The U.S. men's national team returns to American soil tonight for its World Cup qualifier vs. Trinidad & Tobago (7:30pm, ESPN2/Galavision). Fresh off a disappointing performance and unforgettable comeback in its 2-2 tie vs. El Salvador on Saturday, the U.S. team needs three points tonight and will look to keep a World Cup qualifying win streak going that dates back to 2004.
With a good home crowd expected at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee tonight, the Americans should get a boost as they look to put on a better performance than they did in San Salvador.
For those of you who missed it, here is my preview of tonight's match for ESPN.com.
Can the Americans regroup and put Saturday's performance behind them? The task falls to U.S. head coach Bob Bradley, who must selected a starting lineup he feels can secure the three points. He will have to make some tough decisions, and some that shouldn't be so tough, about his lineup.
Chief among the decisions are who to start in central midfield alongside Michael Bradley and who to play at left back. With Sacha Kljestan and Heath Pearce delivering terrible performances against El Salvador, Bob Bradley will need to decide if it is time to go in another direction, or give these two another chance.
With that in mind, here is the lineup we will probably see tonight, as well as some other observations from tonight's match.
———————Ching——————–
Beasley———–Donovan———Dempsey
————-Kljestan——Bradley———–
Spector—–Bocanegra—Onyewu—-Hejduk
———————-Howard——————-
No, that's not a typo. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Bob Bradley call on Sacha Kljestan again. While I would give the nod to Jose Francisco Torres, Bradley surely remembers how well Kljestan played against T&T in their home qualifying victory in Chicago last fall and will want to give the Chivas USA midfielder a chance to restore his confidence. That said, it will be tough for Bradley to ignore how well Torres played as a sub vs. El Salvador.
One change that seems inevitable is Jonathan Spector starting in place of Heath Pearce at left back. The fact that Jonathan Bornstein was called in makes you wonder if Pearce will even dress for this game.
One player who is missing here is Jozy Altidore, who continues to make a strong case for playing time. The only way I see Altidore in the starting lineup is if DaMarcus Beasley is hurt or if Bradley decides to sit Beasley and shift around his formation. It is clear that Beasley's lack of playing time at Rangers has hurt his form, but that isn't something Bradley can ignore.
What will be the keys to stopping Trinidad & Tobago? If Francisco Maturana goes with the old man, Russell Latapy, in his starting lineup then the Americans have a skillful and experienced playmaker who can pick apart a defense the way he did against the Americans in their last World Cup qualifier in Trinidad. With Latapy pulling the strings, the Soca Warriors can turn to speedsters Kenwyne Jones, Carlos Edwards and Keon Daniel, as well as forward options Jason Scotland and Stern John.
Stopping Edwards will be key for Spector, who is athletic enough to deal with the speedy winger, but who will certainly need some help from Beasley, who provided little support to Pearce on Saturday. Trinidad surely watched El Salvador ravage the American left flank and will look to feed Edwards, while also sending numbers down that wing.
Where the Americans can succeed is in beating the physical but limited T&T defense. Good ball movement, incisive passing and clinical finishing helped the Americans throttle Trinidad & Tobago, 3-0, at home last fall. They won't have as easy a time this go round, at least not without Beasley, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey stepping their games up.
Look for a fast game with plenty of chances to go around. If T&T learned anything from its last loss on American soil, it is that it can't win by sitting back and absorbing U.S. pressure. That means the U.S. defense could be in for its toughest qualifying test to date.
What do you think about tonight's game? Do you see the Americans rebounding? Could they actually drop points at home? Do you like the projected lineup above? Praying Jozy Altidore and Jose Torres get the starts? Would a win tonight help ease some of the fears raised by Saturday's draw?
Share your thoughts on tonight's match in the comments section below.
I would love to see Jozy get the start, but I wont be upset with Bob if he doesnt start him.
Kljestan had a bad game against El Salvador, but we cant forget the promise he showed in the olympics, and in last years qualifiers.
If torres gets the start I will be surprised and excited to see him play, but T n T may be a little too physical for him. Kljestan played well against TnT last year, so I wouldnt be surprised to see him start tonight.
Pearce on the bench ( or not at all ) is a given.
hope the midfielders on this are an April fools day joke…
the starting line-up that Jen Chang and Ives both suggest is the way to go with Dempsey-Torres-Bradley-Donovan for a midfield… part of the problem with Dempsey on the nats is no one can play quick with him like he plays with Fulham, Torres can do so and if we really want the ball moving put Adu in front of those 2… if only I were king….
I think BB has done a fine job at getting results. No need to call for his head. Yeah his line ups may be a little lame, but we are still in first. What else do you want?
