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The U.S. men's national team is in South Africa preparing for the Confederations Cup and is now just a week away from facing off against Italy in its opening group match.
The showdown will come just three years after the teams played to an unforgettable 1-1 tie at the 2006 FIFA World Cup (the tournament Italy eventually went on to win).
There will be much less on the line when the team's meet on Monday, but that doesn't mean the game won't be an important test to see just where the U.S. team stands a year away from the 2010 World Cup.
The U.S. team's 2-1 victory against Honduras last Saturday helped provide some insight into what players just might get the call in the Confederations Cup opener. With that in mind, here is a potential starting lineup we could see against the defending world champions:
Projected USA lineup vs. Italy
Donovan————Altidore—————-Dempsey
———————Feilhaber————————–
—————Clark————Bradley—————-
Bornstein—–Bocanegra—Onyewu———Spector
————————Howard————————-
Whether you want to call it a 4-3-3, like the team started out with against Costa Rica, or a 4-5-1, which is what it wound up looking more like, this is the group that seems like the best bet given form and ability.
Now it is your turn. What lineup would you like to see vs. Italy? Do you prefer a 4-4-2 with Altidore and Casey or Charlie Davies up top? Do you want to see Donovan at forward with Altidore? Ready to give Conor Casey another shot?
Share your lineup suggestions and thoughts on the U.S. national team's chances against Italy in the comments section below.
Torres has only gotten 5 caps and hasn’t really made all that much of a difference. It’d be another story if he was doing as well was Jozy was in his first couple of caps but he’s really only shown enough skill for Bradley to be interested and not confident in him. I’d like to have seen him against Honduras but a reason he may have stayed off the roster is maybe due to exhaustion. I do think he’s good enough to get a look against Italy but we can’t be pinning the hopes of our midfield/possession on a 21-year old in a game against the World Champions.
I hope the team pulls itself together and destroys Italy, maybe then some of this pessimism surrounding the team will stop
what was conclusion on why Torres did not dress for the Chicago game?
i like that lineup a lot compared to some other ones weeve seen. only concern is dempsey on the right though.
I hope he sees this game as one to get up and grind for because he doesnt always show that tenacity he does for Fulham when playing for the Nats.
if he doesnt bring his running boots against the italians, Spector is gonna be in for a long day.
————————-Altidore————
——————Donovan——————–
—-Torres————————–Dempsey
———–Clark——–Bradley———–
—Bornstein—Boca—–Gooch——-Spector
—————–Howard—————
Subs:Demerit, Feilhaber, Casey, Davies, Guzan, Klestjan(I’m not too sure how many you get on the bench in the Confederations Cup)
I would give Torres another shot based on his last 25 minutes against Costa Rica, plus he’s better tracking back than Donovan and it allows Donovan to play CF, which is his best position.
I would also play Ricardo Clark because he has the speed and scrappyness in the middle of the park is a better option that Pablo right now.
As far as subs go, Beasley shouldn’t be able to mow the pitch let alone play on it. He is grossly out of form.
I can do more damage up top than connor casey,there is no way he should be near the field.
why do these projected teams never have anyone on the wings. seriously. the only time we got the ball wide against Costa Rica was when the defense made deep runs. we did the same thing against honduras and it worked better but still not good. i really dont think bob bradley is doing a good job, why dont you just shove dempsey and donovan on the wings and let them play like they want to play. he has them stay too far foward to let them help buildup from the wings and he ends up isolating 3 players…
@ct ; I have also followed Clark so de the start at metrostars and going to giant stadium.. He tended to play at the right flank. Great players (if they are great) are polyfunctional and do not need to learn a new position or role. I disagree with you saying that he does not have marking skills.. Not only does he have that, he also has great anticipation skills too. Players here need to learn how to play different roles.
IVES– we have to start bradley and Clark in the Mid-field. We learned that Mastroani is just getting too old…and will certainly be to old come 2010..so we have to move on..
CONFED CUP:
it is obviously important that we pick up at least a tie against Brazil or Italy..
Keep your fingers crossed.. i’d sign up for 1-1-1 right now…
EA, I couldn’t agree more.
I can’t imagine why Conor Casey would have been out of sync with everyone else.
I wonder if Ives or anyone else is smart enough to figure out why that might be?
