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Despite a few surprises, Bruce Arena relies on experience with USMNT squad

We all had a pretty good idea of what Bruce Arena was going to do with this U.S. Men’s National Team roster. No matter the situation, young stars like Weston McKennie and Jonathan Gonzalez weren’t going to come into the fold this late in qualifying. At this point, and with these games, Arena needed to rely on something a bit more familiar.

He did just that with his 26-man squad, one which was rapidly shifted to a 25-man squad due to a Gyasi Zardes injury. He went with experience, but that doesn’t mean Arena didn’t toss in one or two real surprises.

The biggest omission? Fabian Johnson, who played 78 largely healthy minutes for Borussia Monchengladbach over the weekend. The winger was part of camp last time out and looked fine over the weekend, making it unlikely he isn’t involved due to injury.

If it’s not injury, then what could it be? Johnson was far from effective last time out, a fact that is pretty much impossible to deny given how invisible he was against Costa Rica. However, there’s little doubt that, when fit, he’s one of the USMNT’s best 25 players. There aren’t 25 players in this pool better than Johnson no matter which way you spin it and his ability to play in several positions makes him an even bigger asset. Still, Johnson isn’t involved, meaning Arena has some sort of plan to form the team without him.

That plan could involve a three at the back, and you could see that being an option given the squad. There’s a wealth of centerback options, even without John Brooks healthy. Michael Orozco’s inlcusion may be a bit odd on the surface, especially with someone like Matt Miazga in good form, but the Club Tijuana defender has shown an ability to play as part of a three-man backline or as either a central defender or outside back in a normal four-at-the-back set.

The midfield also featured a pair of surprise names listed in Benny Feilhaber and Juan Agudelo. In the most likely scenario, neither will play meaningful roles in the coming games with players like Christian Pulisic, Michael Bradley, Kellyn Acosta, Alejandro Bedoya and Darlington Nagbe all making up the central picture. Still, Feilhaber, in particular, could be an interesting super sub that has the ability to make plays in the final third.

In terms of wide options, Nagbe and Pulisic are both potential starters as well as is Paul Arriola if the team goes with a more typical formation. If Arena opts to go with a three, Arriola could be a potential wingback option with DeAndre Yedlin as a guaranteed starter.

The forward pool is straight-forward, for lack of a better word. We knew Jozy Altidore, Bobby Wood and Clint Dempsey would be involved and, even if many didn’t want to admit it, it’s far from surprising to see Chris Wondolowski as the fourth musketeer up top. Wondolowski may not be the exact player you want on the field starting two vital qualifiers, but he’s exactly the type of person you want in the locker room and on the practice field in the days to come. He’s seen plenty in a USMNT shirt and he’ll help keep things in perspective going into the two matches.

Overall, the USMNT roster is essentially as expected where it all matters. Aside from the Johnson exclusion, the big names are all involved. Now, it’s about putting those big names together in a way that earns the USMNT two big results and, ultimately, a spot in Russia come next summer.

Comments

  1. @Bac
    Thanks for sharing the FJ comment, I hadn’t heard that. I’m very relieved because he is certainly one of our 5 best players. I’m curious if Chandler felt the same way?

    In any case, we certainly should be able to take care of Panama and T&T with the players available. And if not, we don’t belong at the World Cup.

    Reply
    • @jb
      I think the earlier comments in this thread and the other one regarding the soccer press is a great example of why we know little to nada about Chandler, I’d be interested in hearing from him too.
      The last interview with him goes back to early this year and supposedly he’d been in contact with BA…
      Then he wasn’t called the 2nd round because he had a 1 game suspension. He was called the 3rd round and dropped due to injury, and nada since.
      At least in this case, we’ve got Yedlin back

      Reply
  2. What a bunch of sissies you all have become. It’s a disgrace. Even worse than the competitive dilemma we find ourselves in in qualifying.

