A rash of injuries and illness have left U.S. men's national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann with a weakened roster ahead of Wednesday's match against Italy, making his decisions on a starting lineup that much tougher.
The loss of Landon Donovan, Timmy Chandler and Jose Torres, coming on the heels of losing Oguchi Onyewu has left Klinsmann with a group that won't quite look like the nearly full-strength side he looked like he would have available in Genoa on Wednesday.
Replacing Donovan won't be easy, and the decision to bring in Brek Shea as an emergency replacement shows just how limited Klinsmann's wing options are for the Italy match.
So who will Klinsmann start against the Italians? Here is the lineup we see him using:
PROJECTED USMNT LINEUP vs. ITALY
——————Altidore———————–
Shea————Dempsey————-Williams
————–Edu———Bradley—————
Johnson—Bocanegra–Goodson–Cherundolo
———————Howard———————–
Fabian Johnson plays left back for Hoffenheim and this match is the perfect opportunity to get a look at him at that position, partnering him with Shea to form a fast flank pairing. The right side isn't quite as dynamic, with the defensive-minded Williams teaming with Cherundolo. In fact, with Williams in the lineup in that grouping, the lineup would play more like a 4-3-2-1 than a 4-2-3-1. Having Edu, Bradley and Williams in front of the defense would squeeze Italy's dangerous midfield, but it also wouldn't likely lead to the United States creating many scoring chances.
Klinsmann could put Shea on the right and Johnson on the left, choosing to turn to Jonathan Spector at left back. This would allow him to play Williams in central midfield alongside Bradley. Williams has looked good in that role for Hoffenheim, but he question will be whether Klinsmann is better off with Spector at left back (where he hasn't played this year for Birmingham) or with Johnson at left back and Williams on the right wing. The latter would be a much stronger defensive lineup.
Altidore and Dempsey will work together, either in the 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 shown, or in a straight 4-4-2.
At centerback, Goodson brings experience to the table and should get the nod over Geoff Cameron and Michael Parkhurst.
Sacha Kljestan has been called in for this match, and while he has done very well for Anderlecht, it is tough to envision Klinsmann starting him after not originally planning to call him in at all (yes, the same can be said about Shea, but Shea is an established Klinsmann favorite while Kljestan is about as far from that as you can get).
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What do you think of the above lineup? What players would you like to see in the starting XI? Who listed above do you NOT want to see get a start on Wednesday?
Share your thoughts below.
So you want four central players in a straight line down the middle of the pitch? Five, if you count Kljestan, because he’s not much of a winger. You’re going to need more structure than that. If the way you have it set up is that Johnson and Bradley would be more even with each other, but with Johnson given license to get up more, you’re defeating your own point, because you’re playing two holders. I think you’re right that Klinsmann prefers to play one holding midfielder but I think against Italy, which is a team that crowds the middle, that’s asking to get dominated. I think you play Edu and Bradley together. Put Shea and Johnson on whatever which wing they want, and let Dempsey pull strings and link with Jozy.
Holding mid? Like Bradley? Jones? Edu? Why don’t we just stick one of the Carroll brothers out there?
All the Anderlecht discussion underlines my belief it’s Europhilia that now drives his interest. People understand they have been mostly in the Europa League in recent years, and have been eliminated from tournaments the past 2 years by FK Partizan (Belgrade) and 2 Dutch sides? I’m not sure how Anderlecht would fare in MLS. It might be a cushier gig with the European fanfare but he’s not exactly starting for ManU or even Lyon.
I think Benny and Torres are on a whole nother planet in terms of just desserts here.
Ummm Kljestan was horrible that entire game, hell he was horrible that entire Hexagonal.
Didn’t do a damn thing allowed the likes of Fernando Arce and Gio Dos Santos to run rampant on them.
I think those two can play fine and people forget it was those two that dealt with our comebacks in South Africa. However given the injuries, not even sure why anyone is still considering the line up like the one Ives proposed up there. I am aware this is what he THINKS that KLINSMANN will do but why?
Why not Williams in the middle where he excels and Bradley out on the right? Like vs Slovenia except this time we would have a Williams in place of Beckerman who who’d likely excel there and not turn the ball over
so much…Bradley is not an ideal option at Right mid but is the best one we have with the people available.
