Questions about how the USA qualifies and where it will be seeded if it does get out of the group can be saved for after the game Friday, however, when the picture is much more black and white.
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Jefrey Payeras went 90 minutes for Guatemala in their 2-2 draw with Trinidad and Tobago in their World Cup qualifying match in Port-of-Spain on Friday.
There seems to be more than enough manpower for the game against St. Vincent, a team the USA dominated in a 6-1 victory in St. Louis in November, but unlikely player combinations might be used.
Four of the six matches have been played. The real value is in the opportunity these matches give the U.S.to build confidence and momentum in a team that will find itself in some truly hard qualifiers in just a few months.
Trinidad and Tobago host Guatemala later tonight, so the results of that one will be worth watching. As easy as these matches may seem, they still carry the added difficulty World Cup qualifying also provides, and both matches nearly certainly offer a tougher challenge than the looming friendlies in October against Cuba and New Zealand.
I think certain players have shown in training that they should get a run out. The U.S. will be playing Friday without captain Michael Bradley, who is suspended for yellow-card accumulation in June’s Copa America, while forward Clint Dempsey, midfielders Gyasi Zardes and Jermaine Jones and defender John Brooks are all out with health or injury issues. We’ve also heard USA soccer coaches say they wanted to bring him along slowly in his first extended exposure to the USA team this summer at the Copa America.
Even though there are many familiar names on the roster, Klinsmann is going to face some interesting problems naming a starting 11.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines hasn’t been a total punching bag.
So why Nagbe over Sacha Kljestan? Kljestan has been away for more than two years so it’s tough to see him get the nod in this qualifier, though you could see him against Trinidad and Tobago. This one is much trickier.
Gonzalez is back in the side after being left off the Copa America roster, but not because the former LA Galaxy star has struggled since his move to Mexico. Across the back line for the USA, it’s all familiar faces, most of whom are experienced with Fabian Johnson, Geoff Cameron, DeAndre Yedlin, Matt Besler, Omar Gonzalez and Michael Orozco all having 27 or more caps for the US. Birnbaum has looked sharp when given chances by Klinsmann, and Klinsmann probably hasn’t forgotten how bad Gonzalez looked in Guatemala last May.
“This is a big stage”, Klinsmann said. If it isn’t the ideal pairing, perhaps Klinsmann will revert back to a three-man front line, pushing Wood back to the wings along with Jordan Morris?
“We took our lapses against Guatemala”.
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“Right now we need to beat St. Vincent, this is what really matters, all the other things are not important”, he told reporters ahead of the game at the Arnos Vale Stadium in Kingstown. Rate: winning team of Trinidad and Tobago – P1. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann will have to be inventive in putting together a lineup capable of generating an effective attack, and lately he has been more comfortable relying on his most experienced players. If the USA plays a 4-4-2 with Bedoya in a central role, there are questions about who should start on the left wing and Pulisic is the most natural fit on the roster. It’s likely that Kyle Beckerman plays in the No. 6 role and Klinsmann will have to choose who he wants to play above that.