    US fans on SBI and every fan US Soccer fan site have become impatient crybabies All I hear in these places is a bunch of “Fire everybody we can think of”, or “the coach is a latent racist”, or “perhaps it would be better if the US didn’t qualify”. Shameful.

    Newsflash…. you’ve become spoiled. It’s like we have become England, only without the solitary World Cup win 50 years ago. Panic is the order of the day when things go even vaguely wrong. Modest successes (such as the now-taboo Gold Cup win) are discarded immediate in favor of the latest “catastrophe”.

    I believe (in fact, I am certain) that we will win these two games, and that we will be better for it. It’s a pity to think — I’m sure many people here will be too consumed with “why everybody should still be fired/replaced and I’m still right…..” to even celebrate what should be a great day in the cycle.

    Reply
  3. I’m a little surprised no one has mentioned player commitment with regards to the “snubs” of Chandler and Johnson. I’ve seen post after post slamming Arena for not calling in these guys, but has anyone wondered if just maybe they don’t want to play for the US anymore? I don’t need to get in to all the issues with Chandler during the last cycle under JK, that is well documented. Besides which, all you people demanding Chandler seem to forget just how awful he has played for the USMNT. I don’t care how great he looks in the Bundesliga, give me Zusi every time. Actually please give me Yedlin. FJ has been on the record that he wants to retire from international duty after next summer. How do you think JK would have reacted to that sentiment. We can question Arena’s tactics all day long, but he is a smart guy. If he thought those two guys were completely committed and better than the alternatives, he would’ve called them.

    Reply
    • @ JB
      Interview with Fabian Sunday, “Fabian Johnson was devastated and shocked to learn he wouldn’t be part of the US squad for the last two qualifying matches, yet shows complete confidence they will win their games and qualify”
      He’s been a regular part of this group for 5 years now, with a question mark One time in OT vs Mexico… which had more people criticizing JK than Fabian..
      This is a mistake by Arena… period.
      As far as Chandler, he was only called in once by Arena and dropped due to injury. He’s playing the best soccer of his career, if Arena is supposed to be a good coach, how do you not get a guy playing that well in your camp so you can see for yourself- unless your mind is already made up???

      Reply
      • Total Hysteria on this site. Like a really, really depressing version of “Lord of the Flies”….

        it’s become a bunch of defeatists climbing over each other for the lame, forgettable title of “who was the earliest to write the eulogy” and lead Arena, Gulati, Klinsmann, the family Bradley, Tab Ramos, Nigel Tufnel, and whoever else they can think of to lead to the gallows.

        Big deal. Buy yourself a warm beer.

        When you get over it, come on back and get excited about this showdown.

        THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!!!!

      • @Johnny
        I went back and couldn’t find it.. I saw it that morning soon after he released the roster & copied into another thread.. It looked like a twitter screenshot from one reporter copied into another reporter’s article-and it was on a US website.
        When I went back and tried to find it, a lot of stuff I found was in German and I didn’t take the time to do a translate to find out if anything else was possibly said anywhere else… I’ll look again

  4. I for one am tired of hearing about Bruce’s “Veteran” argument. There are far too many Veteran players and retreads, and too few players who’ll challenge the established players.
    Howard, Besler, Beasley, Yedlin, Gonzalez, Bradley, Pulisic, Wood, Jozy & Dempsey provide plenty of Veteran Leadership. We all know that Rimando, McCarty, Wondo, Orozco, Zusi, & Bedoya have shown time & again over the last year that they are not international caliber players.
    Most of this 2nd group are 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th stringers who’s spots should have gone to players who have played well at their club level, but haven’t gotten an opportunity recently with the USNT. Horvath/Hamid, McKennie/Gonzalez, Chandler, Garza, Miazga, etc….

    Arena is setting this team up to fail….and needs to be held accountable. At this point even if we do qualify I fully expect Bruce to hold pat with his selection of unworthy players.

