Gregg Berhalter has little choice but to shake up his USMNT side following Thursday’s 1-0 defeat of Ecuador in an international friendly.
[ MORE: USMNT-Chile preview ]
Weston McKennie is injured and Tyler Adams has headed back to RB Leipzig to kickstart the changes for the manager, who is 3-0 without conceding a goal in his short tenure as USMNT boss.
It’s a safe bet to say we’ll see Nick Lima in Adams’ role, the Quakes defender getting that treatment in January and doing well with it.
As for McKennie, it’s difficult to imagine this won’t be a spot for LA Galaxy man Sebastian Lletget to spread his wings against a tough and tested La Roja midfield.
Will Sean Johnson get another cap against Chile? The New York City FC goalkeeper kept a clean sheet against Ecuador, but this could be a day for Club Brugge’s Ethan Horvath (especially with Jesse Gonzalez starting for FC Dallas at the weekend before returning to camp).
We see this going one of two ways: a small batch of changes but plenty of Berhalter’s mainstays starting, or nearly every starter short of John Brooks and Christian Pulisic changing places with someone on the bench.
Will Jordan Morris and Paul Arriola reprise their wing roles around Gyasi Zardes, or is it a chance for DeAndre Yedlin and Corey Baird to work with LAFC’s Christian Ramirez? Is Wil Trapp still Berhalter’s preferred guy at holding mid, or will Michael Bradley get a start against Vidal and Aranguiz (presuming that they start)?
We expect
Minimal changes
Horvath
Lima -- Long -- Brooks -- Ream
Roldan -- Trapp
Pulisic
Arriola -- Zardes -- Morris
Lots of changes
Horvath
Lima -- Brooks -- Miazga -- Lovitz
Lletget -- Bradley
Pulisic
Yedlin -- Ramirez -- Baird
Educated guess
Horvath
Lima -- Miazga -- Brooks -- Ream
Lletget -- Bradley
Pulisic
Yedlin -- Morris -- Arriola