, Cameron, Castillo, Evans, Parkhurst, Goodson, Fiscal, Torres
These three are on the GC roster:
Onyewu, Ashe, Beltran,
And these five are floating on the fringes:
Morrow, Boca, Spector. Morales, Beitashour
That makes 21 defenders, all of whom have either been capped by JK or at least called in to his camp.
It seems likely that JK does not currently rate Lichaj in his top 21.
Obviously, JK thinks Lichaj has less to offer than these guys.
And I did not even mention Tim Ream who was capped by JK.
If Lichaj does really well at Forest then maybe JK calls him in if he thinks he has something to contribute at right back that these guys don’t have. Eleven of them have played right back either for the US or for their club.
This post is a huuuuuge stretch.
I was hoping we would see Castillo at LB and Bedoya at LM. However, since Klinnsmann announced Beasely as captain, he is pretty definate to start. Not saying Beasley isn’t good enough to start but we haven’t seen much of Castillo and Bedoya and would like to see what they could do.
I went to the public training session yesterday (so of course I’m a credible source now), and it looked like Joe Corona was used exclusively in the middle where Dempsey usually plays except that there were always 2 strikers ahead of him. So it looks like Ives 4-1-3-2 is a safe bet for tomorrow. He looked pretty good in their 10 v 8 scrimmage as he was pretty much the only one who wanted the ball in traffic and could keep possession and distribute when the defense collapsed on him. Holden and Mix paired up as the 6 & 8, and Donovan was used outside on the right while Castillo worked on the left wing. I had a hard time deciding if the starters were on one team and the reserves on another, but in the end decided that it was more likely the starting defense with reserve midfield going against starting attackers.
Did any fans kicking balls at the public training session hit Donovan’s rear end and win a prize from Klinsmann 🙂
If that’s the case, my only conclusion would be that JK has no confidence in the center backs that he’s gonna just plant Beckerman there in front of them, which would be a shame imho, …… I’d like to see the same formation we’ve been playing, and I’d like to see what 2 other CM’S could bring to this tourney
what is this same formation we’ve been playing?
I meant the same formation we just saw in the last 5 games, which one could say even went from the 4-2-3-1 to a quasi 4-4-1-1…. I’m just opposed to the true 6 just because Beckerman is there, I’d like to see any other combination of center mids… just my opinion- we’ll see in a few hours
I hear you. my question then is what is it called when Clint and Jozy pair up to defend up top when the team shapes to defend…that’s what they’ve been doing. looks an awful lot like a 4 4 2 to me, and also some 4 1 3 2. Has seemed to really help Jozy who is less than great when asked to be the tip of the sword defensively alone up there.
The yellow was the starters. Whe yellow was the team of 8 it was:
Parkhurst, Gooch, Goodson, Beas
LD, bBeckerman, Torres, Castillo
Playing against:
Beltran, Orozco, Ashe
Bedoya, Holden, Mix, Corona, Shea
Wondo, Gomez
Pretty clear who JK has an idea starting.
Yeah, but Gooch switched colors after a bit and Bruin and Jack Mac kept switching in and out with Herc and Wondo. Those changes threw me a bit but you’ve probably got most of them right just based on what we saw.
yup, Gooch and Orozco were clearly being evaluated. Goodson is a lock as a result. Gooch looked really good though.
as for the strikers, they were always on the team of 10. so it’s hard to tell who were the starters. but one thing was clear, Gomez/Wondo were ahead of Bruin/Jack Mac. when the team of 8 supposed starters switched to the 10 man team, Wondo/Gomez started before switching.
Corona was in the same boat as Gooch. and frankly, i hope JK puts LD up top and starts Corona at RM. because Corona looked very sharp out there.
but Holden and Mix neverput on the yellow. or Beltran, Ashe, and Shea. which i thought was a sign they were all subs.
Wait– you’ve got Corona, Holden, Mix, Castillo and Donovan… plus two strikers (4132)? How does that work? The 12 man formation?
Does Herc still have his mustache? It’s going to score a couple goals by itself. Maybe even a hat trick.
well played
preach!!