Klejstan is NOT good enough and he never will be, period. As fans we have to be more intelligent to acknowledge that. There are good players who have bad games, and then there are mediocre players who occasionally have good games-Klejstan quite clearly falls into the later category. We cannot have a central midfielder at the int’l level who plays in MLS-look at his speed of thinking, his touch on the ball, his positional awareness. NOT EVEN CLOSE to good enough.
Torres STARTS every week for a top club in Mexico-he has quick feet, a quick mind and has been much more consistent in his limited time on the pitch-complete opposite of Sacha.
i agree with a few of the earlier comments re: Kljestan… i am not ready to give up on him. what good does it do to give up after 1 or 2 poor performances. by most accounts he is a future contributor to the national squad, so what kind of message does it send to pull him now – or any player for that matter.
re: Torres, maybe he should start, but a lot of this love for him is based on somewhat limited playing time. i don’t know, i’d be interested to see him start… if he were to have a poor game, i’d be interested to see what everyone thinks of him then.
I would implore anyone going to the match tonight to make a huge banner saying: “FIRE GULATI” or something clever like “Choose One: w/ boxes for Mourinho, Hiddink, Riijkard”
If we want a shot at this next WC, we need to take action as fans now-we can’t get to the next level w/ this joker for a coach.
I live in Boston and we don’t play WC qualifies at Foxborough anywmore : (
Beasley needs to sit on the bench for a few games. That is all.
If Sacha startes he better score 2 goals and Im on the verge of saying the same about Beasley. Honestly B. Bradley needs to show us something here. Please shock us with the lineup( in a good way).
kpugs: I assume that Berhalter is subject to the allocation order, which is reset every offseason in reverse order of performance that season. Seattle was first, used it on Keller. San Jose was next, and used it on Convey. the Galaxy are now first in line. Since RB were in the finals last season, they would be second to last in the allocation order (barring trades, of course)
it’s no ‘giftwrapping’ it’s the way the rules are written.
I like Milkshake’s idea for that lineup, but what about nixing the whole two def mid lineup? at least try it out, that way we can have something like this:
—-altidore—ching
beasley—-donovan—-dempsey
——-bradley—
four in the back
i’d like to see this tried out for a half at some point, we can take ching out and put torres in the middle if BB wants a 4-5-1
but i think Landy’s best position is as supporting striker, center attacking mid, i don’t think he is as effective on the wing. just my opinion.
1. Bradley NEEDS to change something up for this game. The game against El Salvador was a disgrace. It seems like players are expecting to get the nod and don’t feel the need to work for it or perform well to stay a starter. This is not the MLS, EPL, or any other league…you do not need to play your high profile well paid players….you play who is performing well in camp and shows motivation to get on the pitch. Seems like the old Bruce Arena effect of playing “the good ol boys” is starting to kick in with BB. Maybe a benching or two would change the attitudes and motivation level of those that are starting and don’t deserve it.
2. Subs need to be used sooner in the match. God help us if we keep someone in that isn’t playing well or are tired and they end up not marking their man or turning the ball over leading to a goal.
3. If Onyewu is back, defense will be fine. The link between Boca-Gooch is far supreme to that of any other 2 CB’s, obviously because they play with each other in every game. You could see the difficulties Boca and Califf were having on the field on Saturday. Plus Timmy is back, and he is quite well at organizing things in the back. Guzan looked a little timid for the first 70 minutes of the game.
Additional thought:
I agree with Dave (above). We need a new coach. On this subject, Jamie Trecker’s blog is refreshing.
I don’t want that lineup, actually. Spector isn’t fast enough anymore to be simply abandoned like that out on the left. he’d get passed by like a Hyundai at Indy. Clint certainly isn’t going to be tracking back very well, if past is prologue. or are we expecting the left side D to start with Torres?
Donovan should not have defensive responsibility, and in front of Heydude on the right he would (or Bradley would have to track back and wide all the time) Donovan can do it, sure, but him getting the ball at our own 18 is a waste of time for everyone.
lastly, Jozy has made a great impact when he has entered games, not so much when he’s started (And this goes back to New York) he is great at using his physical abilities to beat tired defenders in the 18. He doesn’t have the skill or experience yet to take advantage of them for 90. there’s nothing wrong with being a supersub, that’s just the best way to use him right now.
the 4-4-2 proposed by milkshake is actually LESS offensively minded than the 4-5-1 proposed by Ives. against the speed of the Soca Warriors, the 4-4-2 will mean our wingers will have to play lots of defense, leaving Torres alone in the middle of the pitch ahead of Bradley. he’s not going to get help from the forwards (seriously, what is either Jozy or Ching going to do with a ball at the offensive end of the center circle? turn into Maradona and start beating people on the dribble?) they are both fine options inside the 18 (ching for his passing and vision, Jozy for his off the ball runs and nose for goal) but neither one is going to break down a defense on their own.