Now if we try to stick with what worked last time…the closes I can see us coming to it would be this:
===Jozy=Buddle===
=====Dempsey=====
==Shea==Bradley==
=====Williams====
=Johnson====Dolo=
==Boca==Goodsen==
======Howard=====
I hope we see Cameron in sub in for Goodsen at one point, Clerance was very shaky the last few times, would like some minutes to see to see Cameron
I agree to an extent. If available, the right mid spot is Landon Donovan’s without question. Due to him being sick and the lack of a suitable up-in-comer like a Gatt to plug into the role, Bradley is the best plug in for this friendly only. When at full strength I agree Bradley shifts back into his DM role, where he should be fighting Jones and Williams for the starting gig.
I think Sacha is a reflexive choice because he’s in Europe (short travel on short notice) and has some prior experience. Does that make it wise? Not IMO.
I think it’s an all star team and he needs to blow my mind to deserve the looks. It should not be that his failings are beyond some safe distance, it should be that he’s shown me positively he deserves it. I seriously doubt that.
I think it’s also relevant he’s a known — iffy to be more precise — quantity. Since I know he’s mediocre, show me someone actually promising instead. He’s just a “safe” pick for a game where to be blunt I don’t know if safe is enough. We may just be messed with the roster issues, but I don’t see him changing a darned thing.
I don’t buy box to box because he’s lanky and not all that fast, and tends to lose his man. I prefer my 2 way types with more of a motor, better able to play in tight spaces, get stuck in more. I think he really likes to play in scads of space a la Geoff Cameron when used as a CM, but he’s not really a winger when he does it though. A CM needs to be able to make quick, accurate passes with a minimum of touches, and he tends to like to dribble and hit home run balls.
+1, though with a caveat. If DMB has lost his speed, then I completely understand and that’s not something we can judge without watching him every day.
This is my take: Let’s go for it! Why the hell not?
——–Altidore——–Boyd———–
Shea———–Dempsey———-Bradley
—————Williams—————-
Johnson—–Boca—–Cameron—–Dolo
It’s true that MB has played wide right on occasion with Chievo, but he lacks the foot speed to play wing in Klinsi’s system. I’d rather pair Fabian and Shea or Dempsey and Shea at the wings.
Swap Bradley and D-Will. Bradley did well on the right against Slovenia and Williams has sucked on the right.
We can put Shea on the right and Fabian on the left or put Dempsey on the right. I agree that the cupboard is bare, but I don’t think it is so bare as all that. I would tend to agree that Williams over there might not represent much of an improvement offensively over Spector, but he’s better defensively and Klinsi seems to think he has some technical skills that he hasn’t shown yet. Spector has a good right footed cross, but he’s just such a sloppy short passer and has so many moments when you just wonder what he could have possibly been thinking.
About every game I’ve seen him play, when he tries to do the McBride/Ching holdup man thing, he either lacks the work rate to get to the ball/open, or his “trap” skids 5 yards backwards out of his control.
You seem to be hopeful but I believe some of this is simply he’s a big fellow, like Gooch.
I beg to differ on the shooting, for the US in big games he usually sprays them wide. Full credit to him for the nights like T&T, he’s not an EJ-type bum, but the problem is this doesn’t translate into big games. One might see a similar parallel in how he prospers in the Eredivisie (or MLS) in a way he did not in Spain or England.
No, I’d definitely want him in my US 18 and perhaps in the 11 depending on the opposition, but he’s no McBride. Nor is he Dempsey or Landon.
I disagree that it’s the mids’ fault he can’t do well in a 451. We had no problem getting the ball to the middle third and knocking it around. The issue is IMO his limited mobility makes him a tough target to find in a 451, and with a 451 I need to find the forward to progress into the final third. I need to combine with the striker.
Also, like I said before, if I do get him the ball in a 451, he needs to finish, because the formation is not so heavy forwars like a 433 or 442. But he’s sloppy.
Gooch shoved over the poor guy in the World Cup, Ghana wasn’t it? Promising physical defender who like Altidore has not harnessed the physicality to a little better ball work. If either of them refined just a little? Wow. But as-is you have to accept bad with good.