I don’t know who the starting 11 will be, but I have to think JK sticks with his 4-2-3-1. I don’t know why you wouldn’t.. just because Beckerman is on the squad? So what. I think we see a formation that mirrors the A squad… then fit the tools in the toolbox
Agreed. If this is a lineup that Klinsmann has settled on (which he seems like he has, with good reason), then he needs to stick with it no matter what. Something like:
———————-Gomez————————–
Donovan———-Holden—————-Corona
———–Beckerman———Torres————-
Beasley—Gooch—-Goodson—Parkhurst
This lineup (gasp!) puts Torres in his natural position, too.
This is the line-up…good job Hobomike.
I would like to see Bedoya over Corona but it’s JK’s choice.
Yeah, that is a good one and pretty likely.
I’d go something like this
—–Gomez—–
Bedoya-Corona-Landon
Holden—-Torres
Beas/Castillo-Orozco-Goodson-Parkhurst
Mix, Jack Mac getting lots of playing time.
I think this is close, but this is what I’d prefer, assuming a 4231 is what we see.
Gomez
Donovan Bedoya Corona
Torres Holden
Beez Gooch Goodson Parkhurst
Rainman
And I, too, would like to see a serious test of all of those players. But then sub all 6 at 60 minutes.
Ya that attacking 3 of Bedoya, Landon, and Corona is very flexible so I can see them lining up differently but if get them all in together. The only reason I picked Orozco is because Gooch and Goodson are both really slow big guys so it might be better to have on more athletic type guy but wouldn’t be surprised to see your pairing. I also meant to put Rimando but forgot my goalie haha.
Yeah I don’t know about the D. I agree that Castillo should see significant time on the left side, where? I dunno. Could buy anybody else in the CB positions, too!
–Gomez–
Corona-Holden-Donovan
–Torres-Beckermen–
Beasley-Goodson-Gooch-Parkhurst
–Rimando–
Mix for Holden at 45′
Hamid for Rimando at 45′
Bedoya for Donovan at 65′
Will Bruin for Corona at 65′
McIrney for Gomez at 70′
Ash for Beasley at 70′
This is what I want to see. Give a lot of people the chance to play while resting important starters.
Beckermen only included bc we all know he is gonna be there. Would rather see Holden drop back and bedoya start on the wing and Corona be in the middle. One can pray
Ives, all of your lineups have Donovan up front, paired with Altidore. Why don’t you think he’ll be played at LW? In one of your recent podcasts, you said the lineup for the WC would be Zusi at RW and Donovan at LW. Seems to me that this should be tried right now.
I agree playing Donovan at forward for the Gold Cup and LM for the qualifiers. We need to see other options for LM and Bedoya and Castillo deserve a look. For the qualifiers we have Altidore and Dempsey up front and I don’t think either of them are going to the bench.
IF Donovan is going to be reduced to a sub role in qualifying/World Cup games, it would be nice to see how he performs at the withdrawn striker role. Imagine his potential as an impactful super-sub across multiple positions.
easy to imagine, have been saying this for a couple of years now
withdrawn striker is probably his least effective role btw
LD himself even made some similar comments about a year or so ago, I think after his last Everton loan, about how he’s more of a giver not a scorer… I think it was when he had that stretch of 6 or 7 @$$sits in a row… And right now he seems to be regaining a quick first step but doesn’t have the killer instinct in front of goal… he belongs on one of the wings
not even talking about goal scoring, more how his best talents are smothered if he’s played inside where everyone can foul him and team up on him instead in the space he can find elsewhere in which he is so effective
I also think his strength is in the RW, if he plays a withdrawn forward a position that Dempsey plays, would that be a hint that JK is thinking of LD as a sub?
interesting question…we’ll have to wait and see. more than anything it would tell me he’s not playing LD in his best position, maybe like 4th best role actually
jack mack—–gomez
bedoya———stu—————-donovan———corona-
beas———–gooch———-goodson———–parkhurst
Your lineup with Landy and Bedoya swapping places IMHO.
ives, you really think klinsmann puts beasley at mid with castillo at back, or was that a mistake?
don’t get me wrong–i like it–i just thought he kept beasley as one of the few holdovers from the quals so he could get solidified at the LB position.
