On Sunday, the U.S. Men’s National Team will begin the road to the Copa America with a friendly against Puerto Rico, albeit with a lineup that will be certainly much different than the one Jurgen Klinsmann will start come tournament time.
With MLS players out of the equation for Sunday’s friendly, Klinsmann will instead rely on a European and Mexican-based continent that contains an interesting blend of youth and experience. Veterans like Alejandro Bedoya, Tim Howard and Fabian Johnson are expected to lead the way, while newcomers Fafa Picault, Paul Arriola and Caleb Stanko could earn their first taste of senior team action.
Heading into the first of three friendlies, Klinsmann has several options. The U.S. could use Sunday’s match as a lesson in chemistry for the few expected Copa America starters at Klinsmann’s disposal. On the other hand, Klinsmann could give an extended look at new faces against an opponent that should give the U.S. little trouble.
Who will Klinsmann trot out against Puerto Rico? Here is a lineup that we could see:
———————————–Wood———–————————–
—-Arriola————-Hyndman—————Bedoya—-
————-—Morales————-—Kitchen————-————-
———-Ream—–Brooks——Cameron——-Yedlin————
———————————–Howard————————————-
Some thoughts:
Jurgen Klinsmann faces several decisions entering Sunday’s match, the first of which is what to do with some of his biggest stars.
Fabian Johnson, Geoff Cameron and DeAndre Yedlin all enter camp a bit banged up, which could prove more than enough to justify leaving them out of Sunday’s match. At this point though, chances to develop chemistry are at a premium, so Klinsmann could certainly give the big guns a first half run out before opting to get a look at fresh faces in the second half.
Defensively, Klinsmann will have the opportunity to get a look at what will likely be the team’s core heading into the Copa America. Following his performances with Sunderland, Yedlin is all but penciled in as starting right back, while Cameron and John Brooks are likely the leading candidates to lock down the centerback position. Questions remain out left, but Tim Ream remains in the mix, and starting the four defenders together could give Klinsmann a brief look at what the majority of his starting backline will look like against Colombia.
Should Klinsmann opt to shake things up at the back, Matt Miazga seems an obvious inclusion in an attempt to build confidence after and up and down season with Chelsea.
The midfield picture is a bit less clear, but it is obvious that Klinsmann has put a major emphasis on finding a potential replacement for Kyle Beckerman as the team’s No. 6. For this Puerto Rico game in particular, Klinsmann has brought in four players capable of playing the defensive midfield position. Perry Kitchen seems to be the frontrunner at this point following his move to Hearts in Scotland, while Danny Williams, Alfredo Morales and 22-year-old Caleb Stanko could each earn a run out in a more defensive position.
If Klinsmann is to opt to leave any of his stars out, Johnson would be the most logical. The left-sided midfielder has been battling injuries in recent weeks and, while Sunday’s clash could give him a chance to gain some valuable fitness, it could be too much of a risk to toss him out there in such a meaningless game. The U.S. has plenty of left-sided wide options at their disposal, including Paul Arriola and Julian Green.
Alejandro Bedoya’s positioning is also up in the air. In terms of the team currently assembled for Puerto Rico, it would make the most sense to tuck Bedoya inside to serve as the team’s primary playmaker. However, the Copa America could certainly see Bedoya used as a wider option on the right, and it would make sense for Klinmann to give Bedoya valuable reps alongside a potential partner in Yedlin. If not, Fafa Picault is a right-sided player that has proven deadly on the club level, although the St. Pauli star is also in the mix at the striker position.
If Bedoya is indeed placed out right, it could open the door for Emerson Hyndman to crack the lineup. With few natural attacking midfielders in the squad, Hyndman will almost certainly earn a look at some point on Sunday.
That leaves the forward position and Bobby Wood, who could certainly start against Colombia following the injury to Jozy Altidore. With Altidore gone, the U.S. may very well look to adopt a two-striker set centered around Wood. Wood is the lone forward on the roster likely to earn a look at the Copa America, so Sunday’s clash could be a chance to see Wood continue his hot streak against inferior opposition.
Finally, the USMNT goalkeeping picture remains unclear with both Tim Howard and Brad Guzan jockeying for the No. 1 position. It remains to be seen how Klinsmann juggles the duo in the buildup to the upcoming tournament, but since Guzan started last time out, look for Howard to get another run against Puerto Rico.
Whatever Klinsmann opts to do, look for him to shuffle throughout Sunday’s clash while using the full roster at his disposal. Look for Klinsmann to shuffle out Copa America call-ups after limited run outs, while giving new faces plenty of time to shine.