    Reply
  5. Yes, totally agreed. #ArenaOut. Facing a “do or die” situation, I have no problem with Arena relying on his potentially starting “experienced” veterans, staying in a comfort zone for a laid back, old fashion head coach. I have a BIG problem with him picking the 3rd choices players (not likely to get into a game for the October qualifiers) such as Nick Rimando and Dax McCarty. If picking Rimando and McCarty to sit way down on the bench for the 2 games, why not call in Ethan Horvath to start gaining international/CONCACAF experiences? What’s wrong with calling in Weston McKennie to get a head start understanding with the USMNT’s tactics and systems? Fabian Johnson was not sharp enough playing left wing/midfield the last window, but he’s still an upgrade over the 38-year old Demarcus Beasley (make no mistake, I have tons of respect for Beasley) at left back. If the US fails to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Bruce Arena and Sunil Gulati will go down in US soccer history as the BIGGEST villains to blame for, not Jürgen Klinsmann! I’m praying that the USMNT will survive the storm and eventually qualify for the world cup! Go, go, go USA!

    Reply
  6. I’d take that backline over whatever Arena comes up with his picks. JJ and Danny Williams might be better or at least on par with a MB90/Acosta middle as well. Kljsten is arguably better in MLS than both Nagbe and Fielhaber at attacking mid position.

    Reply
    • @danny, glad someone else sees the obvious which is our MF has been outplayed all hex long and that starts and ends with MB<<90. Sad that we have to be having this conversation right before the most must win game in USMNT history since the T&T game in 1990. This MF has had all hex to figure it out and its not working. I want to be soooo wrong on this but there is no evidence other than having Yedlin back at RB to help with pressure down the right flank that give me any hope things will be different than the performance we saw against CR or Honduras last window.
      —-
      I've never been a Nagbe fan and I pointed out last year even the same things folks have issues with him today, he makes great penetrating dribbling runs at defenders but then dribbles his way into too many defenders and can't find the unlocking pass and loses possession.
      —-
      Both Feilhaber and Klejstan are players I would have liked to see JK use more often and thats all on JK for not using them at CAM. Klesjtan spent most of last cycle starting for Anderlecht and has the most Champions League minutes of any active player under 35 although Pulisic will pass him later this year or next, why he wasn't used baffles me. MB played in the CAM role most of last WC partly due to having to move Dempsey to striker after Altidore got injured first game but having Kllejstan or Feilhaber would have give better options and allowed us to keep players in their most effective position. Klejstan gets a lot flack for not pressuring or defending well but he's best as a CAM in a 4231, he's not supposed to be a ball winning CM or CDM making tackles and running all over the pitch.

