The U.S. Men’s National Team closes out its 2018 schedule in Belgium when they take on Italy at a neutral venue.
In what will likely be his final match in charge, interim head coach Dave Sarachan has made some interesting choices with his lineup, opting to go with a 3-5-2 formation and a ton of youth. In fact, this is the youngest average age for a USMNT starting lineup in its modern era.
Average age: 22 years and 71 days.
Today's #USMNT XI vs. 🇮🇹 is the youngest in the modern era. » https://t.co/WJRcCaI8R4 pic.twitter.com/bq3gyI3raZ
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) November 20, 2018
Josh Sargent gets the nod up front next to Christian Pulisic in a strike duo featuring two of the most exciting young names in American soccer. Pulisic is the only player in the starting eleven who also started in the loss to England last Thursday, the other ten starters are all new. He is also the most experienced player in the lineup with 23 caps, the same number as midfielder Kellyn Acosta.
Ethan Horvath gets the start in goal after sitting out at Wembley last week. He will have Aaron Long, Walker Zimmerman, and Cameron Carter-Vickers in front of him in a back line that has only 13 National Team appearances between them.
The SBI editorial staff will be providing live commentary on tonight’s match so feel free to follow the action here. As always, you are welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions (NOT play-by-play commentary) in the comments section below.
Enjoy the match.
How’d those subs work out Dave? Dont let the door hit you in the A$$ on the way out
No we lost at the very end I want to cry ?
At the very least it looked like the US had some fight in this game. Not much else to take out of this game except some nice saves by Horvath. Pretty awful.
A couple of decent saves, but mostly Horvath was bailed out by horrible finishing by the Italians. They either shot right at him or completely missed the target.
Final: Italy 1 – USMNT 0. It was a long time coming for the Italians who had the better of the chances this evening. Matteo Politano with the winning goal which sends the U.S. into a winter break on two consecutive defeats.
Politano finishes nicely and breaks the USMNT’s hearts. 1-0. 94′
Romain Gall has a good look from long range which Sirigu repels for a corner. 90′
Sebastian Lletget and Romain Gall replaces Christian Pulisic and Kellyn Acosta. 83′
Moise Kean rips a ball across the six yard box but no Italian is there to tap it home. Still 0-0 76′
Jorge Villafana to replace Reggie Cannon. 75′
Horvath with a great save, continues his amazing night in between the posts. 73′
Cannon allows the free kick and would normally be sent off for a second yellow. Referee is very lenient. 68′
Walker Zimmerman is kept out by Sirigu from close range after the LAFC defender gets on a good cross from Acosta 63′
Bobby Wood and Wil Trapp come on for the U.S., replacing Marky Delgado and Josh Sargent. 62′
Fifth save of the night for Horvath who pushes away Lasagna’s close range attempt. 59′
You’d figure Dave Sarachan has to make some offensive changes tonight with everybody available. 56′
Sarachan once used 2 subs and in 2 other friendlies he used only 5 subs (including England). It makes complete rational sense for most international coaches in friendlies, but Sarachan is that much an outlier. Curious if the press has ever asked him to explain it for any game or as a pattern. Half the point to these games unlike GC or quali is not being limited to 3 subs and being able to look at an unusual amount of players. You don’t even have to buy my affection for treating these like tryouts and bringing in different people, to wonder why you don’t use the 17 slots (11 + 6) you’re allocated on the players you did bring in.
Delgado wins the free kick as Grifo bundles into him. 54′
The only halftime change for Italy was Vincenzo Grifo on for Federico Chiesa. U.S. have made zero changes yet. 50′
Halftime: USMNT 0 – Italy 0. Plenty of defending for the U.S. who can thank Ethan Horvath for some great saves. A lot of work needs to be done for the U.S. to get a goal tonight.
Great recovery save by Horvath who is able to punch the cross clear. Huge save before the halftime whistle. 44′
Moore and Cannon each pick up yellow cards for respective fouls. 43′
Horvath gets a fingertip on Berardi’s effort to force a corner. 39′
The U.S. backline was caught out on a counter but Italy cannot capitalize as Chiesa’s ball is too far for Lasagna. 38′
Berardi with a poor cross in as the ball flies into the stands. 33′
The USMNT still finding it hard to win the ball back consistently but neither side can find a goal yet. 30′
Long cross in by Italy is headed over by Emerson. 22′
The first card of the evening as Mattia De Sciglio is booked for a hard foul on Marky Delgado. 19′
Great recovery by Carter-Vickers who is able to get back and at least put the ball out for a corner. 16′
Berardi gets a good header but it just misses the post. 14′
Shaq Moore will have a busy evening, going against Federico Chiesa of Italy. 14′
So far Italy has owned possession, rarely troubling Horvath in goal. U.S. needs to start being aggressive. 12′
Yes we have two forwards see how we will win all or at least tie.