He’s scored something like 20 goals in his last 30 games. If he was doing that in the Dutch 3rd division or a Norwegian Sunday co-ed league, the entirety of the American soccer interwebs community would be clamoring for him to be the US captain.
Get a grip, folks.
Anybody know that status of BOCANEGRA?
Roberto:
I live in Houston and have seen every game Rico Clark has played since the team moved here from San Jose. I’m a huge fan and believe Rico has now surpassed Mastro for international duty and, though many would disagree, I would prefer Rico to Edu.
I’m not sure your idea is a good one. Yes, Rico has speed, heart, and a strong foot, but I’m not sure he has the 1 v 1 marking skills and the soccer IQ that one needs to be a top-flight outside back, fullback, whatever your terminology.
I don’t understand why you would take a player that clearly excels at one position now and spend some period of time (5 games, 10 games?) trying to teach him a new position. He won’t get that training in Houston; the Dynamo will never play Rico anywhere other than DMF. Yes, there is a glut of MFs in the current US player pool, but that doesn’t justify making an ill-advised player switch (Dont’ believe me? How bout Exhibit 1 – Beasley)
I think the USMNT’s time would be better spent identifying the 3 or 4 best US outside backs and coaching them up to international level competence.
That’s the exact same line-up I posted in one of the US/Honduras threads..
Let’s hope we’re right Ives!
I like Ives line up. It’s pretty much exactly what I’d go for myself. Dempsey concerns me as of late with his carelessness and desire to want to show off his jazz box dance steps in his own half.
I’d really like to see Adu make an appearance in the 2nd half to shake things up and wear out the legs of the opposition. He has a lot to offer on a good day and he always looks hungry. His pace is something we’ll NEED against the Italians.
I’m THRILLED at Benny being back in the squad. He brought a lot of energy and intelligence against Honduras and I’m sure he’ll offer a lot more of the same after training with the team for a week.
Win or lose I can’t wait to watch these matches next week. Even took a half day off of work on Monday so I can soak it all up.
Casey is an awkward uncoordinated goon completely out of sync with everyone out there, Beasley has lost it (if he ever had it), and Mastroeni just doesn’t have the quality. We can’t take chances on players like that.
Altidore——Donovan—-
—-Torres—————-Dempsey—-
————Bradley—Clark———–
Bornstein—Boca—–Gooch—Spector–
—————-Howard—————-
WHY DOESNT ANYBODY SEEM TO REALISE TORRES IS OUR BEST CHANCE OF CONTROLLING THE MIDFIELD. The kid was outstanding vs Costa Rica while everybody else blew.
the line-up should be a 442 with the 2 centers being able to switch positions easily..
——Altidore————————
—————–Donavan————–
—-Beasley—————-Dempsey—-
————Bradley—Clark———–
Bornstein—Boca—–Gooch—Spector–
—————-Howard—————-
I think this would work out best with Donavan being able to run onto balls to Altidore because we play long balls up constantly unforntuately..Beasley gets til halftime and if nothing from him swap him for Feilhaber/Torres..I don’t see Adu getting time because what has he shown that he deserves any time??
OK we know more or less who the USA will start…how about Italy?
I don’t mind something like this:
Beasley———–Altidore———-Donovan
——————Dempsey——————
———–Bradley——-Feilhaber———
Bornstein—-Bocanegra—-Onyewu—-Spector
——————Howard——————-
I think that Donovan and Beasley are a lot better when they play as winging-forwards. They have the pace, the can go at players, they give good service, and would help contain the midfield a lot. Dempsey seems to like playing behind the forward(s) and isn’t a bad target himself. I’d like to see Ives’ formation work out like this though:
——–Donovan—-Altidore—-Dempsey—–
——–Bradley—-Feilhaber—-Clark——
Bornstein—————————Spector
————-Bocanegra—-Onyewu———–
———————Howard—————-
We’re going to need someone to track Andrea Pirlo because if we give him a crack of space he’ll screw us over. Other than that, I’m cool with Ives’ lineup.
DeLarge, there IS an apostophe in”team’s”. It’s possesive.
There’s no I in team though.