Agreed. It’s obvious Beasley will be the LB. If Castillo is telling the press he wants to play LM then you can assume him and JK both agree. Beasley will do whatever is asked of him.
Agreed. It’s obvious Beasley will be the LB. If Castillo is telling the press he wants to play LM then you can @ssume him and JK both agree. Beasley will do whatever is asked of him.
I would rather see MCINERNEY up front with Gomez and have Donovan take center mid or a withdrawn forward role or take up the right side. I think Diskerud should be in for Holden and Bedoya on the left.
The US plays well with a hard-nosed defensive midfielder and Beckerman is the only one who can cover good. he is an atrocious passer though. Holden would be a good fit at that role, instead of a winger as he can put good balls out of the deep midfield and is a tenacious defender
I think we have four good players on the USMNT that can play a good defensive mid role in Jones, Bradley, Cameron and EDU and none of them are on this team
The defensive Mid is so key in Klinsmann formations as he pushed the midfield up a lot and exposed the backline to fast counters.
You need experience on the backline so the quad of Goodson and Gooch in the middle with Castillo on the left and Parkhurst on the right is a good fit. Beasley and Castillo are 50/50 with me. I chose Castillo over jitterbug as Castillo need more time with the US to jel
Whoa what? Beckerman is an atrocious passer? Have you ever watched him play? I get that Beckerman has his limitations, no argument there. But let’s give him credit for what he is, a discplined destroyer that excels in possession football. He’s not flashy, but he rarely gives the ball away.
while I agree he’s got talents that many here overlook, I wouldn’t go so far to say that he rarely gives the ball away when in the USMNT kit
I feel like some of that sentiment comes from the 1-0 win in Mexico. But who wasn’t giving the ball away that game? We defended for 90+ minutes. I’m guessing he’ll start tomorrow and, if his club form is any indication, I’m guessing he’ll play efficiently.
I don’t mind Beckerman at all nor any of the MLS players, I’m not ripping him, just noting I’ve seen him in the kit give balls away, but also win lots of balls, and also give bad fouls/free kicks, but also work his butt off
this is a tune-up match for the gold cup. not exactly a world cup qualifier. let holden go and see if he can go 75-80.
Really worried about the defense. Teams with quick speedy forwards will eat Gooch and Goodson alive. As for the fullback, Parkhurst and Castillo have provided a lot to be desired in their previous caps. I still think about that 2009 Gold Cup Final when I hear Parkhurst’s name mentioned. This Gold Cup may be one of the biggest in recent memory in terms of evaluating fringe players. I think the attack will show lots of promise especially if guys like Holden, Torres, Bedoya, and Corona are all in the Mixx (pardon my pun).
Here’s what I’d like to see in the attack:
———————–Gomez—————————
Beasley———–Corona—————Donovan
————–Torres————Holden—————-
As for the defense I think it’s a lock that these guys are starting so I won’t even bother.
Casillo———-Goodson——–Gooch———Parhurst
—————————-Rimando—————————
I bet Castillo is LM. At the practice yesterday he was there with Shea as backup and Beas was at LB with Ashe backing him up.
Gooch and Goodson are both stoppers. You need to have a cover man paired with them to have them be successful. This pairing will easily be exposed with speed.
Torres is not a creative midfielder, he doesn’t play that at club level. I just feel that Torres is not at international level, not to metion he gets manned off the ball very easly and doesn’t even track back to recover. I likes Ives lineup, the only change I would make is put Donovan for Torres and put Jack Mack besides Gomez. That way you have Donovan floating around orchestrating plays.
If you play Donovan at forward, he will drop back natural to fill gaps, win the ball and orchestrate from there. I suspect it would play more like a 4-4-1-1 with the wings getting lots of chances.