      Reply
  7. Said last window that not calling in Chandler with Yedlin injured at the time was a fireable offense. Had we not got lucking at the very end of the Honduras match all of our outlooks would be much darker than they are now. I’m now saying Bruce deserved to be fired after the Honduras match last window for the way the team played not just last window but throughout his tenure including GC.
    —-
    He’s leaving off players with more talent both technically and positionally and playing at higher levels (Bundesliga, 2.Bundesliga, EPL, Championship) for club and instead favoring essentially lower division (MLS, LigaMX) players with less talent. He also has no idea how to plan for uncertainties. The biggest uncertainty I worry about is MB picking up yellow against Panama, then we’re forced to role out the Acosta McCarty midfield that lit up the GC group stage. BA could be planning to play 352 so that might not be as big a worry as it is if he sticks religiously to his usual flat 442.
    —-
    The non MLS bias is blatantly obvious at this point given who he decided to bench after the CR loss and who he decides not the call up for must win WCQ windows. Of course, I have my doubt about how much control BA has over the roster call ups at this point.
    —-
    I said earlier this summer on this blog that one thing that always stuck in the back of my head was JK being interviewed by the ESPN announcers during the 2010 WC, when he gets asked about why he couldn’t come to terms with USSF back in 2006/7 he says it had to do with control of player call ups. I think USSF finally bent enough to meet him somewhere in the middle on control of roster but didn’t give JK full control (Wondo). When JK failed to call in LD for 2014 USSF had had enough and used media contacts to slowly build the sentiment and narrative of using out of position players at other positions (FJ at LB) and inconsistent lineups (on JK other than injuries).
    —-
    Something’s not right at the top of our federation imo. I wish we had soccer media in this country who asked the tough questions for the benefit of fans like us. For Instance, BA has not yet been asked directly about the Chandler snub last window. I want him to directly answer that since it will tell us definitively if either Chandler turned down the call up or BA didn’t bother to call in a more talented player.
    —-
    I want our soccer media to do some real investigative work on what stinks inside USSF. Is it USSF’s relationship with MLS/SUM, is there an old boys network that is too insular and opposed to outside ideas and concepts, is there an anti dual national click among players and others within USSF (Howard/Wambeck/Arena comments), why is MB always a automatic starter and immune from benching or subbing off his play hasn’t warranted it (JJ commented on this earlier).
    —–
    I really want to know who deep and influential the relationship between MLS/SUM and USSF is particularly when it comes to USMNT call up and roster control. It appears to any of us watching that there is an influence and JK has at least stated on record while being on ESPN that it was an issue in the past regarding contract negotiations. If this is a problem what reputable international manager would ever agree to manage the USMNT if he can’t control who he calls up, what a joke of a federation we have if this is true.
    —-
    Unfortunately, as fans we are in the dark. Strange things are happening with call ups and roster decisions for the USMNT at a time when our next games are more must win that in 30 plus years. Until someone asks the tough questions and we get to hear their reasoning for themselves all this just sounds like a loony conspiracy theory.
    ——
    The standard USSF and media head answers are the ‘continuity’ argument. BA literally said last week, “We can’t afford to experiment now” or something like that, but we get an Orozco call, along with Feihaber and Agudelo and Zardes. Orozco has been barely seeing any minutes for club recently and Feihaber has only had spot minutes for the USMNT the past year and Agudelo really?, So he seems to being contradicting himself with these call ups.
    ——
    And just for fun what do you guys think about the USMNT snub lineup(433) below, who wins them or current call ups in BA’s flat 442?
    ——
    Green——Dwyer——-Gooch
    ———————————–
    —-Hyndman—–Kjestan—–
    ——————JJ—————
    FJ—–Miazga—–CCV—-Chandler
    —————Horvath————

    Reply
    • 2.Bundesliga is not a higher level than MLS.

      Hyndman has no PL minutes this year and hasn’t ahd 1st team minutes in almost 2 years now and you want to start him? Green hasn’t even scored a goal for his 2nd division team yet and you want to start him? Change for change sake alone is stupid.

      Reply
      • @Clover, if you’d read correctly you’d notice I wasn’t advocating that as starting lineup just having fun with what a linuep could look like with the players left of the roster.

        And MLS is definitely not equal level as English Championship or 2.Bundesliga and any soccer manager or technical director outside the US would disagree with you. Transfer prices bear this out pretty quantitatively and so does MLS record’s in CCL too.
        —–
        And not changing anything from last window would be dooming us to a playoff at best or bounced at worst.