I don’t think Fafa will start since he is in his first camp, and I can’t think of too many first timers who start their first game. I would think Ryan’s above will be it, but with Miazga for Cameron because of the injury. Of course I think it will turn into a 2-4-5 like against St. V&G as we start to own possession.
It’s pretty much a irrelevant question. We could start our U14’s and win this. Puerto Rico plays baseball, not soccer
Don’t be shocked if this is only a 2-0 or 3-1 game with so many new faces (and not our top guys) likely to see major minutes.
Guzan
Cameron/Brooks/Miazga/Lichaj
Yedlin/Bedoya/Williams/FJ
Green/Wood
—————Green———–—————-Picault—————–—-
———–——————Hyndman——————————–—–
——Morales————-————————–Arriola—————
—————————–Williams————————————-
——Ream——–Brooks————-Miazga——–Lichaj———–
———————————–Howard————————————-
“Fabian Johnson, Geoff Cameron and DeAndre Yedlin all enter camp a bit banged up”….So rest them and don’t risk further injury….we are playing a friendly with Puerto Rico
Word is Cameron and Johnson have been limited in practice this week, no need to put them out there for a game which the US should have 75-80% possession. Still two more friendlies to develop cohesion and Brooks and Cameron have been together in other camps so not complete strangers.
Nah. I hope he goes with the lineup that we all know we want to see:
Arriola——Wood——–Fafa
Hyndman–Williams–Morales
Lichaj-Brooks-Cameron-Yedlin
————–Howard————-
You know you want it too, don’t lie.
If Lichaj is in the 23 as a left back we might see it, if Reem is the other LB with Castillo, I think we’ll see Lichaj on the right in the 2nd half.
Assuming our “banged up” players are healthy and looking for match fitness, I like the lineup for the most part. But, I would not play anyone that isn’t up to speed or could potentially strain or aggravate current injuries (likely use Miazga and Ream).
In addition, I think we see Green starting over Fafa.
Lastly, who is to say we run a 4-3-3? While I would love to see it consistently (at least experiment with it), I just don’t see it often from JK. A lot of 4-1-4-1 and sometimes a 4-4-2. I could very well be mistaken or we may have shifted to a 4-3-3 after massive substitutions, but I don’t think I have seen it for an extended period of time.
Essentially that’s what was used in Columbus, which is why so many people are using it as the base currently. I am not sure too many of us are confident it will continue against better competition, but the loss of Jozy would seem to support it. We may have used it against St. V&G, but that was more a result of their bunkering.
Why would we risk our “big guns” as you put it in an essentIlly useless friendly just before a major tournament? Groin injury? Hamstring problem? Don’t worry guys it’s only 45 minutes. You will probably be ok… We have 2 more friendlies to get them ready. We should not be taking risks with anyone less than 100% for Puerto Rico.
Same reason our starters played friendlies in South Africa a week before the World Cup (on what looked like a high school pitch). I had the exact same concerns back then, but it’s common practice.
Injuries happen and will no matter how much you try to avoid the variables.
Thats not what I said though. Obviously we can’t cover everyone in bubble wrap until the tournament. Players with Fabian Johnson and Jeff Cameron who are coming in with muscle injuries should not play in this game.
Players with Fabian Johnson and Jeff Cameron who are coming in with muscle injuries should not play in this game.
If Cameron and Johnson or any player coming back from injury play any portion of these matches it’s because the training staff has deemed them fit to play and possibly in need of some match fitness (which is very real).
Have some faith in the medical staff or just remind yourself they probably know more than we do monitoring them on a daily basis (and that whole educational background…thing).
I see your point Old School Ronaldhino’s tone was over the top in his original post, but by that logic shouldn’t all of our points be irrelevant. I mean I’m assuming JK, Herzog, and Ramos all have more training and knowledge of soccer and have seen the guys in training and watched most of there games in person or on film so why should we give our two cents on who should start or what formation to use.
I haven’t refuted his ability to have an opinion, but I’m not in the company of questioning medical staffs when I don’t have access to the same information they do.
I’ll just point out that he article in its original form has been edited. The way it read was that despite Johnson and Cameron carrying injuries into camp we should give them 45 minutes to develop chemistry. The suggestion was 45 minutes of time vs PR outweighs ay risk of 45 minutes of game time. I took issue with that. That portion of the article has now been edited to soften its stance.
I’m well aware I don’t have a fraction of the info of the medical staff and my comment was 100% directed towards the author for suggesting there is little risk in playing 45 minutes with a slight muscular injury but so much chemistry to gain…