While I like Donovan as a forward, and would love to see him paired up top with Jozy next summer, our persistent problem in his absence has been attacking width and defensive work rate. He is the obvious solution for that…but only if JK admits that has been a problem. But he won’t.
But yeah, I think that line up could be fun to watch
Fair points; however, the last three qualifiers have drastically flipped that on it’s head. You can argue that our wide play and defensive work rate, especially on Zusi’s side of the field, have been our strengths. I think the natural (and best) lineup for qualifying and the WC is Altidore up front with Dempsey right behind, with LD on the LW and Zusi on the RW and Fabian at LB.
THAT is a sick lineup….by US standards.
Fair point in response. And for me the big question is how much were the last couple games a real change or will we revert back to the sludge-like, narrow attack we saw earlier once we face better teams.
If Fabian and LD can create any kind of understanding (think: LD and ‘Dolo) that could be an awesome pairing. The right side concerns me though. I don’t think that Zusi has the two way engine that Donovan does. (I think the foul he gave up that lead to the Jamaica equalized is evidence of that, but I am in the minority there.) If I put Donovan on the wing, it might be the right just to provide better coverage.
But can’t say I’m not willing to be convinced otherwise.
I would like to see LD at LW since that should be his ultimate spot with the A team, but at the same time, for this particular team, it makes more sense to play him up top since you have relatively good wing options like Corona, Bedoya, and Shea.
LD very versatile, can play all of those positions and might tonight
So you want attacking width and defensive work rate from a guy that is public ally saying that he is feeling his age and has lost his explosiveness? Be careful what you wish for…
here’s the quote below
“I’m a lot closer to where I’d like to be,” Donovan said in a video released by US Soccer on Thursday. “Part of getting older is that you just don’t have as much explosiveness, you’re not as dynamic as you were, and that’s all part of it and that’s part of evolving in general.
“But as far as the soccer part goes, I’m pretty close.”
http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1491966/landon-donovan-says-not-dynamic-returns-us?cc=5901
Given Bedoya’s recent form, and I think (not 100% certain) where he is playing for his club in Sweden, I’d like to see him get a run out as the CAM in a 4-1-3-2 with Beas and Corona on the wing.
Bedoya has simply never done anything on the international level with the US. I understand his good form, and he should be given a chance, but I’m not expecting much.
would love to see LD on right wing and herc and bedoya up top
With Castillo being quoted as saying “I’m not a very good defender” I really don’t see why we keep him in the mix there. Let him play wing I guess and see if he can make the A team that way.
yeah, that was a ‘facepalm’ moment there.
As I look down the roster the two things that pop out at me are the defense won’t be good at all if Beasley moves up, and Klinsi didn’t really call up a central striker besides Bruin prepared to play that role.
The lineups I’m seeing assume a 442 but that’s not been what we’ve been playing. Maybe he’ll switch, maybe not.
Gomez
Beasley Donovan
Corona
Beckerman Holden
Castillo Goodson Gooch Parkhurst
Rimando
That defense looks very soft but theoretically it only needs to hold the first two games. You could slightly supplement it by moving Beasley back for key games, but I think we may have trouble stopping people with money on the table.
it looks like you’re projecting a 4-2-1-2-1, but maybe that’s just crazy formatting.
we’ve recently been playing a rough 4-4-1-1, and if donovan actually starts up top with gomez (i don’t think he will), then i think it’ll be the same way, with donovan in dempsey’s role as the supporting striker.
what formation have we been playing?
Something like a 4231, 433, or 451. Depends on if we’re attacking or defending or tactically trying something.
agree it depends, but have we not had Clint and Jozy together up top when defending, when the team shapes up to defend? hasn’t that been a big change so Jozy isn’t stuck up top? whatever formation it’s been since the Germany game, it includes 2 up top, yes?
two up top defending that is…on O it’s a different question, more about roles and ideas and general positions and areas to attack and link and look to serve the ball, interchanging and overlapping, etc. right?
JACK MCINERNEY.
i like Ives’ lineup. Gonna be fun to see some of these guys play tonight.