    • Joe- Where to begin? FIrst, you can’t fire your manager with two must-win matches to play in four weeks. Especially when said manager’s record is 9-6-1 and had won the regional championship. I don’t know many that want to see Bruce beyond next Summer, but to do it last month would have been madness.
      -None of the players in the leagues you mentioned have shown to be great players as international players except FJ. Chandler has been passed on by the last three managers at times. McKennie doesn’t even have a lot of youth national experience. Gooch only recently was able to earn regular minutes with Sunderland after playing primarily with the U23s last year.
      -I think you have put on your tinfoil hat for the rest of this. JK continued to call in mostly European and Liga Mx lineups through the 2015 GC. What changed was that most of the American players in Europe returned to MLS and the next group the Agudelo/Shea/Gatt group either dropped out or got injured there just aren’t Euro players healthy in that age group. Bottom line is until a month ago there just weren’t that many Americans getting consistent minutes and those that were, were not demonstrating they were better.
      -I do wish the soccer media would talk with Chandler, we had countless interviews with Benny about JK not picking him, where is the Chandler interview. There is evidence it could be partially him, but we have no definitive answer.
      -The MLS/SUM & USSF relationship is interesting, wish Outside the Lines or 30 for 30 would do a story, but I don’t think there is any conspiracy going on.
      -Bradley isn’t pulled because he is the captain (captains don’t get pulled and when available they start) no one at his deep holding midfielder position is better.
      -I did like how JK did frequent facebook sessions with fans, a lot of the answers were coach speak, but at least you got some direct info before matches. Bruce did one or two last winter but hasn’t since.
      -Orozco was a regular starter for Tijuana last season and after coming back from an early injury he had started a string of matches. He is also the only defender we have that regularly plays every backline position. Benny, Gyasi and Agudelo all have over 25 caps.
      -From what we know about your sub line up JJ would pick up a red card, CCV would give a penalty, Chandler would walk back after the ball was played behind him to Pulisic, Kljestan would stand still and avoid getting the ball because it would be a high pressure match, FJ would sulk at LB and never go forward, Hyndman would come off after 35 minutes with a foot injury and Dom Dwyer would miss fourteen point blank shots. Or they could win 3-1, everyone you said has just as many downsides as the guys on the roster. You are using the back up QB mentatlity, you are assuming the next guy is always better. Look at Villafana and Nagbe a year ago they were the saviors of the USMNT until they got looks and we discovered their problems. We are even seeing this with Pulisic, the more we watch the more things we see to work on.
      -As always I enjoy your passion, hope we aren’t having a conversation next week at this time on Bruce’s replacement because it means we lost, which I know you don’t want to see.

      Reply
      • @Johnny, the snub lineup was just for fun but does show some depth. I acknowledge what I posted sounds conspiratorial in the post actually, and said until someone does some real journalistic investigation on this we will never really know how USSF is being influenced by MLS/SUM.
        —-
        As far as players and these call ups. I can’t really see how you continue window after window supporting BA. Chandler over Zusi, Orozco over Miazga, Zardes of FJ, Agudelo over anybody. You’ve been so one side in you support that I think you might be connected to USSF somehow, in which case maybe you have the answers. Would like to just see a little criticism give the US situation right now otherwise your undying support of this regime is telling.

      • @Johnny, ya as for you last comment. I hope so too. I might not agree with your reply but I hope you right so I can watch my USMNT at the WC. Never before have I wanted to be more wrong.

      • @Johnny:

        Finally, someone else that calls out the crappy journalist for not doing their jobs and looking into MLS/SUM and USSF. I’ve been talking about this for years, and so many fans seem to have their head in the sand.

      • Joe- Not really a Bruce supporter just don’t think there is a viable option. As I said everyone that is mentioned as being skipped over has deficiencies. You couldn’t bring in unknowns in March for matches 3&4 because without 4 pts qualifying is over and you’re staying home, 5&6 Williams was busy with promotional playoffs and McKennie had 20 minutes of pro soccer Gooch had been playing U23 since November, Gonzalez wasn’t even a starter for the U20 team. Matches 7&8 Williams wasn’t playing for Huddersfield, McKennie, Gooch, Wright still had only had a few minutes of pro time, Gooch couldn’t make the field for relegated Sunderland. That brings us to this week, Williams hurt, Lichaj not playing, Miazga behind Cameron and Omar at RCB doesn’t play LCB which does matter with most CBs. The young guys a complete crap shoot given short travel time and conditions in TnT. Coaches try to eliminate as much uncertainty as possible, and Bruce believes he’s done that. He wants to win, and he thinks this is the best unit. The problem isn’t the players it’s getting them into the right spots and tactics to win. JK was criticized for not giving his players direction, Arena’s problem is giving bad direction. He has only played to draw on the road not really even trying to win at Panama or Honduras, that has left no margins in these last two matches.