Dempsey/Donovan should really be playing second forward running off of a holding forward. But Altidore is not quite a holdup guy yet, and brutally honest half our problem is no one is within the pool. Bunbury sometimes. Agudelo occasionally. If someone could play that role the team would improve. But for now it’s like a Ram truck at the front of a Ferrari, the technical guys can work it around but the finishing instrument is a tad blunt. Until that changes I’d hedge my chances and have a proven scorer up top, unless you like 0-0 ties or 1-0 losses. Gimme Dempsey whacking in late goals up top any day….
Agreed with everything.
Agreed, there really isn’t any such thing as a classic CAM anymore. This isn’t the era of Ronaldinho. The goals come from the wings now. The CMs are expected to defend and distribute, not score goals.
Benny has scored a grand total of 5 goals in 6 years of club play, so goals certainly aren’t a good criteria to justify his inclusion over Sacha. I used to love Benny and hate Sacha, but right now, Sacha is in form and playing for a better team, in a better league, against much better competition, so I have to rate him higher. I still like what Benny brings to the table, but managers hate him, for whatever reason.
“the Germans are playing France on Wednesday. The Americans are playing Italy.”
Something about that whole scenario seems so… 1943?
Most likely starting 11.
Howard
Dolo——Goodson——-Boca——-Johnson
———–Williams———-Klejstan
Bradley———-Dempsey———-Shea
—————Altidore————
or
Howard
Dolo——–Goodson—–Boca——-Parkhurst
—————–Bradley————-
Johnson————————–Shea
——————-Dempsey—————-
——Altidore——————-Buddle—–
actually, I kinda like this one. but i would switch MB and Williams. I’m not a fan of Williams on the right wing, but between MB and Williams I think Williams would be the better choice over Bradley.
He’s not proposing 10 men. He’s proposing two goalkeepers. It’s brilliant really. Plus, Howard is a proven goal scorer. This will free him up to launch missiles up the field.
Thank God for ‘Mr. T’ Howard.
Shea not good? I have to respectfully disagree. Shea has created the most chances out of everyone under Klinsmann thus far. Enough said.
Do you smell something? It is either the US line up vs Italy, or the residuals from an Post Oscar party. It is obvious that our midfield and offense have been decimated. Now it the time to be creative JK! Let the guys play. What have you got to lose???
Jozy has lost his starting position for his club team. Edu does not have the finesse to wash a car. Sasha was called up to save airfare. Goodson has the speed of an offensive lineman. Whitbread can come in -he played this weekend. Thus:
–Boyd and Buddle–
Shea–Williams–Dempsey
–MB and Fabian Johnson–
Boca-Whitbread(or Cameron)-Dolo
Good Luck!! (3-0 Loss)
You have us playing with 10 men.
I would put Boyd or Agudelo, perhaps Dempsey in slightly withdrawn role up top w/ Altidore.
Also – just my thoughts, not a criticism of your line-up Edu and Bradley are interchangeable units – I wouldn’t play them both at the same time unless you are taking out a forward late in the game to preserve a 1 to 2 goal lead. Bradley is better paired in the middle with a play-making holding mid-fielder like Feilhaber, Torres, Williams, Adu, etc. I am not sure how well the Jones and Bradley together in the middle combination has worked in the past – but I would say that that pairing has great potential, as both Jones and Bradley have full field vision and the skills to be playmakers from the center of the field at the same time.
In a 5 player midfield – you put Jones and Bradley deep in the middle. Put a Torres, Adu, Feilhaber type middie in the middle, and use your Dempsey, Holden, Donovan, Williams, Johnson, Shea, Beasley types on the wings.
Then you have an isolated striker like Altidore, Boyd, Agudelo, Buddle, etc. in the middle – but you have speed on the wings, service from the center of the field, mid-field and deep mid-field.
Really don’t see how this changes things? People are down on Edu but remember he use to be a really good player and came into every come back in South Africa when Bob kept picking Clark over him or even Findley over him and Feilhaber. He did replace Torres vs Slovenia but honestly that wasn’t really much of Torres doing to fall down 2-0. I recall thinking “Gooch was barely late to close in on 1 goal and hesitated on another”
Williams is capable of playing in the middle and so is Edu, if not Sacha’s been bitching and everybody buys his great form that he is worthy of a call up well let him prove it if Edu does not so well in the middle as 1 of the holding mids next to Williams
Hey, we can’t disagree on EVERYthing. This isn’t politics, after all.
