By IVES GALARCEP
For the first time since last year’s friendly against Russia, the U.S. Men’s National Team will carry a mostly first-choice team into a match without Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey on the roster, and while the two stars will be missed on Wednesday, Jurgen Klinsmann won’t be lacking for attacking options.
After a perfect run through June’s World Cup qualifiers, and then another unbeaten run through the Gold Cup with a largely different group of players, Klinsmann has options galore and the result should be a lineup on Wednesday that features standouts from both of this summer’s successful squads.
What we will see against Bosnia and Herzegovina will be not quite a first-choice lineup, but a solid one nonetheless. There are still some questions about the lack of experience in the pool of defenders called in, but Klinsmann can still put together a defense made up of players who impressed this summer.
With that in mind, here is the potential starting lineup we could see the USMNT use against Bosnia and Herzegovina:
PROJECTED USMNT LINEUP vs. BOSNIA (UPDATED)
————–Jozy Altidore———Eddie Johnson————-
Joe Corona————————————–Alejandro Bedoya
————-Jermaine Jones———Michael Bradley————-
Fabian Johnson——————————————Brad Evans
———Geoff Cameron————–John Anthony Brooks——–
—————————–Tim Howard——————————-
Some thoughts:
John Anthony Brooks and Aron Johannsson have taken major steps toward becoming parts of the U.S. player pool, but it’s probably unrealistic to expect either of them to start on Wednesday. Paperwork might prevent Johannsson from even playing, while Brooks seems more likely to be an option off the bench in his first appearance. (UPDATE- With Michael Orozco being forced to withdraw from the team with a hamstring injury, Brooks’ chances of starting just got significantly better.)
Brad Evans held his own at right back in World Cup qualifying, and the fact he is playing regular for Seattle gives him the edge over Michael Parkhurst, who was solid at the Gold Cup, but who hasn’t played since.
The midfield is pretty self-explanatory. Bradley and Jones will man the middle, while Gold Cup standouts Bedoya and Corona get the call on the wings. Corona only played the Gold CUp final on the left wing, and it wasn’t his best showing, so another option could be to deploy Eddie Johnson on the left wing and start Terrence Boyd alongside Altidore.
If it were up to USMNT fans, this is probably the lineup they would select for this match:
FANS CHOICE PROJECTED USMNT LINEUP vs. BOSNIA
————–Jozy Altididore———Terrence Boyd—————-
Eddie Johnson——————————————–Joe Corona
————-Mix Diskerud————Michael Bradley————–
Fabian Johnson————————————–Geoff Cameron
———John Anthony Brooks——–Michael Orozco————–
—————————–Tim Howard——————————-
And what lineup would I go with? I would want to see the lineup listed at the top, one I really think we could see on Wednesday.
Here is the USMNT roster for the match:
GOALKEEPERS: Cody Cropper (Southampton), Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton)
DEFENDERS: John Anthony Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC), Michael Orozco Fiscal (Puebla), Michael Parkhurst (Augsburg), Tim Ream (Bolton Wanderers)
MIDFIELDERS: Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Roma), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht), Danny Williams (Reading)
FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich)
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What do you think of the projected USMNT lineup above? Do you think it can beat Bosnia and Herzegovina? Do you like the Fan’s Choice projected lineup better? Which player is missing from our projection that you think should start? Who did we select that you feel should not be in the lineup?
Share your thoughts below.