By IVES GALARCEP
Now that Jurgen Klinsmann has chosen his roster for next week’s friendly against Ukraine, we can start considering the possibilities for a starting lineup to help Klinsmann answer some questions about his player pool.
There are several regular starters in the squad, but also enough new faces to provide a different flavor to the group Klinsmann ultimately settles on to start. Red-hot forward Aron Johannsson looks a good bet to get the nod, while Oguchi Onyewu stands a good chance of making his first national team start in almost two years.
Klinsmann will have some tough decisions to make, including in central defense and central midfield. He will also have to decide whether to play more of a 4-2-3-1, or potentially putting three natural forwards on the field in a 4-3-3.
Here is the projected starting lineup we can see taking the field against Ukraine on Wednesday:
PROJECTED USMNT LINEUP vs. UKRAINE
———————————-Jozy Altidore————————————
Alejandro Bedoya———–Clint Dempsey—————-Aron Johannsson
—————–Jermaine Jones———-Michael Bradley———————
Fabian Johnson——-Tim Ream—–Oguchi Onyewu——Geoff Cameron
———————————Tim Howard————————————–
LINEUP I WOULD START
——-Juan Agudelo———–Jozy Altidore——–Aron Johannsson——
———————————Clint Dempsey———————————–
—————–Jermaine Jones———-Michael Bradley———————
Fabian Johnson——-Tim Ream—–Oguchi Onyewu——Geoff Cameron
———————————Tim Howard————————————–
FABIAN JOHNSON IN MIDFIELD XI
(As some have noted, Fabian Johnson is listed as a midfielder on the roster for this camp. That could mean nothing, or it could mean we see him on the left wing, with Edgar Castillo at left back.)
———————————–Jozy Altidore———————————–
Fabian Johnson————–Clint Dempsey—————-Aron Johannsson
—————–Jermaine Jones———-Michael Bradley———————
Edgar Castillo———-Tim Ream—–Oguchi Onyewu——Geoff Cameron
———————————Tim Howard————————————–
FANS CHOICE XI
——Clint Dempsey———-Juan Agudelo——–Aron Johannsson——
———————————Mix Diskerud————————————
—————–Danny Williams———-Michael Bradley———————
Fabian Johnson—–John Brooks—–Oguchi Onyewu——Geoff Cameron
———————————Tim Howard————————————–
—–
What do you think of our projected lineup? Which of the above lineups would you start vs. Ukraine? Like my proposed three-forward attack?
Share your thoughts below.
Guess this post needs to be updated
No Bradley, No Mix, No Ream
Who else is quietly, silently, PARYING for the magical rise and rebirth like a Phoenix from the ashes of STUART HOLDEN……all while also praying that the continued “un-stable” career path of Jermaine Jones is FINALLY recognized by Klinsi ….and Holden is pared with Bradley for the WC?????????
Our USMNT center midfield “options” are suddenly limited in talent. A lot of less than perfect options, but nothing that seems to be “perfect” as far as a pairing with Bradley:
MixD is growing, but still get’s pushed off the ball at the international level.
Danny Williams–needs playing time and really was a defensive center mid.
Mo Edu — needs playing time, but was never better than Bradley. Really a D-mid due to poor ball skills.
Sash K — Good but not great. Proves creative at the club level, has not shown it in USMNT games.
J.Jones — We already know the story.
OR…..why not Landon Donovan next to Bradley…….??? Arena played him there alooooong time ago an he did pretty well. back when Arena proposed that we needs our best player controlling the game and ball as much as possible. This is back pre-Dempsey…..just after the 2002 WC when Claudio Reyna had retired from the USMNT and we didn’t have a replacement for him.