Shea—Altidore—Dempsey
—-Klestjan–Bradley—-
——–Williams——-
Johnson———Cherundolo
—-Boca—-Parkhurst—-
——-Timmy———
You’re pretty confident putting only 10 men against Italy?
Like your first one. I so very much want to see Bradley would perform as the lone Number 6 holding midfielder.
well, agree with your Cameron-Goodson assessment. Cameron looked good in January and would seem to have much more upside potential. If he is in good form in camp, Klinsi might start him.
Both you and “amru” have Bradley in a R-wing middie position. He doesn’t have the speed or attacking skills for that. He is a pit-bull / Rottweiler – CENTRAL DEFENSIVE MIDDIE. Period.
He excels in that role – that is his job, 100%.
Don’t use bulldozer to do a Ferrari’s job.
+1 proposed the same line-up above.
————-Altidore————-
Shea—————Dempsey
—-Bradley—–Kljestian—–
———————————-
Johnson-Boca-Cameron-Dolo
——-Howard-Guzan—————
Explain to me how the midfield doesn’t get steamrolled. I don’t see how Edu can possibly protect the back line against Italy by himself. If in reality Johnson and Kljestan are playing next to him rather than advanced even with Dempsey in the hole, maybe they could hold their own, but I have my doubts.
This is exactly right and I don’t understand why people are putting two DM slots in the proposed lineups. Klinsmann’s formations thus far generally had only one holding midfielder (one DM) slot-or as Pancho-whatever says it, “a strict Number 6”. When Klinnsman did experiment a few times with Beckerman and Edu in at the same time, Beckerman was playing the Number six lone holding midfielder slot and Edu, inexplicably, was playing basically up ahead in an attacking central midfielder slot. It’s possible Klinsmann will play with 2 DM slots against Italy (4-2-3-1), but I would be surprised.
Up to this point Klinsmann has tested Beckerman, Jones and Edu in the single DM slot. With Jones and Beckerman injured, this is the perfect time for Klinsmann to give Michael Bradley a shot, see how he does as the lone holding midfielder. Against Mexico last August, Bradley was playing up front as an offensive CM, against Ecuador when Bradley was subbed in he was placed centrally well ahead of Beckerman, and against Slovenia Bradley played right midfielder. Klinsmann should finally give MB a chance as the lone DM. I want to see once and for all how MB looks as a strict Number 6, without Edu and Williams to hold his hand. We have seen Beckerman do a good job as a lone 6 and Jones do an excellent job.
Anyway, I personally would like to see Johnson used as an attacking midfielder. With Torres and Donovan out, Johnson in my mind is the most skilled ball handler/forward passer we have (he has been cookin’ the past few games at Hoffenheim) and I think we need him up high. I am a big Danny Williams fan, and he has improved immensely in just five months since his last USMNT appearances and on Wednesday is going to surpirse any who have no seen him for awhile, but please, not again on the right wing. So here is one possibility line-up (I see Klinsmann’s starting Kljestan. His experience can be a steadying influence and, oh, is he ever hungry to prove what he can do.):
——-Altidore———
——-Dempsey——-
Shea——Johnson—-Kljestan
———–Bradley————-
Spector–Boca–Cameron–Dolo
——————————
**But Klinsi will probably play Johnson at LB. Plus, he had success against Slovenia with Buddle and Altidore on top (3 goals in the first half), so:
——Buddle—-Altidore——–
Shea—-Dempsey—-Kljestan
———-Bradley————
Johnson–Boca–Cameron–Dolo
—————————–
PEOPLE
Has there been any talk of who the 2 over age plasyers for the olympics will be?
To be fair, in a full strength match, the right mid spot is Landon Donovan’s without question. Due to him being sick and the lack of a suitable up-in-comer like a Gatt to plug into the role, Bradley is the best plug in for this friendly only. When at full strength I agree Bradley shifts back into his DM role, where he should be fighting Jones and Williams for the starting gig.
