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Who Should Start for the USMNT vs. Ecuador?

Photo by Trevor Ruszkowski/USA Today Sports
Photo by Trevor Ruszkowski/USA Today Sports

Following Sunday’s tune-up against Puerto Rico, Copa America preparation is about to get very, very real for the U.S. Men’s National Team against a tough opponent in Ecuador.

Entering Wednesday’s game, the U.S. is riding a 3-1 victory over Puerto Rico that was contested without a majority of the USMNT’s top players.  With the Copa America roster finalized and players now in camp, Wednesday’s match provides the first true test of the run up to the upcoming tournament.

In Ecuador, the USMNT faces a stiff test. The South American nation is currently ranked 12th in the world thanks to a dominant CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying run that sees La Tricolor  tied on points for first place. With a match against ninth-place Bolivia looming, Ecuador provides the USMNT with its most realistic pre-Copa test before entering a group with Colombia, Costa Rica and Paraguay.

With that being said, Jurgen Klinsmann faces some choices. Does he start his first team lineup in an effort to fine-tune chemistry against a bonafide Copa contender, or does he ease the team into camp ahead of the upcoming tournament?

Here’s a look at a lineup Klinsmann could opt to use against Ecuador:

———————Wood————Dempsey————————–

—-Zardes————-—————————————Pulisic—-

——————-—Jones————-—Bradley————-—

———-Orozco—–Brooks——Cameron——-Yedlin————

———————————–Guzan————————————-

Some thoughts:

After escaping Puerto Rico with a win on Sunday, Jurgen Klinsmann will have virtually his whole roster at his disposal for the Ecuador match. Whether or not he chooses to use them is a whole other story.

Wednesday’s friendly presents Klinsmann with what will be his best chance to utilize his first team lineup ahead of the Copa America. Ecuador is far and away the best team the USMNT will face in the build-up to the tournament, and offer Klinsmann’s squad a true look at what they will face in the group stages. Using the regulars, at least for a half, will give Klinsmann a clear picture of where his team stacks up and what changes will need to be made ahead of the tournament.

Both Geoff Cameron and Fabian Johnson entered camp with injuries, and it might be in the USMNT’s best interest to ease the duo back into the lineup. Of the two, it would make the most sense to play Cameron in an effort to find chemistry with John Brooks, his likely centerback partner. To their right, DeAndre Yedlin as all but locked down the right back spot, and should get another run out after emerging as one of the best players on the field against Puerto Rico.

If Johnson is indeed kept out, Klinsmann has few options at his disposal at the left back position. Timmy Chandler hobbled off of Monday’s relegation-avoiding win with Frankfurt and certainly won’t take part in Wednesday’s game. That leaves Michael Orozco and Kellyn Acosta, the latter of which was brought in as an emergency call-up.  Orozco seems the more likely candidate, as his ability to play across the backline was likely Klinsmann’s reasoning for selecting him for the roster in the first place.

The midfield provides a bit of a conundrum for Klinsmann, as it will throughout the Copa America. Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones have never truly functioned as a pairing, but the duo remain the unquestioned best midfielders in the pool. On the club level, Bradley has adjusted well to a deeper role, while Jones has been given more room to roam since joining the Colorado Rapids. That makes it worth another try to put the duo together as the two look to bring their club roles and form to the national team. If Klinsmann has little faith in the pairing, it would make sense to slide in Kyle Beckerman or his apparent successor, Perry Kitchen. With Beckerman in the lineup, you know what you’re going to get, while a Bradley-Jones pairing with a new mindset deserves a look against a legitimate team.

Out wide, Gyasi Zardes looks likely to man the left side of the midfield, while the position in front of Yedlin remains somewhat up for grabs. Klinsmann could opt to go with Christian Pulisic, but that all depends on how the German-born coach expects to use him throughout the tournament. If Pulisic is merely along for the ride, then starting him on Wednesday would only increase the hype train around him in the face of eventual disappointment. However, if Pulisic is truly seen as the team’s starting right-sided midfielder against Colombia, it’s time to get him out there and integrated with the team’s veterans.

Bobby Wood is almost certainly penciled in as the team’s starting forward at this point, but it remains up in the air on how exactly he’ll lineup around him. Starting a Bradley or Darlington Nagbe in a more advanced role in a one-striker set  would open up room for Beckerman or Kitchen to anchor the midfield. However, that would force Klinsmann to choose between Wood and Clint Dempsey, the latter of which remains the USMNT’s most dangerous presence in the box. Klinsmann could look to start Wood and Dempsey together, with the latter given room to drift back into more of a 4-2-3-1 formation rather than a flat 4-4-2.

