The U.S. men's national team will play its first match of 2012, and an MLS-heavy squad will take the field against Venezuela on Saturday night in Arizona with many players looking to impress Jurgen Klinsmann and work their way into the full senior team mix.
Some familiar faces are back in the mix as Benny Feilhaber and Ricardo Clark are in camp, while Heath Pearce joins them as the only players on the camp roster with more than 30 caps.
Some intriguing newcomers are in the mix as well, with Geoff Cameron, Graham Zusi and C.J. Sapong aomong the fresh faces who could see action against Venezuela.
So what will the USMNT lineup look like against Venezuela? Here are some possibilities:
PROJECTED USMNT LINEUP vs. VENEZUELA
—Shea———-Wondolowski————Zusi—–
———————Feilhaber————————
—————Jones———-Clark——————-
Pearce——Cameron—-Parkhurst——DeLaGarza
———————–Hamid————————-
Some thoughts:
Kyle Beckerman has been nursing an injury and looks unlikely to play. Otherwise, he'd be in the starting lineup.
Klinsmann could go with Jeff Larentowicz in place of Clark, but this is a good chance for Klinsmann to see Clark in action.
The Shea, Wondolowski, Zusi trio looked good in scrimmage action, and while Zusi isn't really a natural wide player, he has done well in a role that allows him to pinch in from the right.
The back four could also see Zach Loyd in the lineup in place of De La Garza, but we'll give De La Garza the nod here.
Juan Agudelo looks unlikely to play as he recovers from an ankle injury.
Brek Shea has looked very sharp in camp and looks primed for a big game on Saturday.
——–
What do you think of this projected lineup? What players are you looking forward to seeing play on Saturday?
Share your thoughts below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eukC37Nvyk
did you watch this soccer?
wow good point. consider me persuaded
apparently you do not watch soccer
Since there seem to be a number of growing prospects in the fullback positions I’d rather that DelaGarza to get a look at centerback. Ditto for Cameron and Parkhurst.
The only other thing I’ll be watching for is how much of a statement Benny can make. Still rooting for him to develop into the kind of player he has the potential to be: a real creative force. That and please Bunbury and Zusi and Shea each grab a goal. That would be cool.
Who’s televising this game?
sorry nevermind, i just saw the roster. i guess the better question is why he is on the roster at all. are we hoping for some serious development in his 30’s? he’s a great player just not intl material imo
wondolowski??? what am i missing?
no. we’ve been down that road and it leads to early giving up early goals…
Sapong played a lot of left wing early in the year, but he was very ineffective. His strength is being able to hold up the ball.
Zusi has played on the flank for SKC at times. He is still effective there.
wow. neither does Buddle but he’s on the bring of signing with Everton. y’all need to move on from South Africa.
Bornstein on the other hand…
yes, this please.
why on earth would we need to D-Mids. we aren’t playing brazil. let’s try something with some creativity in the middle:
——————-Johnson
De La Garza—Cameron—Parkhurst—Pearce
———-Zusi—————–Jones
Wondolowski———Feilhaber——-Shea
——————-Bunbury
If what you said about Dunivant is valid, then how come he is in this camp?
JK has made it crystal clear he is not that concerned about age:
“Bocanegra and Cherundolo will be 35 years old when the 2014 World Cup rolls around…. Yet Klinsmann insisted that he wouldn’t be averse to seeing them taking the field in two years.
“I’m not age-related, I’m performance-related,” Klinsmann said. “We look at every game with their clubs, we look at every game they play with us, we look at every training session. If we get the feeling that a certain position is losing it a little bit, then the next guy is there to bite their ears off. And if there is a younger one that is taking over, then he will take over. ”
Not bad. My only change would be to move Loyd to RB and put Pearce at LB.
Agreed that overall the team is average. That’s fine though, as this camp is geared toward finding the talent buried in the mediocre.
I’d be happyt, if just a few guys (shea, benny, cameron and maybe one of the skc attackers) stand out.
I’M GOING TO BE THERE!
Parke!
Cameron-Parkhurst in central defense is the most intriguing positional match-up and most necessary to see in action.
I’d really like to see the Bunbury-Sapong combo up top as well.
Garza will probably most likely be on the bench in favor of Zach Loyd, who actually likes getting forward.
Especially in a 4-3-3, We need our backs to be able to get forward and whip in some quality crosses.
I like the experience in the midfield, but I would much rather have two forwards up top.. I don’t care which two, just have two!
Man, do we lack speedy depth on the wings. I can’t wait until Corona, Gyau, and Gatt are good enough to play with the big club. Would actually love to see Corona get the call here opposite Shea and slide Zusi inside to a more natural spot.
CF i believe with kamara and bravo on the wings
+1 i like yours better than ives’
The shea- benny- zuzi midfield should be strong and with jones backing then up i think any dmid would slow it down too much, bunbury would be great with wondo up top
I like that to I would just switch feilhaber and Zuzi and possibly trade out Sapong for Wondo
I have yet to see everyone play together, but the lineup and the squad itself seem to be very average (I know some regulars are missing), but I do hope to see a solid perfromance from the team on Saturday against Venezuela. Being a South American opponent, and the flair they usually come with, this should be a good contest if they come to perform. Shea has been entertaining in the games I’ve seen him play with the National Team, look forward seeing him as well as what Hamid can do as starting goalkeeper if given the call(which is likely) for the start of the match.
