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————————————–
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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.