The U.S. national team will look to move one step closer to World Cup 2010 in South Africa today by beating Barbados and winning its home-and-home series to advance to the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
The task is a simple one. Hold on to its 8-0 lead from the first game and the Americans advance to the next round (stop laughing). The U.S. team will be fielding an inexperienced squad, with key stars such as Tim Howard, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey being left out of today’s match in Barbados.
We could see several young faces in the mix today. Whether it’s Danny Szetela, Drew Moor, Chris Seitz or Sacha Kljestan, U.S. coach Bob Bradley will have a chance to look at several players who might not otherwise get a chance to play in a World Cup qualifier at this stage in their careers.
Here is the USA lineup for today:
———-Adu——–Beasley————
Lewis—-Bradley–Szetela——–Kljestan
Pearce—Califf—-DeMerit——–Moor
—————Guzan———————-
Szetela gets his first U.S. national team start in a midfield that could be three-fourths of the midfield we’ll see the U.S. Olympic team field in Beijing later this summer.
If you are watching today’s match (ESPN Classic), and will be near a computer, please feel free to follow the match here. You’re welcome to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play on the action in the comments section below.
Enjoy the match.