Comments

  1. I think Bradley is better as #6, and JJ as an enforcer up the field. Pulisic is not ready, but can come on late. We need to take advantage of Nagbe’s skills. I loved it when when pressed up field

    Wood—–Dempsey—-Zardes
    ——-Nagbe——-JJ————
    ————-Bradley————–
    FJ—Brooks—-Birnbaum—Yedlin
    Good luck USA!

    Reply
  2. I think we see something bland tonight, as JK won’t want to give away his plan for next week when it counts. This team has mostly all been together for the last year and he’ll believe that they can work on formation and tactics in training without showing it in the friendlies.

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  3. I think the players likely to start in the games that matter should start vs Ecuador. Those with minor knocks (Bedoya, Chandler, Johnson) would be substituted at half-time. Beto’s lineup looks probably
    —–Dempsey——Wood——
    ————-Bedoya—————
    –Jones————-Bradley—–
    ————Beckerman———–
    -FJ-Brooks–Cameron–Yedlin-
    ————–Guzan—————-
    I am not confident of Dempsey’s fitness and he generally looks lost if he is tired, so I would likely put in a sub for him at half-time as well. Bradley never stops working and that can hurt him in a series of games coming one after another; I would also sub him at half either this game, vs Bolivia, or both. Then save a sub for anyone else who might pick up an injury or look to be dragging as the game wears on.

    Which subs to come on is interesting, but not as important as giving the starters both some time together and some rest.

    Reply
    • Didn’t you know? Dempsey is useless and we never should have taken him to Brazil according to multiple posters on this site. Also, it was a joke that he played so much in the Gold Cup. And the qualifiers? Forget about it.

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  4. don’t want to burn the group out with these pre-copa games but I would look to start the same guys you want to see vs. Colombia and get the bench guys in good rhythm of entering games in progress. getting good chemistry in the starting XI is valuable at this point even if it is for 45-60 min.

    my XI for Colombia is:
    —–Dempsey——Wood——
    ————-Bedoya—————
    –Jones————-Bradley—–
    ————Beckerman———–
    -FJ-Brooks–Cameron–Yedlin-
    ————–Guzan—————-
    for this game I would swap Acosta in for FJ, Nagbe in for Bedoya to start. Bring in Birnbaum, Kitchen, Zardes, Pulisic, Zusi, etc. off the bench early.

    Reply
    • Beto, DLOA, really?? That roster has “park the bus, don’t even bother to turn it on, pray for a 0-0 tie” written all over it. Bedoya as your creative player? Hah! Jones, Bradley and Beckerman on the field together at the same time? Yeesh. That this line-up is even a possibility has made me sad.

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      • Ucb- lol yedlin and FJ as attacking fullback leads you to believe it’s a ‘park the bus’ lineup? lol that’s odd.

        Bedoya playin 10 where he plays frequently at club is shocking to you? And some how says ‘park the bus’ to u?

        Beckerman at 6, Bradley at 8 and jones at 10 really upsets you that much?

        Guffaw…

      • @UCLA that was my reaction looking at that terrible lineup in the SBI article – 3 CB’s and empty bucket CM’s.. 🙁

        i think either Bedoya or Nagbe are ready to be the #10 with Jones and Bradley running the show behind them. adding Beckerman at the #6 frees them to go up and add to the attack – especially considering how JJJ has been playing this year.

        hardly a bunker situation, rather a solid full field effort vs one of South America’s greatest sides ATM.

      • DLOA,

        I will admit I am ignoring the majority of the line-up and focusing solely on Bedoya + Beckerman/Bradley/Jones. You say, “Bedoya playin 10 where he plays frequently at club is shocking to you? And some how says ‘park the bus’ to u?”; and my answer to you is YES EXACTLY! PARK THE BEDOYA LED BUS!. Obviously you like Bedoya more than I do.

        Beto,
        Obviously Colombia is better than us so we will need to be defensive so your lineup isn’t as bad as I made it out to be, I just don’t like it. I don’t like Bedoya in that position.

