The U.S. men's national team will take on Spain on Saturday in a rematch of their 2009 Confederations Cup semifinal (won by the United States, 2-0), and with Spain fielding a strong squad, the Americans will need their strongest possible team to hope for another upset.
With the U.S. team's Gold Cup opener set for just three days later, it's unlikely the starters Bob Bradley chooses will play much more than a half, but it will be interesting to see which players Bradley turns to on Saturday.
So who will get the start against Spain? The photo above is the lineup that beat Spain two years ago, and our projected squad for Saturday features even of the players pictured above.
Here's the lineup we can see Bradley going with against Spain on Saturday:
Some thoughts:
Do I think this is the lineup we'll see against Canada on Tuesday? Not really, but I do think Bradley will want to see this group go up against Spain, especially if he thinks this is the lineup that can beat Mexico in a potential Gold Cup Final.
How will the lineup against Canada be different? I can see a 4-4-2 with Agudelo up top against the Canadians.
If the Edu, Jones and Bradley trio in the middle is too defensive, Bradley could turn to Sacha Kljestan as a starter in place of Edu. Freddy Adu did well against Spain three years ago, but I see him more as a sub in this match.
The back-line will be a veteran group, unless Tim Ream is clearly ready and Onyewu isn't physically ready. If Onyewu is healthy, he'll get the start. Ream should get minutes in the second half though.
It will be interesting to see who gets second-half minutes at left back. Will it be Jonathan Bornstein as expected, or might we get a peak at Eric Lichaj there?
What do you think of this lineup? Would you rather see a 4-4-2 with Agudelo at forward? Hoping to see Tim Ream get a start?
Share your thoughts below.
