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The U.S. men's national team has taken the lengthy journey from California to Brussels for Tuesday's friendly against Belgium, not giving the team much time to dwell on Friday's loss to Costa Rica. The focus is instead on a Belgian opponent that will prove to be a much tougher opponent.
The short turnaround time, and grueling travel schedule, makes you wonder how many of the U.S. team's key players will feature on Tuesday. Here are the players Klinsmann will have to chose from:
GOALKEEPERS-Tim Howard, Bill Hamid
DEFENDERS-Carlos Bocanegra, Edgar Castillo, Timothy Chandler, Steve Cherundolo, Clarence Goodson, Michael Orozco Fiscal, Tim Ream, Jonathan Spector
MIDFIELD-Kyle Beckerman, Clint Dempsey, Maurice Edu, Sacha Kljestan, Jeff Larentowicz, Robbie Rogers, Brek Shea, Jose Torres
FORWARDS-Juan Agudelo, Jozy Altidore
So who will Klinsmann turn to on Tuesday to face a talent-laden Belgium squad? Here is the squad I see Klinsmann starting vs. Belgium:
PROJECTED USMNT lineup vs. Belgium
---------------------Altidore---------------------------
-----Shea-----------------------------Dempsey--------
----------------------Torres----------------------------
----------------Edu----------Beckerman--------------
Spector----Bocanegra-------Goodson-----Cherundolo
-----------------------Howard----------------------------
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This lineup features six starters from the Costa Rica match, with a good mix of fresh players.
The lineup also features two attacking players in Shea and Torres who played 90 minutes on Friday. Both looked tired late in that match, which makes you wonder if both will start vs. Belgium. My money would be on Sacha Kljestan getting the start over one of them, but just couldn't settle on who exactly. From a pure position standpoint, Kljestan makes more sense starting for Torres, but Shea's workload in recent weeks has been incredible and it wouldn't be a shock if he's too tired to go another 90 so soon, particularly against a top opponent.
In midfield, Beckerman should be a starter, and Edu's solid showing against Costa Rica makes him a safe bet to play as well. Given Belgium's attacking weapons, it won't be a surprise to see Klinsmann deploy Edu and Beckerman together.
The defense is another question altogether. If we assume that Edgar Castillo doesn't start, and it's hard to believe he would after being shaky against Costa Rica, the options are pretty much either Carlos Bocanegra or Jonathan Spector. If it's Spector, then Bocanegra-Goodson is the simple centerback option. If it's Bocanegra at left back, then we could see Tim Ream start.
Now, if Klinsmann starts Castillo yet again, we'll get Bocanegra-Goodson. We'll also likely see Belgium spent a lot of time attacking the right flank.
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What do you think of this squad? What lineup would you go with against Belgium?
Share your thoughts below.