        OutWithTheOld,
        I want to see something like this:

        Dempsey—-Wood—–Pulisic/Zardes
        ———-Jones———–Nagbe———
        ——————-Bradley—————-
        Johnson—-Brooks–Cameron–Yedlin
        ——————Guzan——————–

        Not much different than Beto’s, but it removes Beckerman and adds more offense with Nagbe. Bradley can sit and assume the Beckerman role and let Jones and Nagbe push the action. Bradley is a way better passer than Beckerman and can defend just as well. Nagbe and Jones both have strong engines so they can be defensive as well. This also puts Bedoya in his best role, the bench.

      • UCLA I like your line up a lot, you could even switch your top three around as the game progresses to further disrupt the defense.

    • I just posted this same lineup in the “Five Things to Watch…” article. Could be that JK doesn’t see any other way to get his best players on the field at the same time. It’s not like it worked that badly in the WC. Now we would at least have a legit striker next to Dempsey which we didn’t have after Altidore went down. People seem to be forgetting that JJ was largely positioned as a pinched-in left mid during the world cup, with Beasley flying up and down the wing. Bradley played on the right of the diamond a couple of times right at the start of JK’s tenure. The Slovenia game in particular I remember and it was one of the best attacking games I’ve ever seen the U.S. play. I don’t see why Beckerman and Kitchen are both on the roster if one of them isn’t going to start. This lineup makes the most sense to me.

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  5. Once again Klinsmann has painted himself into a corner by bringing in hurt people with a short roster. If we lose, it is JKs fault …totally.

    The fact that he brings Zardes at all shows he is no judge of talent. I luv the Nats but I hat what Klinsmann is and has done with them. His player selection alone should get him fired. Has he even seen Bradley play lately? an one more outing with Bradley and JJ will once again produce nothing. Timmy has always sucked and now hes hurt and sucks. No left back

    We need to lose and lose badly so that hopefully, JK is sent packing once and for all

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    • that will unfortunately be the only reason he is let go before his time is scheduled to come to an end running the senior team.

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    • I’m confused he should have left Johnson, our best player off the roster or Cameron our best CB should have been left off. Perhaps, Klinsman should have predicted the future and known Chandler would get hurt 72 hours after he submitted the roster (reports have been Chandler is fine by the way). Any of those three can still be replaced before Colombia should need be.

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      • How many times have we gone into games where JK has picked hurt players only to find out they couldnt really play come game time? Too many times. The face is that JK is a BAD coach that makes bad decisions over and over and over again. If it’s not picking hurt players and ending up with a coverage problem, it’s a starting his latest brainstorm lineup that doesnt work… He’s already got hurt players picked, lets see what crappy lineup he picks from those he’s brought into camp. He makes his own problems they comes up with excuses to justify them

  6. If Johnson and Cameron can go, let the play 45 mins then replace them with Acosta and orozco to start the second half. Let bedoya rest cuz he came off limping against PR and start CP22 on the left and nagbe on the right

    Reply
    • disagree on this one. he is a hustle and speed player with good enough positioning and passing – good for the wing. Terrible touch and finishing – not good up top

      Reply
      • His speed isn’t that effective because rarely spots the runs he should be making on the wing. That poor touch will actually cost you more in the midfield against better sides. Maybe he just shouldn’t be on the field at all then.

      • Before the Galaxy v. San Jose game last Sunday they showed video of Robbie Keane’s last two goals. They were both simple tap ins after Zardes had gotten in deep vs. the defense and passed across the goal.

    • Zardes actually plays better football as a forward. He plays a better centre-forward than Altidore, and can play up top by himself very well as I’m sure RSL found out. Klinsmann wants him on the field as he is a workhorse, a box to box midfielder and a box to box forward, if you don’t make him stay back. His first touch sometimes fails him, but its a lot better, He is very technical and can dribble out of tough spots, a quality you need upfront or on the wings. For the Galaxy, he has four goals and four assists this season, despite playing in position that has him competing with Keane and Dos Santos for touches on the ball.
      He is an asset on the field and is now a solid player on the USMNT

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      • Also when he is a winger he is quick to help out on defense. In his last game Zardes had several defensive headers on free kicks into the box as well. I doubt if man of those who watch him week in and week out share the view of the critics.

  7. Bedoya is almost certainly going to start, probably one of the wide midfield positions. I also can’t see Orozco at leftback. Probably Acosta there, since he was just called, with Orozco (I guess) as backup. I agree with Brooks because this will be the best test for him before Colombia, if he plays well the spot is his, if not JK brings in Besler against Colombia. Also I doubt Pulisic starts right away. A late game sub maybe, but JK will make him earn the spot like anyone else.

