Now that Jurgen Klinsmann has unveiled his 23-man roster for the USMNT leading into the Copa America Centenario, which kicks off on June 3rd, there are naturally questions that are left to be answered before the tournament opener against Colombia. Some have already been answered, but more have also surfaced. Is this team equipped to make a deep run in the tournament?
1. Brad Guzan is the No. 1 goalkeeper. Is this the right call?
Guzan and Tim Howard split the World Cup Qualifiers in both November and March, so very few knew who the No. 1 would be for this tournament outside of Klinsmann himself. He’s answered that question now by saying Guzan is the guy, but should he be? It’s safe to say that both he and Howard both are not the keepers they once were, though Guzan is almost six years younger. Guzan needs to have a good summer to put his club career back on solid footing, but this is the toughest opposition he will face as USMNT keeper.
2. Fullback has always been a position of weakness in the US player pool. Are there any answers in this 23?
Going off the position listings is never a good idea in tournaments like these because players can shift positions quite frequently. And, as history has proved, guessing a player’s best position under Jurgen Klinsmann is really a pointless exercise. As good as Fabian Johnson is playing higher up the pitch, he’s still the best left back in the pool, which means he’ll likely take up that role even though it neuters some of his best strengths. DeAndre Yedlin has become a very solid right back under Sam Allardyce at Sunderland, and though Klinsmann has often seen Yedlin as a winger in his national team duty, Klinsmann might finally admit Yedlin’s future is at RB and play him there. He has the tools to succeed.
3. How does Jurgen Klinsmann organize the midfield?
There aren’t many surprises in the midfielders Klinsmann has included, but the biggest question will be fitting them all into the team. He has used a 4-4-2 at many times in his tenure in the US dugout, but with the midfielders he’s chosen here, playing a 4-4-2 (or 4-4-1-1 in essence) will be relying on the fullbacks to generate most if not all of the width for the team. If he does go with one striker and decides to play Gyasi Zardes or Bobby Wood out wide, would that change where Michael Bradley plays? And does Darlington Nagbe start, or become an impact sub? US teams of the recent past have had many issues in midfield, and their group is filled with teams that are strong in the center of the park.
4. Who starts at Striker?
As much as many US fans don’t want to admit it, Jozy Altidore is integral to the way any Jurgen Klinsmann lead side will function. Once he went down at the 2014 World Cup with injury, the team had no suitable replacements or like-for-like swaps for him, and they had immense troubles maintaining possession. The player pool has shifted quite a bit since then, and there are still questions about the striker position.
Clint Dempsey is going to start somewhere, but will he play with someone else alongside him? Bobby Wood has been in fantastic form in the 2.Bundesliga this season, so he seems like a natural fit to start, but Klinsmann has also shown quite a bit of favor for Gyasi Zardes. None have quite the attributes that Jozy Altidore does, which means the team might be set up far more to counter-attack rather than hold and maintain possession. While it may not be the way Klinsmann wants his team to play, his hand may be forced here.
5. How much, and where, does Christian Pulisic play?
No one should be surprised that Pulisic has made the 23 based on the way he showed for the team in his first cap and subsequently with Dortmund. The question for the national team is: where does he play, and how much does he play? Pulisic is very adept tactically, so he can play out wide, underneath the striker as the #10, or operate as a false 9 in some situations. He seems like a late attacking sub in this team based on the players Klinsmann has selected and his past XI’s, but his versatility offers Klinsmann options, but also dilemmas as well.
Darlington Nagbe can do much of the same jobs that Pulisic does and has more experience, and both players have been shown to be gamebreakers with their respective clubs. The 17 year old is going to get playing time at some point, the question is when, and maybe the bigger question is: where?
Predicted XI for the game against Colombia: Guzan, Johnson, Besler, Brooks, Yedlin, Jones, Beckerman, Bradley, Bedoya, Dempsey, Wood.