Yep – would love to see Williams in place of Edu, just to see if that works any differently. Not sure who goes out to the right in that scenario though – perhaps Sacha?
4 goals and 2 assists for his club this year so far. not bad for a box to box midfielder.
Altidore-Dempsey, Sacha-Bradley-Shea-Williams, Cherundulo-Bocanegra-Goodson-Johnson, Howard….
wrong, Dude, the Germans are playing France on Wednesday. The Americans are playing Italy. Pull it out, man.
I would agree. I think Kljestan should be ahead of Williams and Spector for that spot, but I doubt JK thinks similarly.
That said, I really want Cameron to play at least a half against Italy. I don’t think it’s any riskier to start him than Goodson, and they’re both probably in equivalent shape (even though Cameron’s offseason ended earlier with the start of the Jan. camp).
can’t believe I’m doing this, but here goes: +1
I have this exact lineup below, except with Williams for Edu, and Dempsey and Shea trading places. Want to see what Shea could do cutting in on his left foot!
To his credit, Kljestan put in a stellar performance in the last Olympics. Especially v. Holland he and Adu paired well in the midfield and he settled a laser guided missile of a pass, on the run, entering the top of the box and a put it away in a beautiful goal that almost eliminated Holland from the tournament.
He has flashes of brilliance – and has the potential to play on the level of Torres, Holden and Feilhaber. I wouldn’t write him off.
main difference being JB has done nothing to correct his game. he moved to mexico and rots on the bench. meanwhile, sasha, who was terrible, got his S together and earned a regular spot on a good team. i would say we do NOT know what we are getting from him. we did, but he actually stepped up his game and may provide us help.
i like the other players you listed, but just about all of them are with the U-23s and should stay with that team. bedoya is injured and hasn’t played much at all since moving to Scotland. makes no sense to call him up.
and i couldn’t disagree more about beasley. we are the USMNT, not Germany, Brasil, or Spain. if we have a good player, like beasley, start to play well again (which he is), especially in a position we don’t have a ton of options for, we should ABSOLUTELY be using them.
for starters, he isn’t an attacking mid. in the 4-2-3-1 they usually play, he is one of the holding mids.
like others have said, he was not a good player for awhile there. but the guy starts every week for Anderlecht, which isn’t just some tiny team. clearly he has improved. now is the time to see if he can show that on the USMNT.
this isn’t to say Benny is less deserving. it’s just that Sasha should be given another chance given his playing time in a good league on one of the top teams.
It’s going to be hard to keep him off the field. There’s simply a lack of attacking options on this roster. Believe it or not, I trust Spector’s attacking ability more than Williams’s or Edu’s. The only other option would be to put Johnson on the right side (which isn’t out of the realm of possibilities) and then try Williams or Spector at LB. The Chandler loss really hurts at both LB and RW.
It’s not going to happen, but it wouldn’t hurt to try either. Spector is one of the few on the roster getting 90 minutes every single week.
This changes things – MB will most likely have to play centrally.
I like this lineup alot. The one thing I will say is that I have my doubts whether Shea gets the start due to the travel and him being ran ragged.
I do like the prospect of Johnson and Shea on the same side – even more so, the prospect of Landon (when healthy) and Johnson on the same side. Johnson looked lively last game and now coming from the back, I could see him providing attack from a full back for once. But is Shea capable defensively to cover? hmmmm…..
I like Boyd starting too. Him and Altidore up top? Man, physically at least, that will be hard to handle. Dempsey needs to be in the middle and involved. Putting him up top isolates him and he tends to get lost. Bring Dempsey up front towards the end of the game, if needed. I always liked that move by Bob Bradley.
Wow that lineup did not post at all how I wanted it to. But you get the idea…
I see some people putting MB90 out on the right wing. Folks, he played on the right side of a diamond in one friendly. He can certainly play there (he’s an incredibly smart player, after all), but it’s completely different putting him on the right side of a 4231 or vanilla 442.
Moving him out wide takes away his influence on the game. We need him 1) snuffing out attacks, getting stuck in, etc.; 2) on the ball as much as possible, orchestrating, linking defense to attack.
I think you have the starting 11, Spector and Williams fighting for the last spot.