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  8. While it’s one game, we have another in just a few days against Bolivia, I hope JK watches the minutes on many players who have just completed a long and bruising Euro Season and may be prone to physical fatigue and breakdowns.
    I would think Klinsmann would not start Pulisic, but bring him in as a sub or “impact” player later in the game, and of course to watch his minutes. It is easy to forget he is a 17 year old and not yet built up the physical reserves older player have.
    Ecuador is a solid team and can counter punch much harder than Puerto Rico who caught the US napping several times and once for a score. Thy are faster and more technically skilled and are likely to beat the US should the US not put up a solid defense and keep its shape.
    If the US throws is fullback into the attack, as it likes to do, and move the midfield up, Ecuador will see this and make counters that only the US speed could counter. It is much safer to keep yedlin out of the attack until the later part of the game.

    It will be a good test, but for the US to prevail it will have to look after its defensive backline and keep them from getting exposed

    Reply
    • He was a RM on the starters graphic and that’s about it. He was only within 10 yards of the sideline for about 2 minutes of his entire run. He and Morales both pinched inside with Yedlin and Ream taking the roles of the outside midfielders, a de facto 3-5-2 or even at time 2-6-2 since PR was so bunkered. With a players that were available last week you had most of your midfielders were DMs somebody had to play somewhere else.

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      • I was camping and didn’t get a chance to watch the game, so thanks for the analysis. Just for clarity, I was mostly being a smart a**.

      • No worries, I kind of figured most people didn’t watch much of it because the kickoff time and quality of opponent.

  9. Based on their roles at their clubs, I would prefer for J.Jones to push farther up the field while M.Bradley stays back more and covers the back line. Doesn’t mean they can’t switch roles as needed (as long they each communicate). Please no more empty bucket midfield.

    Also, playing Orozco make me wonder if T.Chandler isn’t fully fit whether E.Castillo or E.Lichaj (or T.Ream) get pulled back.

    Lastly, surprised if Zardes and Pulisic get the nods over Bedoya. I’m pretty sure Bedoya starts on one side and Zardes/Pulisic gets the nod on the other side.

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    • Was going to say the same thing in regards to Bradley and Jones.

      Chandler is def not fully fit. He picked up something in his last game. Apparently, he texted Herzog to tell him he was coming to camp and alright. No way Chandler is playing regardless.
      I think he is just getting to camp today.

      And I wouldnt mind resting Fabian again. I will skip a rant about Orozsco not belonging but more practical – has he ever played LB?

      I guess if he is on there as a utility player – might as well see if he can play there in a pinch.

      I have to think Acosta gets in there though.

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      • Sushant – I agree with you on the Jones/Bradley positioning. Some disagree that it is a choice and they are simply a bad pairing, while I think it is more about their actual assignments. If you make Bradley play further back, I think he does that just fine. I find Jones to be a little bit better on the ball than Bradley, but slightly over aggressive on the defensive side, so I would think having Jones further up and Bradley back to be a perfect balance. But, as some have suggested, they just might not be good together as they naturally do the same things with just slight twist. Assuming that is the case, we are doomed since they will find themselves out of position together far too often. Wouldn’t surprise me to have 3 CDM’s starting, however, so you may need to add Beckerman/Kitchen in there too. That may allow for the free roaming of both Bradley and Jones, but from my perspective, the style of play just isn’t fluid or have that cutting edge.

        Regarding LB, your concern is exactly why I have commented on keeping Lichaj around. I really don’t want Orozco to see the pitch, let alone be our LB. Hopefully, Acosta plays the position instead, although I am not exactly thrilled with that either considering his lackluster play there of late (U-23’s). Chandler is at least manageable from my perspective, but due to travel, I don’t see him playing like many others have stated. Maybe FabJo is fit, but he is certainly not worth risking, and I was hoping he could finally play in midfield…

        While Bedoya would normally have been a likely starter, his slight injury may keep him out of this game, which could mean a start for CP22. That, or like I mentioned above, we run a 3 CDM setup where Zardes, Dempsey, and Wood play up front.

        Question for everyone: Nagbe is generally a CAM type of player, not a winger, correct? Granted, I know he has played on the wing before, but that isn’t his “best” position from what I gather (please let me know if I am mistaken). That’s what my concern is with having him on the wing. He will naturally drift to the middle of the pitch and create congestion. We aren’t the most technical team, so I don’t expect to see Barca style play. I prefer to keep the wings and full-backs with faster players that like to attack wide and not drift in as much. Granted, his overall skill and energy may be enough to create a spark regardless of starting position.