I wont shed a tear if Gooch’s elbow ACCIDENTALLY leaves a dent in Giuseppe Rossi’s eye
that kind of understanding comes with time and playing together….spector and dempsey showed a glimpse in the last game, and any time donovan, ching, and beasley are near eachother you can see it….it just takes time to build chemistry, which is hard to do on the national level.
We play like Robots…Watching Brazil play vs Uruguay Elano and Kaka kept switching positions the whole game so did Felipe Melo free running the whole field. Our Midfield and our forwards don’t talk, everyone stays put in their position, tooo predictable.
Posted by: elmatador | June 09, 2009 at 10:35 AM
100% agree El Matador. We can talk player names and formations all day but what will really make a difference is an overall change in mentality and approach to the game by the US team…
We need a different COACH!
———Altidore———Davies———
—Dempsey–Feilhaber–Bradley–Donovan–
–Bornstein–Bocanegra–Onyewu–Spector–
——————Howard—————–
With Beasley, Clark, and Demerit ready to sub.
I think Gooch is going to Birmingham for real, despite his agent balking. His agent probably released the story to get publicity and is denying it to get a better deal for gooch.
http://soccer.fanhouse.com/2009/06/08/american-defender-onyewu-appears-headed-back-to-premier-league/
I basically agree with Ives lineup. Benny should sit just behind the strikers, but Donovan, Alitdore, and Dempsey need to churn through the box and drop back where necessary rather than hold down a place like baseball outfielders. There just hasn’t been enough cross-circulation of players that creates the space for scoring opportunities from the run of play, particularly direct shots on goal. I might have Torres for Clark intially to keep possession, which will be the critical factor against a typically defensive minded Italy.
howard
spector…onyewu…bocanegra…bornstein
bradley…clark
torres
dempsey…donovan
altidore
id pick demerit if boca cant go. i LOVE feilhaber, and think hes the better offensive option (in terms of creating chances), but give torees the call because he holds possesion so well.
call me conservative if you want, but we have to be strong defensively and be able to keep possesion. feilhaber or adu or three forwards arent going to step on italys throat folks- if we get a goal or two its gonna come from a set piece or a moment of brilliance or a counter- all of which i have on the pitch.
as for casey- i just dont get it. especially those still claiming hes the kind of guy jozy needs to partner with. i can buy that with ching- but casey was pushed off the ball so easily against honduras it was jozy who was winning the balls and holding up play.
maybe i should factor in mls more, but judging by the small sample size jozy looks to be a better target guy than casey does- regardless how thick his neck is.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, GOOCH! NOT BIRMINGHAM!
Said it earlier will repeat again; R Clark should be converted to right back for the US. Won’t have Hejduk or Dolo for long; Wynne is a great athlete but terrible on the ball. Clark has the potential to become a great right back, athleticism, dynamics, good shot from long distance(ideal for crosses) and speed. I think Clark has been missused all this time. US has more depth at central midfield. Therefore clarke and Spector(on theleft) should be the fullbacks, and the gold cup is the right time to experiment with that
mike ruze:
Your comment says a lot less about target forwards than it does about your ignorance about soccer.
A good example – Brian Ching had a hand in all three goals that Altidore scored against T & T, one of which was a perfectly weighted pass that sliced the defense apart giving Altidore a tap in. If a team uses a target forward properly you cannot judge the target forward solely by the number of goals he scores.
Take any soccer analyst whose opinion you value (Harkes, Lalas (either of them), Bretos, Sullivan, Wynalda, Ives, whoever) and they will tell you the same thing.
I really like this!!!
“Personnaly, I like a 4-4-2
———JA——-CD———
–JT—–MB——-BF——LD-
—-Same back four———–
Reasoning. I like Clint, but he has always shown a propensity to try to pull of the trick, instead of playing it safe. No worries for me there, I like agressive, risky, play. But not in the midfield. Turnovers turn to goals too quickly. So put Clint up top and have him and Jozy form a partnership. All those flick-ons and to pokes, and backheels, are great and can lead to goals, the misses can be cleaned up and they are happening in front on their goal, not ours.
Also, I like the idea of LD and JT playing out wide, it could morph into a 4-2-2-2, very agressive, both LD and JT can hold the ball and pass well. Both can cross, both can play…some…defense. But their cover is good in Bornstein and Spector. Not much chance of the bucket as Benny will push forward a bit and look who he has in front of him, I think our best 4 attacking players…
Just my opinion.