      • Old School- I think people need to know about where and how much money is moving back and forth but I don’t think MLS is dictating USMNT rosters, MLS teams hardly play American players anymore and most are uninterested in developing young talent. I give the soccer media a little bit of a break in that there is very little budget. Most of the national soccer guys also have other sports they have to cover and sights like this don’t have budgets to get their own interviews only relying on a few national outlets to share. If Ives didn’t work for Goal he wouldn’t be flying around the country for SBI. If we the consumer continue to demand more coverage and increase our numbers better reporting will come.

      • Johnnyrazor
        *DM
        McKennie plays defensive midfielder for a 9th place Bundesliga team HE IS A BETTER DM THAN MICHAEL BRADLEY!!!! (“…..he doesn’t even have a lot of youth national experience” really? He’s playing in the Bundesliga and he doesn’t qualify because he didn’t play enough at youth level? lol
        Geoff Cameron plays in the EPL is a better defensive midfielder than Michael Bradley (…and yes we have Brooks, Omar, Besler, Hedges or Miazga that can play CB, with Cameron helping out with defensive responsibilities)
        ” Gooch only recently was able to earn regular minutes with Sunderland”…that’s correct, and that means IN HIS CURRENT STATE AND FITNESS LEVEL he is playing at a higher level than ANYTHING MLS
        *CAM
        Sasha Klesjan is better CAM than Bradley
        Lee Nguyen is most certainly a better CAM than Michael Bradley
        Benny Feilhaber is a better CAM than MB
        Clint Dempsey, AT THAT POSITION, is a better CAM than MB
        So let me get this straight…..given the formation that the USMNT likes to play with, you have players that are better than MB at DM, and you have players that are better than MB at CAM…..SO WHAT IS HE DOING ON THE FIELD??? Especially since with him in the midfield we can’t seem to hold on to the ball, control the game or effectively feed our strikers up top

        You are right though…..that sometimes we see other players as saviors when that isn’t really the case. But as far as the midfield we need to try something different, starting with Bradley

      • Also Johnnyrazor
        When are we going to realize that getting valid minutes in the Bundesliga and the EPL shouldn’t be a factor when selecting a squad for the National Team as we are getting beaten CONVINCINGLY by MLS BENCH warmers (UREA and VERGAS to name a few :-D)

      • Bizzy- Not sure you understood my comments. Bradley is not a CAM never said he was not sure why you compared him to guys that play a different position. Watch games he’s better than McKennie, I think McKennie will be better he’s better than Michael at 18 but not now. Then you stated Gooch starting for one of the worst teams in the Championship is the reason for being called up but then said where you play shouldn’t determine call-ups. I’m confused.

      • Johnnyrazor,
        “Bradley is not a CAM never said he was…” you are right. you never said he was but you made a point of to why he is on the field. My point was to highlight that he isn’t the best DM option or CAM option so why is he on the field.
        “Watch games he’s better than McKennie..” ABSOLUTELY NOT. No he is not. Michael Bradley cannot play for a Bundesliga team like Schalke. Even 4 – 5 years ago, when he was at his best, he was struggling to get consistent playing time at ROMA ….As a midfielder Michael Bradley WILL NOT MAKE THE STARTING 11 for Schalke.
        “where you play shouldn’t determine call-ups. I’m confused.”…..I’m just as confused as you. You were talking about players that where not getting playing time in a league that most players on the USMNT won’t get playing time either…… 🙂

      • Bizz-Ok I think I get what you are saying, the guys that were mentioned McKennie, Gooch, Gonzalez weren’t even really professionals until August. (I know Gooch played a few matches last season but was then sent down to the U23 for the majority of the season and started there this season, McKennie played a few minutes but hadn’t played above the U19 level, same with Gonzalez there was no reason to call them) No one in their right mind would call in uncapped players for two must win matches now in October. Yes, you could bring in a couple as training players, but what do you do if a couple guys pick up yellows against Panama. Then you’d have a must win match having to start a jet-lagged 19-year-old with no caps three of four days of light training on a track stadium field in hot and humid conditions.

