The U.S. men's national team will field as close to a full strength squad as it has had since Jurgen Klinsmann took over, leaving what should be some easy decisions when it comes time for him to pick a lineup for Saturday's match vs. Honduras.
Landon Donovan is the lone regular starter not to make the trip to South Florida, and now Klinsmann will have some good options as he tries to put together a team to deliver his first win as U.S. head coach.
With Oguchi Onyewu back in the field, and playing very well for Sporting Lisbon, and Michael Bradley arriving after a very strong start with Italian side Chievo Verona, the U.S. team that faces Honduras could have a very strong resemblance to the U.S. team that began the 2010 World Cup with draws against England and Slovenia.
There should be a good amount of new blood though, with the likes of Timmy Chandler and Brek Shea potentially earning starts, depending on how Klinsmann wants to balance his lineups between Saturday's match and Tuesday's match at Red Bull Arena against Ecuador.
So who will Klinsmann start vs. Honduras? Here is one potential starting lineup:
Projected USMNT lineup vs. Honduras
——————–Altidore————————
Shea———Edu———-Bradley—–Dempsey
——————-Beckerman——————-
Chandler–Bocanegra–Onyewu—Cherundolo
——————–Howard———————-
Now, if Klinsmann wants to get more midfield possession on the field, we could see this group, which you can call a 4-3-3 (with SHea and Dempsey as "forwards") or a 4-1-4-1, which is what the formation would probably wind up looking more like if this group played together.
If Klinsmann wants to take a look at his forward options, he could turn to either Teal Bunbury or Juan Agudelo alongside Altidore and trot out this group, which would probably have to be more of a 4-4-2:
————–Altidore——Bunbury————
Shea————————————Dempsey
—————Edu——–Bradley————–
Chandler–Bocanegra–Onyewu—Cherundolo
——————–Howard———————-
It's safe to say this back seven will be grouped together to give Klinsmann a real look at what should be his starting defense for the foreseeable future.
What do you think of the projected lineup? Which of the above lineups would you like to see face Honduras? Who do we not list as a potential starter that you think should get a start?
Share your thoughts below.
Tyler said,
“Beckerman is the least skilled of the defensive midfielders that we have (and I hate Michael Bradley so that’s saying something). There is no way he should be starting in any system that we are playing.”
@Tyler
I respectively disagree. Beckerman is in the middle to me in terms of skills. To me he has proven himself.
I like the creative approaches – I think you have to find roles for players, even if those roles are out of the norm for them. One thing I would be worried about with Bradley out there is, yes, he has the motor, but not the pure burst of speed and the crossing ability. He also doesn’t have the height that Shea does. Shea is a natural flank attacker and a potential flank defender, and he is left-sided. Since we are weak there, I think it’s a good experiment. Holden is a bit more interesting on the flank, but he is so good in the middle or in a 3 man midfield that I wouldn’t sacrifice him into playing a flank role.
except in the World Cup
I can’t see putting in three DMs in the game, and if a 4-3-3 only has one true striker position and we don’t have any other offensive midfielders beyound Shea and Dempsey but a bench with five forwards, then I thought maybe a forward could work. I shudder to think of Edu, Beckerman and MB on the field at the same time. I think it might be a repeat of the first half against Mexico when Beckerman, Jones and MB were on the field together. When Jones and MB came out, the USMNT exploded, played great ball and Mexico were wetting their pants.
As I mentioned, I especially think Agudelo might be able to play attacking midfield. He’s good with ball not afraid to try to beat a defender and his defense under Klinsmann has been strong. All that said, Klinsmann could play Daniel Williams anywhere in the midfield and that might be the better solution. Apparently Williams has been powerful in camp and maybe Klinsmann will reward him with a start.
Don’t see point Howard playing the whole game.
I would love to see starting:
Altidore Bunbury
Beasley Edu Bradley Dempsey
Johnson Bocanegra Gooch Chandler
Fox Soccer Channel and Univision. A lot of TV packages don’t have FSC in HD, so I’d recommend watching on Univision HD even if you don’t understand Spanish.
Ridiculous!
Suspensions only count within the league or the competition in which they are earned. For example, his MLS suspension wouldn’t count toward USOC games or CCL games if RSL were still in those competitions.
Beckerman is traditionally a very composed and clean player, even if his style is aggressive. One small mistake doesn’t cancel all of that out, especially when the headbutt was probably deserved.
I think his recent showings have been very positive. You say he has frequently been out of position, but I have seen him making many good runs. Unfortunately, poorly timed and aimed service has turned a lot of them into offsides or turnovers.
In your second formation, why would you put Bunbury or Agudelo in the midfield?
Seems to me like a combo of CMs is worth trying with this group. It’s clear that Bradley and Jermaine Jones don’t work so well together, especially with 3 CDMs in a straight up 4-3-3, but Beckerman and Edu seem more adaptable. I think we forget that Edu has, in the past, shown an ability to be a more advanced/offensive CM. Bradley isnt horrible when starting the attack, but never looks like a natural in that role.
Jozy could be the center forward if we had true wingers, but we tend to play with inverted wingers so I can only imagine him being effective with a second striker or a Torres/Adu or even Donovan playing a False 10. Since none of those guys are in the line up, I expect us to switch to a 4-4-2 or see Altidore subbed at half.
I just don´t get it Herculez is on fire in Mexico and JK calls up Buddle, come on, I have faith in JK but this is getting ridiculous.
Define real left back?