Well, well, well. We've finally got a 23 for Sunday's international friendly, in which the United States takes on Serbia (4pm ET | ESPN2, UniMás, UDN ). Given that this is Bruce Arena's first game since replacing Jurgen Klinsmann at the helm of the US, the lineup is going to be read – fairly or not – as a statement of intent for this second go-round as national team coach.
That in mind, here are a few lineup options he might consider:
Safety First
Stick with what you know. This veteran-laden lineup is the most traditional, and least likely to give the game away. You get to keep building the budding bridge between resurgent Sacha Kljestan and the captain, Michael Bradley, while surrounding them with soccer smarts and positional experience, anchored by an effective Jozy Altidore-Jordan Morris combo up top. A few fellows are long in the tooth, especially in the back, but they'll show the young kids how it's done – there's a long slog back from that rough open to the CONCACAF 2018 World Cup Qualifying Hexagonal Round.
Getting Aggressive
If Bruce wants to sell out for offense, this is one way to go for the gold. Keep Kljestan in there, but shift him back toward his deep-lying Anderlecht role, while handing the keys to Benny Feilhaber. Let the latter figure out all the fun ways to connect with Darlington Nagbe and Juan Agudelo slicing in from the wings, with everyone playing off Altidore. Then throw in the always entertaining Jermaine Jones wild card, with Jorge Villafana and Graham Zusi burning both ways on the wings. Go with youth and size in the center roles, backing it all up with next-in-line 'keeper David Bingham.
Playing Pragmatic
Lastly, there's the more pragmatic middle. Give a nod to continuity – Bradley/Kljestan, Altidore/Morris, Bedoya – but take advantage of the recently re-expanded pool and work in steady Dax McCarty, recent Atlanta United pickup Greg Garza and FC Dallas defender Walker Zimmerman. It means pushing Steve Birnbaum out wide, because Keegan Rosenberry was sent off in the final cut, but hey – friendly and fun both start with "F" for a reason! (He also started there against Canada last January.)
However Arena opts to roll 'em out on Sunday, we'll finally have some performance data to pick through, ever more important as the march to … March approaches. Here's to hoping it looks something like progress.
