By FRANCO PANIZO
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The U.S. men's national team's busy summer is well underway, but the real action is about to begin.
The United States will play the first of its five matches in the coming weeks against Scotland at EverBank Field on Saturday night, and the game (which will see the U.S. team wear their new home jerseys with names and numbers on the back) will provide another chance for head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to finetune things while also getting an opportunity to see some of the relatively newer faces on the team.
That will especially be the case up top, where Klinsmann will be missing regulars Clint Dempsey (groin injury) and Jozy Altidore (not yet in camp). Their absences open the door for forwards like youngster Terrence Boyd and in-form striker Chris Wondolowski to make a case for playing time down the road, and strong performances against a defensively-discplined Scottish side that was close to qualifying for Euro 2012 could go a long way in convincing Klinsmann they are ready for bigger roles.
"Whenever our players are not available that's the big moment for another one to step it up," said Klinsmann. "Whoever is going to be on the field then up front has a point to prove. … There are kids out there that are pretty hungry. They want to show that they can score goals and that they have it inside of them."
There is also a question as to who will start at left back for the United States, as incumbent Timmy Chandler denied a call-up for these looming matches. Edgar Castillo and Fabian Johnson have both seen time at the position since Klinsmann was appointed head coach last summer, and botha re coming off fairly solid seasons in Mexico and Germany, respectively.
The former was the starting left back in the initial games under Klinsmann, but Johnson played there for the United States in a historic 1-0 win over Italy in February. Johnson played well there, and although he has also looked good as a midfielder, his near future looks to be in defense.
"He can play both midfield and fullback, but what he did over the last three months in Germany was quite cool to see," said Klinsmann. "He kind of became the best left back in the Bundesliga the last couple of months. That was highly noted there and also by the people in Hoffenheim where he plays, they praised him a lot, so we're excited about those options.
"We want to see more players coming in giving us more options and especially giving us more quality. If you saw him play left back in Italy, it was top class. He was calm on the ball, he always looked for solutions, he's not kind of panicking and kicks the ball out. He know what he's doing, so Fabian became a very important figure in our team and it's nice to see."
If Klinsmann is having selection headaches at left back, he might need some Advil when the time comes to decide on who to start at central midfield. The Americans are deep at the position, with Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Kyle Beckerman, Maurice Edu and Jose Torres all capable of playing there.
Who starts versus Scotland will depend on what formation Klinsmann trots out, whether it is a 4-4-2, 4-3-3 or something else. But no matter who plays there, they will likely have the responsibility of pushing the tempo, keeping the ball and protecting the back four against the likes of Wigan Athletic midfielder Shaun Maloney and Cardiff City forward Kenny Miller.
That should not be a problem for the Americans given that all the central midfielders in camp are coming off or are in the midst of solid seasons with their respective clubs.
"We do get a lot of help from the holding midfielders on our team, which maybe people don't realize too much," said U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra. "Those guys work really hard and they make it really difficult to run at us. That's a very strong position on our team whoever plays there."
World Cup qualifying may be around the corner for the Americans, but positions all around the field are still seemingly up for grabs on the U.S. team. Locking down a spot for the remainder of the summer is surely on everyone's mind, and the match with Scotland will be a prime chance for players to do just that.
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How do you expect the U.S. men's national team to fair versus Scotland? Hoping to see Johnson at left back? Who do you think will play up top?
Share your thoughts below.
Sweeet! Beckerman will start versus Brazil.
Subs for #USAvSCO: Onyewu, Gomez, Corona, Guzan, Beckerman, Castillo, Wondolowski …
From â€@ussoccer Twitter:
#USMNT starters for #USAvSCO: Howard; Cherundolo, Cameron, Bocanegra (c), Johnson; Edu, Bradley, Jones; Donovan, Boyd, Torres
Will the game be streamed anywhere?
With brazil on wednesday i bet we will see some surprise appearances.
Get directv or watch the replay on nbc sports 5am-7am mountain time
Can’t say I ever recall Bradley disappearing or a lack of effort. The man runs his a$$ off end to end and then some… at times to a fault. My biggest gripes have been him being caught out of position and costly turnovers in bad places on the field. The few games of his I’ve seen w/ Chievo and the nature of the league lead me to believe both of those issues have likely been addressed playing in Italy. I look forward to seeing MB continue his hardworking, chippy ways with added discipline and vision added to his game.
OMG, that’s the most misinformed post I’ve read about Dempsey ever. The reason Arsenal are interested in him is BECAUSE of his technical ability. His flicks, one-twos, dribbling ability, and touch are what gets him in on goal. His ability to bring the ball down in traffic is solid. Just because a guy is English doesn’t make him an expert.
Jozy is #1 and no one is even close to taking it.
Agree
always been a big fan, still am. like most US players he comes with strenghts and weaknesses. If he’s deployed higher up the pitch, he’ll draw more pressure defense, harder fouls, than playing deeper
I’m pulling for him to handle it along with MB pushing forward through the midfield
Don’t you expect teams to anticipate that and look to squeeze the US midfield? That could be when LD or Boyd can shake loose behind or up the wing for a quick strike through ball and spread that D out again, creating space
he might surprise you. torres can be a little pit bull out there on defense. Against Belgium last autumn, he struggled offensively, but I thought he was excellent on defense, playing the whole field–even all the way to the baseline.
