With as many as 10 players away on international duty, the Seattle Sounders might have to get creative when filling their starting XI Wednesday night (7:30 pm ET | TVAS, TSN 1/5, MLS LIVE on ESPN+) at the Montreal Impact.
Gustav Svensson (Sweden), Nico Lodeiro (Uruguay), Raul Ruidiaz (Peru), Cristian Roldan (United States), Jordan Morris (United States), Roman Torres (Panama), Jordy Delem (Martinique), Joevin Jones (Trinidad & Tobago), Xavier Arreaga (Ecuador) and Brad Smith (Australia) all received national team call-ups.
Thankfully for Seattle, it appears that Jones and Delem have traveled and are available for selection, though Victor Rodriguez and Kim Kee-Hee are questionable with injuries, leaving the squad further in flux.
Below are three ways Brian Schmetzer can line up his squad and roll with the punches.
If Rodriguez and Kee-Hee are fit...
Considering this lineup still leaves Schmetzer with eight (!) fewer players to choose from, it's not half bad. It's a nice hat-tip to the depth formed by the Sounders in recent windows.
A front four featuring Will Bruin, Handwalla Bwana, Rodriguez and Jones may feature three players who probably aren't in the club's strongest available XI. With Ruidiaz, Morris and Lodeiro gone, this could still form a formidable attack.
If Kee-Hee and Rodriguez are unavailable, then Saad Abdul-Salaam and Harry Shipp could jump into that lineup.
#PlayYourKids
For obvious reasons, this would be the most fun starting XI on Twitter.
After starring at the GA Cup, patience is wearing thin to see MLS debuts for Danny Leyva and Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez. What better chance to give them their first starts in a short week missing nearly a dozen players? Fellow Homegrown standout GK Trey Muse could also be elevated into the XI to really push the dial on #PlayYourKids.
Three at the back? Sure, why not
If Schmetzer wants to tinker a bit, and Kee-Hee is fit, he could form a back three with Abdul-Salaam and Jonathan Campbell. The latter has made one appearance for the Sounders this season after being acquired in a trade from the Chicago Fire.