        Now that Cameron is out for the game, the likelihood is we see Birnbaum. If not, it will be Orozco at RCB and Acosta at LB.

        I just have this feeling we see something that I won’t be thrilled with (not terrible per say), but looks like this:

        ——————-Wood——————
        —–Zardes—————Dempsey—-
        ——————Bradley——————
        ——-Jones————–Beckerman—
        Orozco—Brooks—Birnbaum—Yedlin
        ——————-Guzan——————-

      • To both of you, this is the problem England had for years with Gerrard and Lampard… They never reached a solution. So it bodes badly for us.

    • Based on their roles at their clubs, I would prefer for J.Jones to push farther up the field while M.Bradley stays back more and covers the back line. Doesn’t mean they can’t switch roles as needed (as long they each communicate).

      We’ve had enough years of footage to acknowledge their games do not compliment each other – regardless of communication, regardless of where they play for their club and regardless of the manager.

      They both share the same tendencies and despite their individual ability remain the non-ideal pairing. The reality is we simply do not have anyone better to take either of their spots (when they’re healthy). So, we continue to see the broken record of their pairing.

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      • sorry to be blunt OldSchool but the last 2 years has been a broken record of pairings all over the field and the roster suggest we’ll continue to see what we’ve always seen positionally, tactically and results wise. I hope i’m wrong but some times you have to call a spade a spade

      • Old School, actually the one thing we haven’t seen is for Klinsmann to tell Bradley, “ok you are the DM, you stay back, that’s your job”, basically tell Bradley to be Beckerman and allow Jones to be the advanced player that roams up-field. I’m not saying that would work, maybe it would maybe it wouldn’t, but we haven’t seen that.

        Ronniet, I agree with you 100%.

      • Old School, actually the one thing we haven’t seen is for Klinsmann to tell Bradley, “ok you are the DM, you stay back, that’s your job”, basically tell Bradley to be Beckerman

        Bradley isn’t Beckerman, though. There’s no denying Bradley has more skill but Beckerman plays a complementary role of the destroyer better than anyone in our pool.

        You and others have this disillusion that Bradley and Jones simply need to be “asked” to play a specific way (for all we know they have) while ignoring what your eyes see: their natural instincts take over and they play the exact…same…way.

        Whether or not there’s broken records around the pitch isn’t what was being discussed. We’re talking about this broken pairing, who are individually skilled, but are not complimentary of one another’s tendencies.

      • Old School, bottom line I disagree with you completely.

        “There’s no denying Bradley has more skill but Beckerman plays a complementary role of the destroyer better than anyone in our pool.” – Nope, Bradley can and would play that position better than Beckerman. He just isn’t asked to by Klinsmann because Klinsmann feels he needs him up top. Bradley can do anything better than Beckerman.

        “their natural instincts take over and they play the exact…same…way.”- Wrong. You can say that about Jones but not Bradley. Bradley’s preferred position by his own words is to play deeper but Klinsmann forces him up top. The times they didn’t work together well was when Klinsmann played them together in that 4-2-3-1 where they have to work like pulleys and communicate well and they always failed at that. If you tell Bradley to sit back I’m pretty sure he will. We aren’t delusional we are just way more perceptive and observant than you are.

      • Agree with UBG here. Bradley playing as a true 6 could work and would better suit MB’s skills but JK insists on playing him further up the field. Not sure why but I’m not sure why JK does a lot of things.

        If they’re going to go with a DM behind JJ and MB, I’d like to see Acosta given a chance. Maybe not against the likes of Colombia but in the near future. Instead, JK will play him at left back.

      • In what seems to be our deepest position right now you want to see a guy that doesn’t even start at FC Dallas?

      • In what seems to be our deepest position right now you want to see a guy that doesn’t even start at FC Dallas?

        I have zero idea who you’re talking to or what you’re referencing, but doesn’t pertain to anything I’ve written. Did you respond to the wrong person?

      • Old School it was to Slows comment above mine, not sure why I didn’t get a reply option to his post about Accosta.

    • Chandler will just be arriving after the game Monday, playing him on one days rest with international travel wouldn’t make much sense. Word is he’s fine physically.

      Orozco, has played fullback and has played left CB so, I think he should be sufficient at LB, the other choice if FJ can’t play is Accosta.

      I don’t think your wrong on Bedoya if all things were equal but with his long shift in PR Sunday I see him coming off the bench for this one or only going a half.

      Reply

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