Where is Wondolowski
Being that he can’t score goals for San Jose right now, I have no problem with him warming the bench.
I heard from someone who watched training yesterday that Wondo and Gomez were working with the first team up top, so there is a good chance we see him tonight.
Ewwwwwwww. Please don’t start both Wondo and Herc up top. There’s no creativity or speed with those two up top together.
Totally agree. They fill the same slots.
While winning the Gold Cup is certainly high on the list for JK’s objectives this tournament, I think filling out the 2014 WC roster is at the top. Wondo would be at BEST a backup option for 2014, with no chance of making the startup lineup unless a plethora of injuries hit all our strikers. Furthermore, he is out of the picture for 2018. For these reasons I don’t see any point in starting him, even if he was marginally our best option for the Gold Cup.
I don’t know if this is how JK really views it, though. I honestly feel like they are trying to win it first. My guess is, opinions on WCQ are probably formed as much or more in training as they are in the games. These guys are probably getting a better test in intrasquad games than they will in the group stage. So my guess is the lineup will be the one that they feel will give us the best chance to win.
Winning the Gold Cup is definitely the objective–especially since CONCACAF changed the way the representative for the Confederation Cup is won. If the USMNT wins, they are already in the playoff for the CC in Russia. JK wants to be in the CC in Russia.
Whoa… what is this change? Do the two Gold Cup winners play each other for the rights to play in the CC? I assume if you win both then you are in automatically?
JK will not be the manager after this cycle but he would like to win the Gold Cup to win the Gold Cup.
How many subs tonight? 5? My guess is we’ll see everyone mentioned above.. and Ashe…My son’s U12 team should beat Belize.
6
I think we’ll see all six making starting more of a bone to guys Jurgen thinks will psychologically benefit from it.
I just don’t see Holden starting yet. So I think JK will play Torres.
But Holden has been more recently involved with the team. I’d like to see Mixx in there but I can’t imagine with Klinsi’s attitude that he leapfrogs Holden. The primary exception to that will be Landon. I don’t think JT has that kind of rep right now.
But I’ll be interested what he does, this is a talented midfield plus Landon and Beasley. Some of the other positions are really a joke but you could make a case for about every midfielder to make a Brazil roster, or to not, so we’ll see who gets played and who stands out.
I’d really like to Mixx and JT get some playing time. Maybe second half?
uggghhh, Beckerman again. When will we give up on this guy. As a fellow Marylander, I respect his accomplishments, but he is just so predictable in his play on the field. Rarely does anything special with the Nats. There’s got to be another MLSer who we can plug in there, no?
The better MLS player/American citizen for that role can’t play it because the Cuban government will never let him.
I think Beasley and Castillo will be flipped. Also, are we sure Holden can go a full game? But I suppose with all the subs, he really only needs to be fit enough for 45.
Yeah, Beasley and Castillo may be flipped, but it would be nice to see Shea in front of Beasley, even though he won’t be part of the Gold Cup.
I’m not a fan of Beckerman, so I have a different variation, but I know he will start regardless.
—————————-Gomez———————-McInerney————————
Shea——————–Holden————————–Mixx——————–Donovan
Beasley—————-Goodson———————Fiscal——————–Parkhurst
———————————————Rimando———————————————-
You can certainly swap Shea for Castillo, but I prefer something like this. Although Stu has his offensive weapons, he was one of the leading tacklers in the BPL prior to his injuries. I think that will allow Mixx to roam up front a bit more and supply for our two strikers.
Whether you like Beckerman or not ( I do personally, and think his shortcoming are overblown), I just don’t see Klinsmann ever playing his central midfield pairing with so little bite. Stu has his defensive merits, but trusting the field battling to 1 guy who just came back from an injury like his is nuts.
At this point, i’m just happy when JK uses 2 defensive minded mids instead of 3.
Stu has plenty of bite if healthy. We’re talking about the leading tackler in the EPL a couple years ago. Would love to see Ives lineup with Mixx in for Torres. When playing Porterball for the U23s Mixx actually showed excellent range and tackling.