Like this, I really hope we don’t need two defensive midfielders especially with the lack of talent behind jones with beckerman injured. If I had to choose one forward I’d choose bunbury
When I said good, I was referring to a certain tier if you will. Cameron, DLG, Dunivant, Gonzo, John, Borchers, Demerit, Goodson, Marshall & Ream would be examples of very good MLS/Scandinavian defenders who can actually compete at the international level. A “good” MLS or Scandinavian defender like Parkhurst, Parke, Wynne, Moor, Califf, Boswell, or Besler I would consider good in terms of those leagues but not necesarily deserving of being in the national team setup. Geoff Cameron is already at a different level than Parkhurst. He is also indeed more composed. Cameron has played in the midfield on several occasions for Houston & is definately more comfortable with the ball at his feet than Parkhurst. Sure, Parkhurst is smart & composed but I would pick Cameron over Parkhurst any day.
You might not want to watch this game, its gonna be full of “MLS/scandinavia level defenders”
clean. knock. out.
+1
Play Clark for a half, let him make a fool of himself. Never see him again.
If not now, than in the round of 16.
You might not want to watch this game, its gonna be full of “MLS/scandinavia level defenders”
Cameron/Parkhurst pairing would be great. Parkhurst is probably the most composed 2nd level defender we have, couldn’t think of anyone else I would like to have next to Cameron, showing him the ropes for 3 weeks
I like Loyd. Rather see him than Pearce (even though I like Heath) or at least see Loyd for a half.
want to see Zack Loyd in there. he impressed at LB once. he’s the only guy left in camp who interests me other than cameron, shea, and parkhurst. maybe benny too if he gets his act together.
This I like.
Stupid question at skc did sapong play more winger or striker during the season?
They’ll bang into each other, knocking noggins, 3 Stooges style
This is actually a very interesting friendly IMO. More interesting than if the full A squad was playing. Get to see who steps up among the new blood and 2nd (3rd?) stringers.
Venezuela is a decent opponent too having looked pretty decent since Copa America and into qualifying.
How about something like this:
———–Bunbury———-Sapong—————-
——————-Feilhaber———————-
—–Shea———————————Zuzi—-
——————–Jones————————-
Loyd——-Cameron———Parkhurst—-DeLaGarza
——————–Hamid/Johnson—————-
I personally really dislike both Parkhurst & Parke as options in terms of national team centerbacks. They are “good MLS/scandinavia level” defenders but I wish we werent going to see one of them Saturday. We probably will but I want to put what line-up I would like, even though Jurgen wont do this im 99% sure (I wouldnt have called in Parke or Parkhurst). I personally would rather see Rico paired with Cameron at centre back. Rico hasnt played for Frankfurt in BL2 in idk how long which makes me think there has been a fallng out but when he did start for them in the Bundesliga he played CB a few times. Not only did he play there but I actually really liked what I saw from him there. He was really good one game but then got unlucky & picked up an injury. He also played at Houston with Cameron so there could be some good chemistry there. Anyways, here is what I would like if Agudelo & Beckerman arent available, if either are healthy they would definitely be in my line-up.
RImando
DLG Clark Cameron Pearce
Jones Larentowicz
Zusi Feilhaber Shea
Wondo
dude todd dunivant is 31. sure it’s good to have the best players in camp but for a camp like this it’s important to look at each player’s ceiling. heath pearce isn’t great but has far more potential than dunivant, who is at the peak of his game at this point and surely won’t be getting any better in the future.
AJ has played a lot of RB (and some LB) since he joined the Galaxy. He was almost never at CB until last year, because Berhalter and Gonzalez manned the middle positions. Injuries to Berhalter and Leonardo forced the move. That’s not to say he’s better than the other RB options, but he is quite familiar with the position and has experience getting up and down the line. In fact, the report from the recent scrimmage was that he was quite lively going forward.
I’m not in favor of players getting taken out of their natural club positions for the national team, it doesn’t make since to me.
De La Garza should not be playing RB, he plays CB for the Galaxy and is not accustomed to going forward, the same can be said for Zusi, pick one to start in the middle(Feilhaber or Zusi) and bring the other off the bench.
Here is what I’d like to see (not that it would really happen)
Bunbury
Wondolowski/Sapong
Shea Feilhaber Zusi
Jones
Loyd Cameron Parkhurst De La Garza
Hamid
What do you guys think?
Wow…. Clark or Larentowicz… lose/lose?
🙂
I’d like to see Loyd play. I like his energy, pace, and willingness/ability to track and commit to tackles.
Please just no Rimando. Let Hamid and Johnson get tested in these 2 games before they focus on the Olympic qualifying campaign
So will Clark and Jones together help each other avoid cards or will they team up and hurt somebody
Also, is Johnson in camp? Maybe a half for Hamid and a half for him?
Other than Jones the only player I’d rather not see is Pearce. Isn’t there another left back option to evaluate? I can’t remember who is in the camp to choose from. Dunivant isn’t there is he? I’d rather see him that Pearce.
Could we please never see Clark in a USMNT uni again? He doesn’t even make the bench for his 2 Bundesliga side.
I like that lineup except for Clark… I would put big red in for him.