PooBah
Posted by: Scott | June 09, 2009 at 11:10 AM”
BUT I just can’t disagree with this!!!
“We will probably see:
—–Jozy——Casey
Landon—Bradley—-Clint
———-Clark———
Bornstein–Boca—Gooch—Spector
Posted by: John Fish | June 09, 2009 at 11:14 AM”
I like your line-up Ives, but I would prefer to see Dempsey up top in a 4-4-2, which is a formation the players are comfortable with. He ended the last game with Dempsey up top and it was working. If he has Dempsey on the wing, then I am like others, put him on the left and donovan on the right. donovan can cross from the right.
———Altidore—————-Dempsey——
Donovan——-Clark——-Bradley——–Feilhaber
Bornstein—–Bocanegra—Onyewu———Spector
————————Howard——————-
while i realize a majority of the conversation has been involved with our offensive production, how is it that we can’t solidify a back 4 and their subs. the legit stable includes hedjuk, dolo, spector, simek, gooch, boca, demerit, and now apparently bornstein. outside looking in is parkhurst. and so long to pearce. is it really viable to think hedjuk or cherundulo is the answer for 2010? age and injuries…
a solid back four with consistency would go a long way at building the attack.
as for the attack i think feilhaber and clark made a good case for inclusion in the starting lineup. i think both of them have something to prove have been on the outskirts for a bit. hunger goes a long way.
While not my preferred lineup given its defensive nature, but tactically a 3-6-1 could help muck up the midfield and give our attacking players quality opportunities to effectively counter against the likes of Brazil, Italy and Egypt.
—————–Altidore——————
Donovan———-Torres————Dempsey
Bornstein——–Bradley————-Clark
——Bocanegra–Onyewu–Spector———-
—————–Howard——————-
are more attackers the solution to beating the best defensive team in the world?
if so then these are the guys we need in that lineup:
*Dempsey (he’s a flat-out scorer even though he hasn’t done much of anything lately)
*Donovan
*Altidore
*Kljestan (i know he hasn’t done (crap) in 6 months)
*Adu (also hasn’t done (anything) in a real long time; but if you saw what i saw in person against Argentina at the Meadowlands last year you would agree)
** maybe consider moving Beasley back to midfield (i’m not so sure though)
so i guess my lineup would look something like this:
——-Jozy-Donovan——-
Deuce-Sach–Bradley-Freddy
-Wynne-Boca-Gooch-Spector-
———-Timmay———-
i know Wynne probably doesn’t make that lineup but i like watching our young guys.
and i just don’t know where Beasley fits into that lineup
i put it in a 4-4-2, although i know we’ll probably see something different on matchday
DC Josh – Movement off the ball most certainly is not 100% on the players. Bradley, indeed any coach, can emphasize the important of movement. All it takes is getting on players if they don’t do it. I’ve never even heard him once be critical of the fact that our players just find an open spot and stand there, waiting for the ball, and after passing it away, continue to stand there.
The starting XI and formation don’t matter. As much as it pains me to day, we don’t have the horses or the heart to play with Italy…or Brazil.
—————Howard———————
Spector—Gooch—-Boca——–Bornstein
Dempsey–Clark–Landon–Bradley—-Beasley
—————Altidore——————–
4-5-1. I guess you could say Landon is a withdrawn forward but its hard to see us having a ton of possession so I’m sure he’ll function more as the top midfielder. I’ve seen most of the projected line-ups with Landon on the left side of midfield (as he has been of late) and Feilhaber, Casey or even Davies in the game instead of Damarcus.
However, against the Italians I definitely prefer the gnat-like presence of DMB to frustrate the Italians down their attacking right side. I don’t think he is fundamentally strong enough to be a left back (as evidenced by his last 2 appearances at that position) but in a game where we are not likely to have much possession I think his quickness and ability to break up possession for the opponent will be very helpful. It also gives us a bit more speed to use on counters.
——-Altidore——-Davies——–
Dempsey—-Torres—Bradley—Donovan
Bornstein–Bocanegra–Onyewu–Spector
—————-Howard—————
Ives, can u confirm this Gooch to Birmingham report? Are we gonna get to see Gooch on FSC next year?!!!