        Schalke is a development squad, they develop players to sell for a profit. McKennie is worth more if he improves and can be sold, he can’t improve if he isn’t played. Goretzka is being talked about for January transfers so the need for McKennie to develop faster is also there. So no Bradley wouldn’t start at Schalke because at his age Schalke can’t improve his value. Bradley is good enough to play for quite a few Bundesliga teams, but they aren’t going to sign him because at his age he will only decline

      • Johnnyrazor.
        “Schalke is a development squad, they develop players to sell for a profit.”
        …Now that is true, but so does ALL mid-level top league teams (its the way they keep cash flow). Yet they field players that can keep them in the top-flight too and Mckennie is doing just that.
        “Bradley is good enough to play for quite a few Bundesliga teams”
        And no Bradley he is not, again he was struggling for playing time at Roma 5 years ago and those were his BEST DAYS. He is older , less physical and slower than before and it shows in his game. Bradley has never been scouted by ANY club in the Bundesliga, EPL, La Liga or Serie A. Why because he is not at that level anymore period (he’s not the player he use to be).
        You are right in that you cannot change things automatically this late in the game but after this period we need to start putting in the BETTER players.

  8. So tired of everyone talking about call ups when the real issue with this team is chemistry, commitment, and team management. If leaving FJ out makes for a better locker room/on field attitude for the team then great. Who is in and who is out matters a lot less than who is the spark plug for this team, where is the glue, and what is the game plan? Our biggest problem the last few games was not talent level or not matching up skill for skill with the other teams in the hex, it is that we seem to be the only team that tries to change tactics and overall game planning every match. All the other teams come into these games with a plan and a commitment to that plan from each player on the pitch. We seem to think we are good enough to just throw out players and we will win. We will play a new defensive pair, a new set of midfielders, and a new attacking formation, and then wonder why we keep coming out flat and unsure. If these are the guys Bruce trusts then fine, but he better put them into the right frame of mind and get the most out of them because that is the only way we win these games. Win, lose, or draw….make the WC or not, this team needs a major attitude adjustment in 2018!

    Reply
  9. I suspect we will see a 3-5-2 formation. That said, the US can not play like it has nothing to lose. While they do lose control of their destiny with a D, they would be FAR from eliminated. With a D and then a W, they’d be 3rd if Panama doesn’t beat CR and Hond doesn’t beat both Mex and CR … even if 1 of those 2 happens, they’d still be 4th (and playing a Home and Home against Syria or Australia for a spot in the WC).

    Reply
  10. Let’s drop Fabian Johnson, one of our best and most versatile players. You think he played badly against Costa Rica? How many other players sucked as well. How do you think Zardes with his brick feet would have done or Bedoya? We are taking off the roster skill players that can actually possess and pass the ball to Pulisic. Just watch how are attack works out. Nagbe and Fielhaber will get the ball and dribble with their head down until they lose it. And Chandler is not as good as Beasely, Zusi, Lichaj or Orozco (he hasn’t even played in months- are you kidding me!!!!!). And no JJones when we need toughness and leadership. But I guess we have Wondo and Mcarty for that. People should now be seriously asking the question about Arena’s past Xenophobic comments. This is a pattern against our German-American players, that are obviously a step above half of this 2nd- rate MLS squad. SBI- are you investigating this story? These are fireable offenses!

    Reply
      • “”Players on the national team should be — and this is my own feeling — they should be Americans” -Bruce Arena

      • “I think the majority of the national team should come out of Major League Soccer. The people that run our governing body think we need to copy what everyone else does, when in reality, our solutions will ultimately come from our culture.” -Bruce Arena

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