Photo by ISIPhotos.com
By IVES GALARCEP
RECIFE, Brazil — The U.S. Men’s National Team takes on Germany on Thursday with a place in the Round of 16 on the line and Jurgen Klinsmann will have to decide whether to stick with the same lineup that outplayed Portugal, or make changes to account for the different challenges presented by mighty Germany.
Klinsmann’s decision to go with a 4-5-1 with Clint Dempsey as his lone forward worked well in neutralizing Portugal’s midfield and limiting service to Cristiano Ronaldo, but Germany has many more weapons and beating them could require Klinsmann to make some changes to his lineup.
One change we can see is Klinsmann going back to a two-forward setup, with Chris Wondolowski edging out Aron Johannsson for the duties. Dempsey’s presence in midfield will be needed against the Germans, while Wondolowski can do the dirty work as the lead striker.
So who will Klinsmann turn to against Germany? Here is the lineup we could see take the field against Germany on Thursday:
PROJECTED USMNT LINEUP vs. GERMANY
———-Wondolowski————Dempsey————–
—-Jones—————Bradley—————–Bedoya—-
————————Beckerman—————————
Beasley——-Besler————Cameron———Johnson
————————–Howard—————————–
Some quick thoughts:
Wondolowski gets the nod for Graham Zusi, who didn’t have his best game against Portugal. Wondolowski can do the dirty work pressing high up the field to try and disrupt Germany’s attempt to start their attacks from deep.
DaMarcus Beasley was solid vs. Portugal, but you wonder about fatigue and whether Klinsmann will consider inserting Tim Chandler’s fresh legs to face an opponent he knows well. It’s something to think about.
Geoff Cameron had a shocker against Portugal, but do you pull him for Omar Gonzalez? I’m not sure I can see Klinsmann doing that.
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What do you think of the lineup? Who would you start that we didn’t include? Would you start the same lineup that tied Portugal?
Share your thoughts below.