Beckerman works hard, seems like a good guy and a good team mate. However, at the national level he simply blows. I would rather see any other pairing in midfield that does not feature Beckerman. Maybe Bornschtien?
I am a huge fan of Jozy, really respect the man for what he has done the past two years, like playing in Turkey, and then the move to the Netherlands. But he has three formidable strikers breathing down his neck the next couple of weeks and he is going to have prove he is number 1 on the depth chart. I was thinking what a powerful combination Boyd and Jozy would be paired up top. Those are two big, strong guys who are hard push around. Wonder whether JK would ever consider pairing them.
do you have a link to that? or can you say at least say which site?
I think there’s more gray area than either segment believes.
Bradley is consistent: at being up and down.
There are times he’s arguably the best player on the pitch and there are times his distribution is poor and he, frankly, needed to be subbed off.
Recently, though? I think he’s been extremely solid.
Probably not but I’ll bet he had a jacket with leather elbow patches and he also stayed at a Holdiay Inn Express last night
I hope JK will at least try the Bradley-Jones pairing once this week. It may be that Beckerman is the answer, but Bradley and Jones are two of the best and most accomplished players on the team, and it’s worth seeing whether or not they can play together in the deep midfield spots.
plus the less defense torres has to play the better
Bradley hasn’t always been great, but I never recall him disappearing. He always runs well and almost always gets on the ball. Outside of Dempsey and Dolo, hard to think of a more consistent performer.
Why is Klinnsmann trying to ruin my weekend?
Word on the street is Beckerman will start. You have Jones. I will put money that Jones does not start.
Bradley has played two really good games for the USMNT in three years. I wish he could just play consistently well for the nation. He has the talent. He often disappears on the pitch which is disastrous for a midfielder.
Scotland’s attack on the right side is fairly concerning, eh?
English persons are so wise. Like owls or people who smoke pipes. Did this wise English person smoke a pipe?
Without Dempsey or Altidore available I could see…….
———————Boyd———————–
—Donovan—————————-Gomez—–
——————–Torres———————-
—————————Bradley————–
————–Jones—————————–
-Johnson—————————–Cherundolo-
———–Bocanegra——-Onyewu—————
———————Howard———————
I know people will say Torres is not an AM but Klinsman played him there in the 2nd half against Mexico last fall and he looked pretty good. Klinsmann has already said all of the passes will go through Torres.
In reference to their ethnicity?
Both are pretty quintessentially American looking.
think we’ll slot Donovan into a withdrawn role, ala Dempsey of late?
“Altidore and Dempsey are definate starters. Dempsey is the best scorer in our history. However, in terms of touch and passing, thats not Dempsey or Altidore’s strong point.”
Have you watched Dempsey play? I would argue his ball skills/touch are tops on the team.
Notice in my response I didn’t mention Altidore? Not sure why you included him in your response to me.
Vic, you’re high if u don’t think Dempsey is our most skilled player.
Dempsey & Altidore touch and passing beat Italy for first time, ever. Which 2 players had/will have highest ever transfer prices for US players? That would be those 2 guys you are dismissing…hello?
This is wrong about Dempsey. He’s not exactly a ball-retaining CM, but that’s not his role; he has exceptional skill both finishing and playing final balls. Altidore is an underrated technical player too–I don’t think replacing those two with two of Herc, Wondo, and Boyd is in any respect an upgrade in terms of skill.
He’s comparing Dempsey to players like Silva and Aguero, or maybe the Barcelona players. On the US team, Dempsey is definitely one of the most skilled players. Actually, can’t think of a single player in camp who’s more skilled than he is.
Go USMNT, let’s see some possession. But I’m still worried where the creativity is coming from….
scotland will be missing some key players for this match
Altidore and Dempsey are definate starters. Dempsey is the best scorer in our history. However, in terms of touch and passing, thats not Dempsey or Altidore’s strong point. I was talking to an English person and asked him about Dempsey. He said Dempsey isn’t very skilled but always finds a way to score. I asked what’s more important, he said scoring.
Only if Bradley was photo bombing it…
Trust me: It would have been Tim Ream.
….if he was called up.
Sorry but “most skilled” and “best display” is simply not possible without Dempsey.
That’s just a fact.
It is on NBC Sports (used to be the Versus channel)
NBC Sports Network ie formerly Versus
Bradley is the USMNT’s Rooney, in terms of being the picture guy here.
Will it be on TV
For those that care, Scotland will look like this tonight
McGregor,
Bardsley, Caldwell, Webster, Mulgrew,
Phillips, Brown, Bannan, McArthur, Maloney,
Miller.
Scotland will be trotting out a 4-5-1 tonight and will be counter-attacking with Miller as the lone striker. Will be a great game.
The line-up we see tonight maybe our most skilled line-up we’ve seen in a long time. Don’t get me wrong I think Altidore and Dempsey are great players. However, in terms of pure football, tonight maybe our best display.
I’m working tonight and missing the game. I don’t have TIVO. Does anybody know of a way I can watch a recording of the game online later tonight?
Get TBoyd on!
Read an article the other day on a German site comparing Johnson to Lahm. We could be so lucky. But Johnson is regarded by many as the top left back outside of Lahm in the Bundesliga.