Donovan needs to be in the middle of the pitch where he can make runs at goal, not out on the wing at a track meet. he’s just not a winger, and we need to stop pretending he is. it’s bad enough we stick Clint out on the wing (where let’s be honest here, he doesn’t look comfortable) so you want to take perhaps our two best offensive threats and play them BOTH out of position? why?
Lets see Spector start, please. The kid played a full season in the premier league starting nearly every match while at Charlton a couple of years back. He is back in form now with West Ham and Zola has begun to start him consistently. He should be an automatic start like Dempsey and Howard. I believe he plays right back normally, so shift Frankie to the left then.
Master of the Obvious, I couldn’t agree more with your comments
Chris: where do I begin-first of all-that’s not Ives line-up-it’s what he “thinks” BB will likely go with, Milkshake’s lineup is the one Ives would like to see.
Go conservative until we qualify? Worked really well against El Salvador didnt it? And then what? when we qualify, throw Mia Hamm on the pitch?
And JOzy was on the pitch for what 10-15 minutes vs. Mexico, and he couldn’t track back defensively? And that’s probably because he’s big. Come on GUY.
BOTTOM LINE: This is all semantics, read Jamie Trekker’s blog 2 days ago on Fox. If we are serious about the WC, we need a new coach, period.
@ RYC
If Kljestan is in the first XI, my head will also explode.
It’s not a matter of “giving up on him” or “over-reacting.” Kljestan has never been convincing against stronger opponents. Torres should give us a fighting edge and a range of midfield passing that Kljestan cannot.
@ Milkshake…
Yes, this is the line-up we would like to see…
I would like Altidore from the beginning. But if Papa Bradley at least starts Torres I will be somewhat mollified.
There’s something tricky here: I could see Kljestan starting and playing well against T&T — scoring even. Which would give his supporters every reason to say “see, he’s good.” But the prediction here is that 2010 with Kljestan in the first XI will be short and not-so-sweet.
Whoever is sent out over the next few matches, we will likely qualify. Which brings me to an honest question: When do supporters start to put out banners asking for Papa Bradley to be sacked? What is your breaking point?
I think that BB is trying to go old school USA with most of our positions but his main problem isn’t that Kljeston sucks,, its that he doesn’t fit in well. Turtle is right. To stay old school and conservative would mean that Pablo would get that role.
A new look would bring in guys like Torres, JOzy, Adu and some of the older guys would lose their jobs. That’s the way playing for your national team works. NO vet out there is going to get offended if there is a younger, fitter, more able player ready to take the job. BB just needs to accept that and realize he is the man and he has got to call those shots. I just don’t think that we have an identity yet until he makes it happen.
I like Milkshake’s lineup. (Ah, I love Internet pseudonyms.)
I think this game is an easy win either way (bold or conservative). The U.S. is at home and has better players.
The scenarios Ives puts forward screams for Dempsey and Spector on the left and Pablo manning up on Latapy. Pablo can nix his receiving and distribution of the ball (MB failed at this in TNT) while Dempsey’s improved two way game will aid in defending the left flank while putting pressure on them getting forward (Beasley i love you but we need these 3 pts). That also allows for LD on the right and Jozy’s physical presence and agility against their physical backs up front.
It seems obvious to me.
All, Sacha has rarely had a good performance and he has shown that he is terrible on the ball and is passing is eratic. It gets worse, the faster the opposition is. If he can’t handle this level of opposition then there is no way he is going to be able to handle the speed of European, South American and African teams. I think there is a reason Celtic passed on him. This isn’t just one poor performance.
not in love with the idea of ching as lone striker but i’m not sure what other option there is….i hope jozy comes in about the 60th minute…as for the kljestan talk, lets just take it easy, the kid was not the only one to have a bad game last saturday
Ives….sacha….really?????
….Altidore….Ching…….
……….Donovan………..
..Dempsey….Torres……Bradley
….Bornstein…Boca….Onyewu…Frankie..
………….Howard…………
If one is willing to overlook Klejstan’s sub-par performance in San Salvador, then his good game against Sweden’s B-team should also be ignored. On balance, I don’t think he has played his way off the squad, but friendlies against opponents who are obviously testing out newbies don’t yield much useful information, do they?
