It’s getting easier and easier to figure out Jurgen Klinsmann these days.
As the US national team approaches this summer’s Gold Cup – with high-level friendlies upcoming Friday against the Netherlands (3 pm ET; ESPN2) and next Wednesday against World Cup champion Germany (2:45 pm ET; Fox Sports 1) – a bit more coherence is beginning to show up in the head coach’s roster and formation selections. It’s no doubt derived from what was learned in those early, angst-ridden post-World Cup days of late 2014 and early ’15.
The idea, after all, is to be playing best when something is riding on the line. And April’s latest “Dos a Cero” installment was a big step in the right direction, perhaps most of all for the psyche of Red, White and Blue faithful -- but also for Klinsmann’s blueprint for an upcoming stretch of important competitions, starting with the Gold Cup.
So what will the USMNT starting XI look like on Friday? We’ll start with what we know, and then proceed to look in the crystal ball based on recent friendlies.
Klinsmann announced Sunday that Aston Villa’s recently benched goalkeeper Brad Guzan will be the Gold Cup starter, no surprise given he’s gotten the nod at No. 1 when he’s been on the roster in recent friendlies, with Real Salt Lake wizard Nick Rimando taking the backup role.
"He is our number one, so it’s really important for him to pick up games with us,” Klinsmann said in a Q&A on the U.S. Soccer website. “It’s exciting, even if he had some tough weeks at Aston Villa where suddenly the coach for whatever reason decided to put him behind Shay Given. That surprised us big time, but he fights through that and he will be sharp and hungry for the long summer.”
In that same Q&A, Klinsmann said the upcoming window will be a big chance for the team’s youngsters, saying he’s eager to see the likes of Hertha Berlin’s John Brooks and Club America’s Ventura Alvarado.
So it’s a good chance those two will be paired in central defense.
The fullback pairing of DeAndre Yedlin and Greg Garza that showed so much defensive awareness against Mexico will see some rotation. There's a good chance Yedlin is back on the right against Netherlands, but with Garza not in this squad, Orlando City SC’s Brek Shea should get the call, especially after his strong showing in the 2-0 win over Panama in February.
RSL’s Kyle Beckermann and Toronto FC’s Michael Bradley showed against Mexico they’re still at the top of their game, starting up the spine. Both are in the roster, and will seemingly be big components in the Gold Cup, so expect them to once again be up the middle in a diamond with Bradley underneath a two-striker set.
New York City FC’s Mix Diskerud was great against Mexico, and he’ll also probably be a big piece to the Gold Cup run, so it’s likely to see him get the call on the right. Klinsmann handed Minnesota United FC’s Miguel Ibarra the start on the left wing in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Panama and was strong off the bench against Mexico. If the boss is looking to see how the kids respond to big situations, there’d be no better opportunity to run him out against against one of Europe’s top teams.
The safer – and more likely – play would be mainstay Fabian Johnson, who finished the season well with Champions League-bound Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Up top, it seems extremely likely that it’ll be full-on “The Kids are Alright.”
After LA Galaxy’s Gyasi Zardes and Seattle Sounders product and Stanford sophomore Jordan Morris teamed up to bring down Mexico, we’ll most definitely see Zardes get another chance. Morris isn’t with this team, but Juan Agudelo is. The New England Revolution star scored the second goal against Mexico, so why not see what he can do alongside his MLS counterpart with Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore both out and Bobby Wood and Aron Johannsson the only other forwards on the roster?
What do you think about our starting XI predictions? Who do you think should start against the Netherlands? Leave your comments below.