Agreed, socrates. IIRC Dempsey was our best player at WC2006. He’ll be fine; we need someone with his creativity and guts to actually use it.
Superchivo: the flavor of the week, I suppose. I’ll take Torres; from what I’ve seen from him in all of the qualifiers, I think he deserves more PT.
I say we start Twellman up top since he was named MLS player of the week
It depends on what BB is using the Confed Cup for.
If he is trying to prepare to face Mexico and solidify WC qualifying then he goes with the same line up he used against Honduras. They need time to gell together and this is low pressure:
– Altidore Casey —
Donovan Feilhaber Bradley Dempsey
Bornstein Bocanegra Gooch Spector
———– Howard ——
However the team as consttituted does not make a serious run in the WC, so if he is trying to find the best team to make a serious run in the WC, I would like to see him try other player to find the best group to succeed. The team as is has proven that away from home, where teams are not sitting back, they do not put on a good show of soccer. Cuba, Guatamala, El Salvador, Costa Rica…..
Adu/Torres/Feilhaber for Donovan/Dempsey which gives more passing versus running with the ball.
Demerit for Gooch or Boca who play the same game.
Davies for Casey….etc.
– Altidore Davies –
Dempsey Feilhaber Bradley Adu
Bocanegra Gooch Demerit Spector
– Howard –
> Dangerfield “I’m getting a little tired of Clint “Deuce” Dempsey’s act.”
> SR “Dempsey is a clown in midfield”
I don’t think Clint deserves this bashing.
First, he had a turnover, yes, but that was far from the team’s lowest moment the past 2 games. For example, the marking on some of the CR goals was worse (Torres, Mastro, Kljestan, Bradley, Boca) as an individual bad play.
Second, he is one of our better players. And I don’t just mean his club play. I mean his actual MNT play is among the team’s best. If we want to have a chance against Italy, he should play.
Finally, I think this is a case of fan’s getting carried away with an imagined narrative more than actual play on the field. People start with high expectattions for Dempsey. Yes, he’s good, but neither Clint nor anyone else we have is a world-class field player. But people want him to be more than he is. And when he fails to meet those inflated expectations, he is bashed (see, Adu, “Landycakes”, etc.).
Bashers then make ridiculous assumptions by reading things into Dempsey’s appearnce, bosy language, etc. to construct a narrative that goes something like “Dempsey could be/should be playing much better but he has a bad attitude, so all we need to do is get that fixed and then he’ll be awesome.”
So, Dempsey doesn’t look as good against honduras as he did at in some of his BEST performances for Fulham? Hmmmm.. could this be due to (a) travel, (b) playing with less-skilled players/being the focus of the other team’s defense when playing for US, (c) not practicing with US team as much as Fulham, (d) general ups and downs any player has, etc?
No, no, no! It couldn’t be that. Look at his face! It’s an attitude problem! He’s taking his place for granted and THAT is the problem.
Ridiculous.
I’ll take Dempsey and his “bad attitude”, thanks.
if we start altidore alone up top we are just begging to get shut out.
I like the players – just don’t know if the lineup would work.
I thought Clark played well, and wouldn’t mind seeing him paired with Bradley.
Personally, with his crossing ability evident on Saturday, I wouldn’t mind something like this:
——-Altidore——–Donovan——-
Feilhaber—-Bradley—-Clark—Dempsey
——Same Back Line As Saturday——-
@ejs. Your source?
People are blowing alot of smoke up Feilhaber’s arse considering that he played well for the better half of one home game. To a lesser extent, the same goes for Spector and Bornstein. When they have all been tested in the fires of an away match maybe I will start to pencil in all three as starters, although Borstein and Spector will probably start now as there is so little competition for their spots.
——Altidore——–
———Adu———
Dempsey——–Donovan
—Bradley–Feilhaber/Torres
Bornstein—Bocanegra—Gooch—Spector
——-Howard———
I’d use Rico to spell Bradley, Davies to spell Altidore, Feilhaber/Torres to spell whoever starts (I can’t decide who to start between the two of ’em).
As several other posters have said — we should field our most technical, creative team. And for those of you down on Adu — he did quite well in the Spain and Argentina friendlies last year. I think he should start against the Italians.
FF