The U.S. men’s national team’s lineup options for this month’s friendlies against Germany and Ghana are somewhat limited by the strength of its healthy and in-form core players.
There are still some questions, with first-choice holding midfielder Tyler Adams unavailable and left-back Anthony Robinson not called into camp. Walker Zimmerman, Jordan Morris, Josh Sargent and Haji Wright are also not in the squad for some reason, while Malik Tillman was called up to PSV Eindhoven before being sidelined with an injury in the final stages. become.
[ MORE: USMNT schedule, results | USMNT roster ]
But most of the big names are here, with Germany and Ghana the most high-profile opponents coach Gregg Berhalter’s USMNT will face ahead of their bid for the 2024 Copa America on American soil this summer. ready to hunt down.
It would be surprising if Matt Turner, Sergino Dest, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musa, Christian Pulisic, Timothy Weah and Folarin Balogun did not start against Germany. What about other spots? Well, that’s why we write the article.
What will be the lineup for USMNT vs. Germany?
Should we assume manager Berhalter will split the goalkeeping duties between Turner and Ethan Horvath, or will Turner be number one and Horvath remain as the clear back-up, as he did at Nottingham Forest (with Odyseas Brachodimos in the latter role)? 2) in recent weeks).
Robinson’s absence means we only know one of the four starting defenders and have no idea which side of the field that player will cover on Saturday. Dest could play at right-back with DeJuan Jones or Christopher Lund at left-back, or the PSV Eindhoven player could play on the left, with Joe Scully or Jones running on the right. You can do it too.
Tim Ream was a star at the World Cup, but he wasn’t at his best during the final break, and Berhalter had doubts about the player’s potential in his system last fall. Fulham’s captain is likely to start, but Chris Richards will likely take the spot. Cameron Carter-Vickers is healthy and Myles Robinson could be a starter as well.
McKennie and Musah will play in the midfield, but who will join this duo? It’s a little more open now that Tillman is out, but it’s as easy as Luca de la Torre getting a first look at Giovanni Reyna, Johnny Cardoso, Alex Zendejas, Leonard Maroney, and Brenden Aaronson. It looks like it’s going to be.
But if Reina starts, I wonder if she’ll say something? It’s a post in itself, but it’s not the reason we exist in this internet space.
There is a world where Ricardo Pepi starts above Folarin Balogun, but that would not be a sane world. Kevin Paredes is also waiting for his introduction.
Here are some thoughts:
turner
Dest — Richards — Ream — Jones
Musa — De La Torre — McKenney
Ware — Balogun — Pulisic
Don’t you agree? Good luck!