To say that BB will stay conservative and then say he will stick with Sacha doesn’t make sense. Sacha is suppose to be the opposite of conservative. he’s suppose to be a play maker. The conservative apporach would be for him to start Pablo.
i jsut hope that whatever the line-up is that BB makes changes earlier than he usually does. It seems he waits for the 75th min to make changes. I’d like them earlier. Especially if we are struggling. That’s my major complaint about him.
If Saturday was Kljestan’s one bad performance then I would agree with Tom. But we won despite him versus Mexico as well. He is not ready for thsi adn quite frankly I don’t think there is enough upside to be worried about his feelings.
Considering Ives assessment, which I believe is correct, that what the US needs is incisive passing, Torres absolutely fits the bill in that spot. I think its time to give him the full 90 so you can confidently choose him for the next road game down in Central America.
I agree with Tom from Syracuse: let’s not overreact to Kljestan’s performance on Saturday. Sure, if he has a couple more of those, then I’ll join the chorus of people wanting him off the field, but he’s been a quality player for the U-23s and full team over the past year. Let’s not give up on him so easily.
If we are wishing.. Let’s say Adu comes in for Ching at 60 mins. Wynne in for Heyduk(i know he’s not in the 22) at 70 mins.
Agree with Chase, if Klejstan starts, my head will explode. Klejstan simply isn’t good enough on the ball.
I don’t agree with Chase’s post. Kljestan has one very bad game and everyone wants to run him off the field… remember what he did in the Olympics and remember what he did against Sweden in January. He’s a very capable player who had one bad game. I guarantee you if he gets the nod he’ll have a much better game today.
I don’t have a good feeling about this match… not at all. I would love to be proved wrong, of course.
Whats up with T & T’s crest? It’s so ugly.
Torres for president…
I also heard there was going to be new kits for US tonight. I’m pretty pumped about that too.
It will not be eased until the US plays well(and hopefully wins) in Mexico in August. Or wins the Confed Cup. ha.
I like Ives’s lineup. Be conservative until we qualify. Give Jozy and Torres more time than last game, if circumstances warrant it.
Against Mexico, Jozy didn’t/(couldn’t?) track defensively. He has great potential, but his size may be hurting his endurance. Hopefully he gets more PT on the club level, and this turns out not to be a problem. But I wouldn’t take a chance on his endurance at this point. (Of course, the coaching staff sees him in practice, so they know better where he stands in terms of physical abilities.)
I think Jozy should be utilized in the super sub role, as someone else said, he probably doesn’t have the match fitness to play anything more than 60 minutes.
If Klejstan starts again, I think my head might explode…
I just don’t understand why BB refuses to play players where they thrive for their clubs. AKA Dempsey, Boca, Bradley
Odds on RBNY making moves to sign hometown boy Berhalter vs. odds on the league gift wrapping him for L.A.? Anyone? Beuller?
if this is the lineup, it is indeed depressing, especially if there is a bad result, then everyone will be calling for Bob’s head.
I am personally sick of the 4-5-1, but our lack of depth at forward, and our overabundance of midfield attacking talent don’t give us many options.
What will really scare me is if this lineup goes to the Confederations Cup, because then, IMO, we can pretty much determine who will be playing (regardless of form or age) at the 2010 World Cup.
Would really like to see Torres and Altidore start, or at least see Altidore get a half hour on the pitch.
Bob, new direction please!
Beckster, no reason to be depressed. That’s just a lineup I could see Bradley going with.
And for the record, the lineup I wrote on Monday that I would like to see is the lineup Milkshake posted above.
I wish I was in nashville too.. Now I am asking for too much.. ha ha
We all want milkshakes lineup
I want Milkshakes lineup…
Ives,
As much as I hate to admit it, I agree Bob will stay conservative and keep Kljestan in the starting role. As many others have posted, I much rather see Torres get a shot. Also take out Beaz for Altidore. Here’s my wishful 4-4-2 line-up:
—–Altidore—–Ching——
Dempsey—————–Landy
——Torres—–Bradley—–
Spector–Gooch–Boca–Heydude
———–Howard————
i wouldn’t mind if Bob mixed it up tonight to send a message that there are positions to be won…
they better come with their A game or I am going to punch BB
If thats the line up, then i’ll start the call early today for Bradley to be fired. Jozy and Torres have earned the start. We will still win with that line up, but we are handicapping ourselves for 2010.
I think Jozy makes a great super sub. Don’t think he has it in him for the full 90 yet. Still to young.
Ives…you are depressing as hell. Sacha again?
Good to get Gouch back. I’m sure the yanks will do fine tonight at home. I can’t wait to see Spector play and let’s hope Beaz and landycakes get it together and that Jozy gets decent playing time.