I know it is too early to do a full analysis on which players we should use against so-and-so team, but I am just curious to see who everyone here thinks we should play against which country and why...Just give it the best shot from the top of your head... Warning: High Levels of Speculation I'll make a few assumptions though the probability of these happening is 50/50 at best. Davies: Makes recovery, but is only fit to be a 20-30 min sub. Gooch: Makes full recovery and gets some PT before the finals. DeMerit: Makes full recovery and starts for club. Edu: " " Adu*: Just to make it interesting... England: 4-5-1 ---------------Howard-------------- Specs-----Demerit--Gooch-----Boca ---------------JJ/ME/RC------------ Demps----------Gringo/BF---Donovan -------------Bradley---------------- --------------Altidore--------------- Subs: _Davies for Altidore @65 if we're ahead or tied / Davies for CM (depends) if we're behind _*Adu for next CM if we're behind by more than 1 goal Slovenia: 4-4-2, don't know much about Slovenia, but i've seen them play and they are decent. --------------Howard--------------- Dolo------Gooch---Spec*------Boca Stu/BF---MB/DefMid---Torres-----LD ---------Demps---Altidore--------- Subs: _Davies for Stu, Demps to midfield, @ 65' if we are behind _BF/Stu for Torres @70 if we're behind. BF would go to CM, Stu would go wide and Demps to CM _*Adu for next CM if we're behind by more than 1 goal Algeria: 4-4-2, maybe 4-4-3? It seems like the level of competition drops from game 1 to game 3 in order. This line-up assumes we get some kind of result against England and a win vs Slovenia to give some key players a rest. If we need points then we go with the Slovenia line-up but with Davies starting and Demps out wide. --------------Howard-------------- Dolo----Demerit----JS/Boca----Born Demps---Jones/BF---Torres------BF ----------Adu----Altidore--------- Give Gooch, Donovan, Specs, Bradley, Boca a rest and save them for knockout games. Subs: _Holden for Demps @ half-time _Davies for Adu @ 65' to give this lethal duo a chance for some reconcilation chemistry before knockout. OR send in Davies for JJ or JFT and go 433 AduAltidoreDavies... For the knockout rounds we use the line-up for England, Conf Cup line-up, or Slovenia line-up hoping that Davies and Jozy can play together and the likes of MB, LD, CD, JFT, JJ, BF are healthy and have plenty of energy left. We'll continue this portion in approximately 170+ days...
Jermaine Jones, whether or not he gets a ton of integration with the squad, needs to start against England. They'll be pushing the working the ball hard up the middle against this time. If the US is going to stop the rhythm of England, only Bradley and Jones have the tenacity to go at England's midfielder. Edu would be a nice consolation, but Bradley and Jones is best case scenario. I loved the Spain lineup, but Bocanegra can't start on the left against England. Donovan has to be paired with Bornstein, Castillo, or Spector. Bornstein and Castillo wouldn't be able to match the class of England's right side, but they would be able to match the speed. If Bob isn't comfortable with one of them, then Spector has to start over there. I always have and always will defend Boca against ignorant posters, but he shouldn't start this match on the left. Against Slovenia and Algeria, the US has the chances of dominating possession. I think a Bradley/Jones tandem is fantastic, but possession will be most important. Feilhaber or Torres has to be paired with one of them in each game. Personally, I'd love to see a Bradley/Feilhaber pairing in one match and then Jones/Torres in another.
Agree with first statement. All I know is we are going 4-5-1 against England unless Davies is 100%. I disagree with your second statement. Bornstein and Castillo don't have the quality or experience to play England especially against Lennon. Boca isn't the fastest, but he is the most experienced and he's the best LB if he doesn't push too far forward. LD will be helping him out you can bet on that. Plus we'll have a DM that can push wide or cover for Boca. 4-5-1...4-5-1!!! I somewhat agree with the last statement. However I would prefer we have some sort of consistency at CM and shouldn't be changing completely from game to game. I prefer Torres over BF any day since from what i've seen (at club level) he has all the skill sets BF has in distribution and hold-up but maybe a bit more quality.