Photo by ISIphotos.com

With the berth into the Hexagonal round of World Cup qualifying already secure, the U.S. national team has the unique opportunity to play a World Cup qualifier with nothing on the line, which means having the chance to play some younger players and giving some new players a look.

Next Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier against Guatemala should offer us a chance to see some faces we haven’t seen with the national team in a while, and some players who have seen their stock rise in recent months.

We still don’t know who will make up the match roster, but we know we aren’t likely to see key starters such as Tim Howard, Landon Donovan, Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu and Michael Bradley. With that in mind, here is a lineup I wouldn’t mind seeing next Wednesday:

——————Kenny Cooper———Charlie Davies——————–

Jeremiah White ——————————————-Sacha Kljestan

——————-Jose Francisco Torres ——–Ricardo Clark————

Jonathan Bornstein—————————————–Sean Franklin

——————-Pablo Mastroeni——–Michael Parkhurst————-

———————————–Troy Perkins—————————–

Look for Mastroeni to get the start and give the team a veteran presence. With most of the top national team defenders being based in Europe, and playing regularly, I can’t see players like Jay DeMerit and Dan Califf being called in. I must admit that I don’t think the chances of Cooper starting are very good but it would be interesting to see him matched up with Charlie Davies (it also gave me a reason to run the nearly two-year-old photo above).

Charlie Davies and Jeremiah White are the two players whose stock I think has gone up in recent months with their club form. It doesn’t hurt that they can play in positions where the national team needs some depth.

Seeing Torres against Guatemala, which is known for its tough midfield, would be good, but he probably wouldn’t be on the left (where I initially placed him) because that would likely mean being matched up with Mario Rodriguez, who was very dangerous in the last meeting between these teams. Jeremiah White would be a good fit on the left against Rodriguez.

It is still unclear just which European-based players will make the trip, but with the long distance travel to get to Colorado from Europe you shouldn’t expected to see too many European-based players make the trip. That said, you have to wonder whether players such as DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu, Clint Dempsey, Brad Guzan and Jozy Altidore will make the trip over in order to get a game in since they aren’t playing regularly for their clubs. If that foursome makes the trip the starting lineup would obviously be very different.

———————Jozy Altidore———Charlie Davies——————-

DaMarcus Beasley——————————————Clint Dempsey

———————Sacha Kljestan——–Maurice Edu——————-

Jonathan Bornstein—————————————–Sean Franklin

——————-Pablo Mastroeni——–Michael Parkhurst————-

———————————–Brad Guzan—————————–

Now it’s your turn. What lineup would you like to see? Keep in mind the fact that regular national team starters aren’t likely to make the trip.

Share your lineup suggestions in the comments section below.