Injuries Force Adaptation For USMNT
The United States men's national team tasted a pretty magnificent victory over Honduras on Friday, but head coach Bruce Arena has some holes to fill in his starting lineup.
Over the weekend, two of the starters from the Honduras win - defender John Brooks and midfielder Sebastian Lletget - were released from the squad, along with forward Jordan Morris. That throws a wrinkle into an away match against a Panama team which has only conceded one goal in three Hexagonal matches.
After such a big win, I can't imagine Arena would want to change too much. Thus, my lineup prediction has Alejandro Bedoya slotting in for Lletget (which probably helps give more cover to the slower Geoff Cameron on the right) and Matt Besler replacing Brooks, resuming his partnership with Omar Gonzalez which served the U.S. well in the last qualifying cycle.
It's unlikely that the USMNT romps to another 6-0 win, but it will be interesting to see how Pulisic unlocks a Panama back line boasting a wealth of experience. Captain Felipe Baloy is 36 and has 95 caps. Fellow defenders Roman Torres (31 years old, 131 caps) and Adolfo Machado (32/66) join defensive midfielder Gabriel Gomez (32/131) in helping him offer an imposing defensive unit.
Over the weekend, two of the starters from the Honduras win - defender John Brooks and midfielder Sebastian Lletget - were released from the squad, along with forward Jordan Morris. That throws a wrinkle into an away match against a Panama team which has only conceded one goal in three Hexagonal matches.
After such a big win, I can't imagine Arena would want to change too much. Thus, my lineup prediction has Alejandro Bedoya slotting in for Lletget (which probably helps give more cover to the slower Geoff Cameron on the right) and Matt Besler replacing Brooks, resuming his partnership with Omar Gonzalez which served the U.S. well in the last qualifying cycle.
It's unlikely that the USMNT romps to another 6-0 win, but it will be interesting to see how Pulisic unlocks a Panama back line boasting a wealth of experience. Captain Felipe Baloy is 36 and has 95 caps. Fellow defenders Roman Torres (31 years old, 131 caps) and Adolfo Machado (32/66) join defensive midfielder Gabriel Gomez (32/131) in helping him offer an imposing defensive unit.
The thought of Roman Torres taking on Pulisic is scary. Dude is like two or three times his size.
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